star2nite2000 31 Posts Jul 21, 2007 Being an LPN is fine. You work hard but your options are more limited. Our Hopital has layed off most of the LPN's the only option is LTC or the clinic... and with the current layoff's it will be hard for an a new grad to get a job in a clinic.top wage for an LPN is after 4 years is $15.00 Per hour (MN) LTC you are on your feet working at a run from the time you punch in till you leave. I went on for my RN because there are much more opportunities. and I started as a new grad at $20.00 (they started me at a 3 year rate) There are places that pay better but the Benefits here are great. so i stay. 250 Hours of vacation per year. and very fexible schedualing so i can continue going to school (RN-MSN)Not necessarily. It all depends on where you live. In southeastern Oklahoma where I live, there are alot more opportunities for LPN's compared to RN's. I love being an LPN and would NEVER consider in a million years being an RN. Period.
DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN 1 Article; 3,932 Posts Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN. Has 33 years experience. Jul 21, 2007 I was an LPN for 23 years and was perfectly fine being an LPN. I really didn't get any hassle from anyone about becoming an RN. I didn't have any desire to be an RN. I did desire to have a college degree. I felt it was important to our children that they see that both of their parents had a college degree and it was a personal goal for me. I took all the english, history, science, psyche, etc and 3 semesters into accounting I realized I did not want to be a CPA after all. I was very close to having my RN by this time so I changed majors. When I graduated I automatically got a pay raise of double my hourly rate. I was given 9 mo credit towards an RN for every year I'd been an LPN. Many doors suddenly opened to me. Had I known I would have done it sooner. I became a college graduate at age 46.
sgherzi4 35 Posts Specializes in everything BUT O.R.!!!!. Has 27 years experience. Jul 23, 2007 Hey "Big B";Have you "rolled over" to the CO yet?? If not, are you planning on becoming a state LVN? They offered me a job but I cannot take it for such low pay..after benefits and taxes, and union dues it figures out to be around $2500/month which is somewhere in the neightborhood of $16.25/hr...ridiculous salary for all that is mandated for a state LVN to do!!!!:angryfire
sgherzi4 35 Posts Specializes in everything BUT O.R.!!!!. Has 27 years experience. Jul 23, 2007 I have been an LPN (LVN here in CA) for 25 years...entertained the thought of getting my RN...for ONLY the prestige...not a good enough reason any day! I work in a small town here in Central CA and make $27/hr night shift doing LTC and starting IVs for those RNs that can't. I also work overtime @ a local state prison and make $34/hr through a nursing agency which is so totally cool! I make big bucks and don't have to put up with a lot of stuff that the state LVNs are mandated to do; plus, if I get sick and tired of the prison environment (which I am close to right now) I can leave and just go back to my three 12 hours night shifts @ our local hospital and have FOUR glorious days off all to myself and my teenage boys. I don't need the responsibility and headache of being and RN...it would take me too long in college AND in commuting just to have those initials after my name!!! It is all about who you are and how you conduct yourself; whether and RN or LVN. I am happy where I am and do not have the stress of trying to work full time; go to school part or full time; plus do all those things that a wife/mom has to do!!! Hope this helps! :balloons:
BigB 520 Posts Specializes in Knuckle Dragging Nurse aka MTA. Has 3 years experience. Jul 23, 2007 No, I don't have much time in or I might consider becoming a CO. As it stands now, I make what a 3 or 4 year CO makes as an MTA (with only over 1.4 years in). MTA's are still being used in the Dept. of Mental Health and I really like the gig here. It is a slap in the face what the MTA's in CDC were offered to become state LVN's. I don't blame you for walking away from those peanuts...I did too. MTA's are still the highest paid LVN position on the planet with that sweet peace officer retirement we share with the CO's. I do have to commute about 50 minutes...but it is well worth it.Hey "Big B";Have you "rolled over" to the CO yet?? If not, are you planning on becoming a state LVN? They offered me a job but I cannot take it for such low pay..after benefits and taxes, and union dues it figures out to be around $2500/month which is somewhere in the neightborhood of $16.25/hr...ridiculous salary for all that is mandated for a state LVN to do!!!!:angryfire
Fiona59 8,343 Posts Has 18 years experience. Jul 23, 2007 Just adding my two bits. I haven't gone over to the dark side because I can't be bothered.Our bridge bites. I do not want to enter year two of a four year degree. I do not want to have to do rotations on units that I'm an experienced nurse under a preceptor. I do not want to deal with the petty politics of nursing school ever again.My degree is finished next year in a totally unrelated field. My classes are a means of relaxation for me. I get to use my brain in other areas and meet people that are interested in the same things I am.Nursing education needs to be revamped. Make being a PN the first step and then you can upgrade as the need/desire takes you. Education is life long. You need to be able to do the basics of the job before you can run and be charge. A fact that is missing on most units today. New grad RNs being charge after six months work. It's a scary world out there.
pagandeva2000, LPN 7,984 Posts Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health. Jul 23, 2007 Just adding my two bits. I haven't gone over to the dark side because I can't be bothered.Our bridge bites. I do not want to enter year two of a four year degree. I do not want to have to do rotations on units that I'm an experienced nurse under a preceptor. I do not want to deal with the petty politics of nursing school ever again.My degree is finished next year in a totally unrelated field. My classes are a means of relaxation for me. I get to use my brain in other areas and meet people that are interested in the same things I am.Nursing education needs to be revamped. Make being a PN the first step and then you can upgrade as the need/desire takes you. Education is life long. You need to be able to do the basics of the job before you can run and be charge. A fact that is missing on most units today. New grad RNs being charge after six months work. It's a scary world out there.I am laughing because I so totally agree with you...I can't be bothered...BOTTOM LINE. Like you, I do plan to take classes, maybe not even for a degree, but because of personal interest and desire. I think nursing educations is seriously falling short and I really believe that when I came out of there and went to the real world, I knew nothing. I would like to say that nursing school only prepares the student to sit for NCLEX, but, from my own experience and what I have read from the majority of test takers; most of the test is totally unrecognizable...:angryfire. I only pull from nursing texts for the explanation of the disease process; heck, even the drug books have not been that useful because they are prescribed far differently than what is listed in the drug guides. Many times, I felt sorry for the RNs because so much is placed on them, and more politics than I have ever been interested in. This is not to say that life is a piece of cake for LPNs, mind you. But, I am responsible for myself...not what others do, nor do I have to fill out a million forms just to keep the regulatory agencies happy. I think what I like best about being an LPN is in the middle of the mess, basically, all I ask is "What do you want me to DO" and decided for myself "Is this SAFE"? After that, I let the powers that be argue over the rest... This is not to downtalk the RNs. I have deep respect for those that work and care. Anyone who made it out of the program needs to be congratulated. But, it is clearly not for me.
Lexxie, LPN 200 Posts Specializes in LTC, Urgent Care. Jul 26, 2007 I am planning to continue on for my RN. It's not a matter of status to me. I want the opportunity to experience the many different spectrums of nursing, to not be "tied" to LTC - which is the main source of employment for LPNs in my area. Hospitals here prefer RNs, unfortunately
linzz 931 Posts Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg.. Jul 28, 2007 If there were reasonable opportunities for LPN's where I live, I would be happy to stay being an LPN. For some reason, the area I live in is very pro RN, there are very few hospital jobs and even jobs at decent nursing homes are few and far between. I will likely do the bridge but I will be doing it to stay working. I am in total agreement with Fiona 59, the program is too long, poorly organized, chock full of politics and does not have enough emphasis on bedside skills like the older programs did. I also agree that new RN's with six months experience should not be put in a position of being charge nurse so soon. Just my thoughts.
nurserynurse55 85 Posts Specializes in NICU. Dec 31, 2007 Hello. To eveyone who asked why don't people ask RN's when they are going back to get their BSN, MSN, NP or whatever; they do. I am a RN BSN and people always ask when are you going back to school? I am not ever going back! The question goes with every job. People always ask, "why get the BSN rather than the ADN if you are not going back to school?" The answer is, because getting a four year degree was just as important for me as getting my RN. Do what ever you want guys, and don't let other people bother you.
MJJ510 5 Posts Specializes in Telemetry, M/B. Has 42 years experience. Jan 1, 2008 I stay an LPN because I am 61+ years old and REALLY looking forward to retiring. I've been an LPN for 40 years in the same hospital, they have treated me very good through the years. A few years back an outside agency came in to determine what changes should be made and one of them was to get rid of the LPN's or require them to get their RN's. I worked in an area that didn't require RN's. We (about 10 of us) were allowed to stay so didn't have the incentive to go back for RN's (I probably would have back then if I were given the option). Now everything is changing so fast that it's hard to keep up with the constant CBT's, inservices, and requirements to just keep your job! We all have to wear the same color uniform (kind of like the army). I feel like we're all goose stepping, and are slowly losing our individuality. Yes, I'll be happy to retire and leave it all behind for the young ones to figure out. At least when I'm a patient (and I'm sure I will be sometime in the future) I'll know that I'll be taken care of by very well trained RN's (Robot Nurses) that probably have many other initials behind their names, that I will be VERY safe, and will more than likely not get the human touch that was so important to me in my career as an LPN. To all the new nurses, keep smiling, keep your humanity even if it's not required.
bilog 5 Posts Feb 1, 2008 I am debating if I will stay as an LVN or go for my RN. Some RNs gets 120k a month with 2 ft jobs, or 6 12 hrs of work a week. LVN s who works for home health with 6 bid pts at $35 a visit earns almost the same with more free time.
