Any nurses here?

I too am going for RN courses. I've heard that LPN's are being phased out (at least here in MD) so I trashed that idea and am just going straight for my degree. It'd save you time and money, that is for sure.

I'm an Lpn here. Not being phased out ladies. Of course if you want to work in the hospital setting go for your RN. Hospitals don't want Lpns. Fine by me.

As an Lpn I can also have a 2nd fun job such as a personal trainer.Because I don't have to manage anyone..have less responsibilities and can leave my work...AT WORK.

Anyways...I shall leave this forum because I have a feeling this is going to be turning into a lpn hate thread.

I work in home health care 2 days a week to supplement my personal trainer income.

It's a sweet gig. As an Rn I probably wouldn't be able to do that.

I didn't pick being an Lpn wich may explain my feelings. I never even wanted to be a nurse. I was in the military and I had a choice of capping oil wells or lpn training....so you can guess what I picked.

I did the training. It was ok and although all my other nursing classmates in the army were talking about taking it further and getting their Rns, I wanted to get my degree in History, specifically Civil War History(I am a huge Civil War nerd.)

Nursing isn't my love..not going to lie about that. Which is why I never went back for my RN. I realized in the middle of Lpn training...I did not love it.

Ever have a nurse that you knew hated her job??

It's miserable to have a nurse like that.

Well, I don't hate nursing. But it's not my passion and patients deserve nothing less than a dedicated nurse(not to say Lpns can't be passionate..they darn well can be!) But I knew to STOP and not go on and get my Rn because everyone and their mother was getting it.

So I decided to go after my passion(personal TRAINING!) and use my lpn license to supplement my 2nd career.

I work home health care (I work with vent dependent patients in their homes) in the summer and school nursing in the fall. I schedule my personal training clients around those times. I now LOVE nursing again working one on one in the home health care setting and the regular schedule of school nursing(and yes..lpns are real nurses)but not enough to go back to get my Rn.(My bachelors is actually in history/sociology)! People thought I was crazy when I was working as an Lpn getting my degree in something other than nursing. I KNEW I wasn't going to get a job with my history degree but I just did it for the love...the love of learning. Not for the money....Crazy, right?

Who goes to get a degree for the love of it and not for the money?

Anyways, get your RN so you don't have to defend being an LPN.

At one nursing home...one of the patients coded.

The ONLY nurse who could start the IV- the Lpn(me!) The RN could not start one at all. She read about it in a book though.

Anyways...I shall leave this forum because I have a feeling this is going to be turning into a lpn hate thread.

Why would this turn into an LPN hate thread? I know some LPNs that can way out nurse some RNs. They just don't have the different letters behind their name that gives them credit for it. They have invaluable experience and compassion!

Your a wise person for knowing what is and isn't right for you and responding accordingly. There is nothing worse that a nurse that hates patient care; I've worked with some. Fortunately, there are jobs that you can do with nursing that don't involve patient care. The flexibility that comes with the nursing field also allows someone to pursue other passions like you have. Good for you!

RN, work in an er and love it. Before I was a waitress and knew I could not do that for the rest of my life. I love being a nurse and can't picture myself doing anything else. Just go for it. Do a RN program, more opportunities.

I am a nurse, but I am not in the US, so I cannot talk about different designations etc and its advantages and disadvantages. but just wanted to say that I would go for the highest qualification possible as soon as possible as it tends to offer you more and presumably the pay is more. It also gives you more options. Our nursing council is changing all our courses at present and many people who opted to study "the slow way" i.e. work their way up through the different levels, are now finding themselves in a position where studying further is going to be harder in the future, whereas those who went straight for the top are in a better position. I do realise that finances obviously play a big part for many people, but I would go as high as you can afford from the start.

Our hospital is going to all RNs no more LPN.

Yahoo Nurses! I'm a newish-nurse, went to nursing school at 39 and have been working for six years and I love it. I'm an RN, about to start an online family psychiatric NP program--yikes---next week! Your plan sounds excellent. Training to be a CNA will give you a big boost above your classmates who haven't done that work. You will learn a lot, no doubt. As far as LPN vs. RN. There are disadvantages and advantages. As I see it, becoming an LPN, you could start working immediately and if you like it and want to go further, you could work on your RN. If you have time/money and feel pretty confident this is the career for you, you might want to go straight for a bachelors of nursing. But, if money is a consideration, being able to work as a nurse while you study for a higher degree could be a smart financial move. Also, there are a ton of "bridge" programs. Meaning, if you are an LPN you can study to make up the difference for an associate's or bachelor's degree. Also, once you have your Associates, you can bridge to a masters with a built in bachelors degree. Pretty cool--the options are endless. And that's one of the things I love about nursing--so many possibilities. In this economy, that's a big deal. I've been working as a med-surg nurse in my local community hospital, (just got my med-surge certification this spring) and I cross-trained to be a psychiatric nurse (lifelong passion has been psychology) and I also work part-time as a hospice nurse--easily one of the best jobs I've ever had. Know that our healthcare system is super broken--going into nursing is a leap of faith I tell ya'! And the job gets harder and harder every year with budget cuts, more documentation and less time for patient care. (And that's part of the reason I love hospice work so much--the pace is much slower, I can spend a lot more time with my patients and their families and really feel like I'm making a difference.)

There is an emphasis from the academic nursing community to push higher education for nurses. Meaning that there's been talk for a LOOONG time about phasing out LPNs and even ADNs. But, that talk has gone on and things haven't changed much. It's true LPNs have a different scope of practice (depending on the state, some can work in hospitals, other states don't allow that.) But, nursing home and the government (the Veterans Administration) still hire LPNs and if there's one near you, check it out. They would pay for your higher education should you want to continue.

I could go on and on about nursing--I am super passionate about what a great career it is, how wonderful it feels to help people, how satisfying learning new things every day is...so friend me if you have any other questions. Of course, as with any job, there are downfalls--the aforementioned crappy healthcare industry, insurance limitations of care, the physicalities of the job, etc...

Have fun in nursing school! I loved it! Not that it isn't hard, so much to memorize!!, but it's like bootcamp, you can really bond with your classmates and I found it fun...yes, fun!

Welcome to the world of nursing! I am a first year student nurse from Australia. Hard work but the job seems rewarding. I would love to get a career in neonatal/obstetrics :flowerforyou:

Careful about RN comment. I worked in acute care before moving to long term care two years ago. When an IV needs started or blood needs drawn, they call me. If someone is going bad quickly, they call me. My experience speaks for itself. Most of the nurses haven't had experience beyond pushing pills and bandaging skin tears.

Hello I'm a new graduate nurse working in the ER...So far do good eventually I want to work in the L&D , mother /baby and NICU bc I'm thinking of becoming a FNP or specializing in perinatology ... I say get your BSN in nursing ... In today's economy it's extremely hard to find a job as a new nurse w/ no experience and it doesn't help when you have only a ADN.... I have a ADN right now and it took me 2 yrs and 4 months to get a job !!! Yes 2 yrs I was soo depressed and was going to give up.... I went to all the job fairs , my grades were good etc....but it was extremely hard... I dk were u live @ but here in the DMV area ( DC , MD and VA) it's tough ... It's expensive to train new grads that's another issue.... They are going to accept only BSN soon so dnt waste your time getting a ADN... I got hired w/ a ADN but have been told I have to get my BSN within the nxt few years...-and they are going to be phasing LPN's out ....most hospitals are going magnet ( over here in DMV ) and they are looking for the best of the best)... We were told this when I was in nursing school also so future wise I say BSN) Good luck w/ everything

depends on where you live. i should hopefully graduate in december with associates in nursing. I have already applied and accepted as long as i pass to a rn to bsn program. in my state lpn's are rarely hired and most hospitals are required bachelor degree nurses.

Hello I'm a new graduate nurse working in the ER...So far do good eventually I want to work in the L&D , mother /baby and NICU bc I'm thinking of becoming a FNP or specializing in perinatology ... I say get your BSN in nursing ... In today's economy it's extremely hard to find a job as a new nurse w/ no experience and it doesn't help when you have only a ADN.... I have a ADN right now and it took me 2 yrs and 4 months to get a job !!! Yes 2 yrs I was soo depressed and was going to give up.... I went to all the job fairs , my grades were good etc....but it was extremely hard... I dk were u live @ but here in the DMV area ( DC , MD and VA) it's tough ... It's expensive to train new grads that's another issue.... They are going to accept only BSN soon so dnt waste your time getting a ADN... I got hired w/ a ADN but have been told I have to get my BSN within the nxt few years...-and they are going to be phasing LPN's out ....most hospitals are going magnet ( over here in DMV ) and they are looking for the best of the best)... We were told this when I was in nursing school also so future wise I say BSN) Good luck w/ everything

I've been hearing the BSN only bs since I was in nursing school in the 80's. It ain't gonna happen. There must be a glut of nurses in your area. Our department alone hired 14 new grads in the last year....most of them ADN's.

I have a lot of friends ask me the same thing. I always tell them it depends on their situation. If they need to work and make money while going to school, do the LPN and work as an LPN while bridging over to an RN. If you don't have to work, just go straight for the RN. I do know some LPNs who know way more than I do because they have the experience that I don't. LPN, RN there's really not a difference. We are all nurses who do our best to take care of those who need us.

Anyways...I shall leave this forum because I have a feeling this is going to be turning into a lpn hate thread.

Why would this turn into an LPN hate thread? I know some LPNs that can way out nurse some RNs. They just don't have the different letters behind their name that gives them credit for it. They have invaluable experience and compassion!

Your a wise person for knowing what is and isn't right for you and responding accordingly. There is nothing worse that a nurse that hates patient care; I've worked with some. Fortunately, there are jobs that you can do with nursing that don't involve patient care. The flexibility that comes with the nursing field also allows someone to pursue other passions like you have. Good for you!

I agree! I would totally go for LPN if I knew I could get in L&D - but that's what I want to do, I know it, and I also know that the competition for L&D nurses is insane. So do the research. But I don't hate LPN's - I know some very good, very smart ones that I would absolutely take advice from any day!

Where I work they only hire RNs for the hospital setting but the hospital also runs over 30 clinic and they hire LPNs and some RNs in the clinics. Also being a RN gives you access to oppurtunities beyond bedside nursing and patient care. I have been a RN for almost 20 years. I did not start my career until my 30s. I started out in a Nursing Home as a CNA, went to college and got my ADN RN, went back to the nursing home and worked my way up to Director of Nursing. Then I decided I wanted to get acute care experience so I went to work in the hospital and worked Med Surg for 9 years. For the last 6 years I have been in Informatics. I am no longer in Patient Care, but I still work closely with the Physicians and Nursing staff as a computerized documentation specialist.