I agree 100% with you... a negative stigma is attatched to the title LPN. This is a false stigma, just like depression has a negative stigma. I currently work in a LTC/subacute care facility... fortunatly I have had the pleasure of working with 3 RN's that do not believe there is a difference an Nurse is a NURSE.

I have been an LPN for a little over 11 years.  Off and on I have done a class or two toward my RN, but being a wife & mother in todays economy, I have to work full time which makes it a little hard to go back to school.  So, nothing agaings RN's BUT...I have worked in positions that typically are "RN" positions, I have been ACLS certified (just cant push the IV meds!), am IV certified, have worked in Urgent care with no RN - just a lowly LPN running the cardiac and respirtaory emergencies that came in.  I have been an ADON and Nurse Manager as well as a Staff Educator.  So why do people just look at our title and not our experience?  I am qualified to work almost any position most RNs are hired for but becaues I am "only" an LPN I am "not qualified"?  It gets frustrating when you dont get a position you apply for because there is an RN that applied too.  Even though that RN may have NO experience, they have the title...

As a former LPN and now an RN its totally ridiculous some of the things that LPN's cant do. Take for instance accessing a PICC line for TPN. The RN can do it with training, the client can do it at home for  themselves and they have little ot no medical education/backround, but somehow the LPN cant do it even though they could receive the same training as the RN and do the job as well as any RN or client. Why is this? Because its protection for the RN's, of course  RN's will tell you its for the safety of the patient and not job protection. Then take  blood transfusions as another example, while I was at my last hospital job I would get everything set-up for the transfusion, run the saline hang the blood bag, but oh noooooooooooo I wasnt allowed to open the valve on the IV set  beacuse this was an RN function. Never mind that I was responsible for monitoring the whole transfusion, calling th DR if there was a problem , verifying the blood and the patient prior to staring the transfusion, and then recording vitals during same. If the pt developed a reaction during the transfusion was it the RN who did all the leg work and call the nurse mgr.? Hell no it was all on me, but somehow I wasnt smart enough or have enough schooling or have the  right initials after my name to open the petcock on the blood bag. Last example initial patient assessment, bear in mind that I worked at that PLACE for 3 years on a very difficult floor: cardiac surgery, when a cliennt came to the floor I wasnt allowed to do the initial assessment. It didnt matter that the RN doing the initial assessment for me might have been a new grad, still a GN, that had maybe a month of experience but somehow their assessment was better than mine. I doubt it.  My LPN schooling included 1050 hours of clinical time (3x more than RN's) I took A&P, Pharm, and sat in class for 8 hours/day listening to lecture when we werent in clinical  and yet we are less than nurses. Doesnt make sense.   Lastly when I workd at that PLACE they told me at one of my reviews, which were all good, that the only reason they hiredme was because they didnt have enough RN's to fill the open positions.  That sure made me want to be a stellar performer for an organization that does nothing but use people up and then cast them aside................... LPN's you have nothing to be ashamed of, hold your heads high and tell all those smart ass RN's to kiss off................................................... The laws need to be changed.

Please see one of the 15 other topics on the same subject for my opinion..............................