I’m an LPN. Why Should I Become an RN?

October 21st, 2009

Licensed professional nurses (LPNs), sometimes called licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), are essential to many health care settings, particularly nursing homes, physician’s offices and home health care. However, in today’s economy, many health care centers are cutting back on LPN positions, there is less LPN job turnover, and job openings for LPNs can be exceedingly difficult to find. If you are an LPN who loves working with patients and helping them achieve optimum health, than you may want to look into becoming a registered nurse (RN).

First of all, RNs earn more money on average than LPNs. The average annual salary of an LPN as of May 2008 was $39,030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compare that to the average annual salary of an RN, which sits at $62,450. Even the low end of the RN pay scale is typically higher than the average salary of an LPN. While money should never be the primary motivator for such a career move, it is certainly nothing to sniff at, especially if you already know for certain that you enjoy treating and working with patients.

Secondly, RNs have more opportunities for specialization than LPNs do. Many board certifications in nursing can only be attained after completing an accredited nursing program and becoming licensed as a registered nurse. You will also have more mobility as a nurse, as the job options for RNs are more diverse. RNs can venture into social work, teaching, nonprofit work and other areas that require them to maintain an RN license. For LPNs, entering into these niche nursing professions is much more difficult.

RNs also have a larger scope of practice than an LPN. This means RNs are authorized to perform more types of interventions for patients than LPNs are. If you wish to provide more comprehensive health care to your patients, then becoming a registered nurse is the way to go.

Another reason it’s a good idea to become an RN is because of the wide availability of LPN-to-RN programs. There are tons of higher education programs designed with you in mind. These programs are designed for students with real-world LPN experience and can greatly accelerate your pace of becoming an RN, particularly an RN prepared at the associate level. Even better news is that many of these LPN-to-RN programs offer all or most of their courses online, with clinical rotations taking place in a hospital setting.

If you want higher pay, greater mobility, a wider scope of practice and more opportunities for advancement, making the move from LPN to RN is the best choice you can make.

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