The Great Distinction Between LPNs, RNs, and Nursing Assistants

October 15th, 2009

Outside the nursing world, many of us are not aware that there is a drastic difference between registered nurses, and licensed practioner nurses.  We are only aware of the Florence Nightingale nurse who weighs us at the clinic and takes our blood pressure as we wait for the doctor.  However, the nursing world itself is full of different certification programs, different residency requirements, and different levels of nurses entirely.  However, the differences between LPNs, RNs, and nursing assistants (or aides) has become so highly sensitized in the nursing world that it has triggered several lawsuits on the intricacies of each department, as well as reaffirmed the fact that RNs have the highest workload and salaries.

LPNs have similar duties as RNs, but their salaries are usually lower – however, they are in charge of medical charts, assist in surgery, and give medication.  RNs have heightened responsibilities compared to LPNs and thus have even more duties.  However, nursing assistants are vastly different from LPNs or RNs and make a considerably lower salary because of the amount of work they do. One major lawsuit in Arkansas accused a community college of falsly advertising that their nursing assistant program would train students to become an LPN, alleging that LPNs were being phased out of nursing.  However, most of the training the students were taught was in fact training to become a nursing aide or assistant, in which the student was only learning how to make beds, empty bed pans, and take vital signs.  This is drastically different from the amount of responsibility most LPNs and RNs hold.  Nursing assistants typically do the bare minimum in health care in order to help out the nurses and keep clinics and hospitals running on schedule.

While in that case, the community college was responsible for falsely advertising their courses, it has become a national issue as to the difference between these tiers of nurses, especially when so many of us are not aware of any difference at all.  There are now many LPN to RN nursing programs so that students can begin their foray into health care by become a licensed practioner nurse, instead of a registered nurse at first.  This has many benefits because you are able to quickly finish your program and begin working in clinics, and are able to see whether you like this type of work.  After working several years, you can take additional courses to earn your registered nurse title, a transition many schools are now offering through their LPN to RN bridge programs.  This saves time, money, and helps many nurses build their confidence.  Nurses all have different roles to play, but knowing for sure what role you are learning (without any deceit) can make all the difference in creating an enjoyable experience in health care. 
 

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