LPN Degree vs RN: What You Need to Know

LPN degree vs RN: What You Need to Know

Hey you guys! Welcome back to the Nursing School Week by Week Podcast. I’m your host, Melanie, and I just got back from a week long summer beach vacation and it was so nice. If you guys haven’t been to Rosemary Beach in Florida, it’s definitely a must-see place. Definitely one of my happy places. Rosemary Beach, let’s see, Savannah Georgia is one of my happy places, Hobby Lobby, Kirklands, pretty much any book store. And if the bookstore smells like coffee, definitely a happy place. 

 One crazy thing happened during my beach vacation. I was hanging out with my husband and the kids and my brother on the beach, just lounging around, and all of a sudden we see 2 men running for the water, and then we see another guy dragging in another man from the ocean. My brother jumped up and he ran out into the waves and grabbed this guy's legs and helped carry him in, and we were all like, “What happened? Did this guy drown?” He was super pale, looked cyanotic. His lips were blue. It was pretty scary. All these people rushed around. My brother is a nurse. He works in the emergency room, so he was trying to help. And his girlfriend is a nurse practitioner and she was there. They laid him out on the sand and checked for a pulse and for breathing. He had a pulse. Then some other well-meaning people were ready to start CPR, poised on top of this guy's chest, about to do compressions, and my brother said, “No no, he has a pulse. He doesn’t need CPR.” Then they turned him on his side and he started coughing up what looked like a mixture of sand and water. And he was able to say his name. And then the life guards are training in basic life support, and they ran up with their equipment and started to put him on a non-rebreather mask with supplemental oxygen. Then we were trying to help some more, but then the life guards basically said, “We got this.” He basically said, “This isn’t my first rodeo.” So we backed up a little bit and just observed, but it was a little disturbing. You know, afterwards, we tried to go on about our day and enjoy the beach, but yeah, it had us a little unsettled for a while. And we heard later that there was a strong rip-tide out, and we think that’s what happened. This guy got caught in a rip-tide and took in too much water and was drowning out there.

 And I’m not quite sure what the outcome of that was. Hopefully it had a good outcome for him. We heard afterwards that just in the week that we were there at the beach, there were 11 drownings due to the strong riptide. So, yeah, it’s serious stuff. But it just kinda hit me how, I mean, you get this nursing education, and you imagine that you’re gonna be using your skills in a hospital setting, or in a nursing home setting. Some kind of formal building, but really you could be called upon to use those skills that you’re learning anywhere. It’s kinda like when you were in math class in high school and you’re asking your teacher, “Well yeah, this is great, but when are we gonna use this in real life?” And nursing is one of those things that you may be called upon to use in a real life situation. Out on the street, in a cafe, on the beach during vacation, when you are not in that mindset. 

 And another thing that struck me was one of the lifeguards that was helping, when she went to hook up the non-rebreather mask to the oxygen tank, she didn’t know how to do it. I don’t know if she was new, you know everybody’s new at some point. Everybody’s learning, so let’s give her grace, just like we would want grace, and my husband knew how to do it and he helped her out, but it just made me think that we need to make sure we know how to work the equipment that we’re responsible for and that can help in an emergency situation. And I know it’s tough, when you’re in clinicals, everything is new, and it will take time to learn all of those things, but don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to say, “Hey, can I try that out” when you’re in clinicals, cause that’s the best way to learn, right? To get in there and do it. Most people learn best by doing. But anyway, I just wanted to share that with you guys, cause it’s one of those things that I will probably never forget. And it was a little crazy, but other than that, we had a fantastic vacation, and now I’m back, and today I want to talk about the differences between getting your RN, your registered nurse degree, verses your LPN, your Licensed practical nurse, and some of the pros and cons of doing one verses the other. 

 And this is for someone who’s kinda on the fence, doesn’t know if they want to get their LPN or their RN, and there are pros for going straight for your RN, there are pros for doing LPN first, or even just doing LPN. Not everyone who gets their LPN degree is planning on becoming an RN. Alright, so the first obvious pro for going the LPN route is that it’s faster. You can get your LPN in just 12 months, whereas getting your RN takes about 18 months. So you’re gonna save like half a year, which isn’t a huge deal. I mean, once you’re in nursing school, the time goes by so quickly anyway, that 6 months feels like nothing. But it is true that getting your LPN is faster and it’s cheaper. So, if you’re just looking for the quickest way to get a steady, fairly well-paying job in the healthcare field, then LPN is a good way to get your foot in the door. 

 But, I will say, the LPNs get paid significantly less. The average pay for an LPN is $23 an hour, whereas an RN gets $37 per hour. So that’s a $14 an hour difference. So that’s pretty significant. Over a 12 hour shift, that’s gonna be, let’s see, let me calculate that… That’s $168 difference over a 12 hour shift. So that’s about a $2,000 a month difference. So you would make about $2,000 less per month as an LPN than you would as an RN. 

 But one reason why you might choose to pursue an LPN rather than an RN straight out of the gate is that it’s easier to get into LPN school than RN school. Maybe your GPA isn’t exactly where you want it to be to be competitive, so you could get into an LPN program, complete that, and then, once you have your LPN, it’s much easier to get into the bridge program that will take you from your LPN to an RN. And if you did the LPN program and then the bridge program back to back, that would take you 12 months for the LPN and then another 12 months for the bridge program, so if you’re comparing that to the RN, that would take you about 6 months longer than if you just did the RN straight out of the gate. But, like I said, it’s much easier to get into the LPN program. You don’t have to have the same level of grades that you would need to have to get into most RN programs. And you could even do your LPN program in 12 months and then get a job working in a hospital, and most hospitals do tuition reimbursement, and usually it’s quite a bit for nurses, and they will pay for you to do that bridge program, to go on and get your RN degree. So that would be the most financially responsible way to go about it. 

 One thing you want to think about, you want to kind of picture what kind of lifestyle you want when the schooling’s all done. Like where do you want to work? Do you see yourself working at a hospital, 12 hour shifts, um night shift? Would you prefer night shifts? Or do you see yourself working more at the local clinic down the street from your house? Because depending on what that picture looks like for you, that may dictate whether it’s more beneficial to get your LPN and just your LPN, or your RN.  And I say that because from what I’ve seen, and hear this knowing that this is coming from me, and I did not get my LPN. I just went, straight out of the gate, got my RN degree. So that’s what I know, and I can only speak from what I know. But it seems like LPNs can work in more places. Which sounds crazy, right? Because RN is a higher level degree. But, I mean, the cute little clinic down the street from your house that closes at 5pm everyday and is never open on weekends or holidays, that might be very appealing to work at. But those places usually hire mostly LPNs. They might need to have like 1 or 2 RNs on staff, total. If that. So your chances, the likelihood of getting a job at a small clinic like that with fantastic hours, if you want hours like that, are higher if you have an LPN. And one thing that I just didn’t know going into this, was, I kinda figured that as an RN I could apply for both jobs. I could apply for RN jobs and LPN jobs. Because as an RN, I can do everything that an LPN can do, right? But that’s not the case. RNs cannot apply for LPN jobs, and obviously LPNs cannot apply for RN jobs. So, I mean, for me, there’s this fantastic, shiny new VA clinic down the street from me that would be so convenient for me to work at, but I keep checking the job listings, and it’s always just LPN listings, LPN. Um, so that’s a little frustrating. Because I can’t apply for those positions. I’m over-qualified. So that’s definitely something to think about. You don’t want to be overqualified for the job that you want. But, if you’re picturing your ideal job and it looks like a work-from home situation, then you would want to get your RN degree, because most of those jobs require at least an associate RN degree, if not a bachelor’s RN degree. So in that aspect, cause that’s something that I have been looking at. Different work from home positions, just cause it’s a lot more flexible and I’ve got kids at home, and that would just be more feasible, and  to me seems like a better work-life balance, than working 12-13 hour shifts in a hospital. So in that aspect, I’m definitely glad I got my RN degree, because that makes me more competitive for work from home positions. 

 Alright, let’s see, the first hospital that I worked at was a magnet hospital, so they did not employ any LPNs, but the second hospital I worked at did. I worked in the emergency room, alongside LPNs, and it seemed like they were doing almost the same job, with pretty much the same level of stress, maybe not quite as much responsibility as the RN, but they were doing almost the same job, but for a lot less pay. So, I think if you’re planning on working in a hospital, rather than a clinic, I’d probably go the RN route. Because you’re doing almost the same thing. I mean, there are definitely some things that LPNs are not allowed to do. Um, let me list some here, and you definitely want to remember this for the NCLEX, cause it will be on there. But, let’s see, the LPNs can be in charge of stable patients only, but not unstable patients. So you would never see an LPN being the sole nurse in charge of a patient in the ICU. LPNs can change dressings, they can insert and remove catheters, and peripheral IVs. They can give oral meds, subq injections, and IV meds, but they cannot give IV push meds. And they can’t do anything with central lines or picc lines. Um, let’s see, LPNs cannot give blood products, and they can’t assess the patient. So they can collect data, but they’re not supposed to analyze that data. That should be up to the RN. And there’s a really good Picmonic video on this called “Principles of Delegation” that helps you remember all the things that LPNs can do versus RNs and what the RNs can delegate to different staff members, like LPNs and nurses aides. So that was the Picmonic, called “Principles of Delegation”. And remember, you can get one free picmonic everyday, even without subscribing, so I would definitely get that one, because they will test you on that stuff on the NCLEX.

 I will say, usually LPNs have more patients than RNs do. Because the RN has a higher level of care, they will usually only have 3-5 patients at a time, whereas LPNs can have more, sometimes 12 or more, which is kinda crazy for me to even think about. I’ve never had more than 6 patients at a time, so the thought of having 12, I mean, I’m assuming that would be like in a nursing home situation, where the main things you’re doing are passing meds and helping them with their daily activities of living, but even so, just the thought of having 12 patients as a nurse is a little intimidating. But yeah, if you think you would rather have fewer patients, but with a higher acuity level, then the RN route would be what you would want to go for, rather than LPN.

 Alright, and then another thing to think about, is that LPNs have fewer options as far as specializations go. Like if you wanted to work in the ICU or work in the operating room, you can’t do that as an LPN. That would be an RN. But as an LPN, you could specialize in wound care, long-term care, hospice, breastfeeding, dialysis, gerontology; there’s a lot you can still specialize in as an LPN, but you just have fewer options than if you were an RN. Also, think about whether or not you picture yourself working in a nursing home. Cause 38% of LPNs work in nursing homes. It’s a big employer for LPNs. So if you don’t really want to work with elderly patients, then becoming an RN would give you more options with a different population. Like if you think you might want to work in pediatrics or labor & delivery, then you might want to go the RN route. 

 Another thing is, because places like clinics, and the places that are open 8 to 5 and closed every weekend and holiday, because those types of places mostly hire LPNs, I think it’s easier as an LPN to get a better work-life balance. So if that’s the kind of schedule that you think would work better for your life, then the LPN route may be better. You would make less money, but if you value work-life balance more than you value the number on your paycheck, then do the LPN. But, the 8-5 schedule isn’t actually best for some people. Some people can only make the night shift work for their schedule. So if you think that’s you, then you should do the RN, cause most of those night shifts are in hospitals. And if you’re working in the hospital, you might as well be getting the pay of an RN, especially if you’re working at night. You’re gonna get the RN base pay, plus the night differential. If you’re working on a weekend night, you’re gonna get that weekend differential. It really adds up. 

 And I will say, I think one of the greatest things about nursing is that you can take it step by step. You know, you can start out as an LPN, then if you want to continue, you can go for your associates RN, then if you want to continue, you can get your bachelor’s degree, then you can continue on for a graduate degree. You can take it as far as you want. And I’m struggling right now to think of another career, another field that gives you that much flexibility and has such a low, mmm, I don’t want to say a low bar, but, it’s pretty easy to get your foot in the door if you start as an LPN. 

 So, yeah, definitely pros and cons for both the LPN and RN route. I say, take some time to picture what you want your life to look like after school, when you’re actually working. But, at the end of the day, there’s really no wrong path to take to get into nursing. Alright you guys, I hope hearing my take on it helps some of you decide what you want to do, whether that’s LPN or RN. Both are great choices. Have a great week, and I’ll talk to you next time!