The education level of nurses: the general trends

1 Did you enter the nursing profession with a degree in other fields? What was your last degree in? I think many people who enter nursing with a second degree; nursing is one of the most popular careers for people who are considering a second career.

Digressing, has anyone noticed how the boundary line between what an RPN can do and what an RN is allowed to do is becoming "blurred". Just few weeks ago, I found out that in college RPNs are taught more skills than RNs. That surprises me.
I had a degree in education before pursuing my BSN. As far as RPN is concerned, is that the same thing as an LPN? In my state LPN's are not allowed to do anything beyond the scope of a tech. I don't know what they are taught, they may be taught the same skills as RN's, but it wouldn't matter they couldn't practice them. The benefit of a BSN degree though is not in the skill set it is in the knowledge of the body and the why behind the actions that is the value. At least that is what they kept telling me!Edited: Ok so I googled RPN and apparently it is a "community college graduate". With that in mind I would have to say the scope of practice of ADN's and BSN's is the same in the US as they hold the same licensure. There are differences though. In my current area, hospitals are doing away with hiring ADN's because of trying to attain or keep "Magnet Status". Also, ADNs are not eligible for management positions. My BSN program had classes such as Ethics, Leadership and Management, Research, and other courses like these that were additional courses offered in ADN programs. I was told by friends of mine in ADN programs that they did not receive the same level of science education as we did. They did not even have pathophysiology courses and were regretful of that. So that is another difference between programs at least in my area. As far as I can tell though, most nurses are pretty equal once they have had some time on the floor.

what is RPN? LPN?LPNs go to technical school which is far different from a university. no way are they being taugh "more" in one year of technical school than someone learns in 4 years at a university.anyone who says they are must be an LPN?? i also had a degree in education prior to nursing.

At first I thought the OP was referring to LPN's. But then I thought perhaps she was talking about RN's with an Associate degree. Maybe the OP can clarify.

The OP is from on Ontario. Our PNs are called Registered Practical Nurses. Our college programs are two years long and we can have a fairly wide scope of practice.We can't push IV meds, hang blood or go into management.We don't have Associate degrees.It's not that we are taught more skills than the RNs but RPNs get more clinical hours and tend to come out with more hands on skills.

Quote from robinellias far as rpn is concerned, is that the same thing as an lpn?

Yes but there are differences from area to area as to education and scope of practice.They call them LPNs in the rest of Canada as well.

In my area, LPN's do the same science requirements that the ADN's do- A&P I and II plus Microbiology- but the LPN's exit the program after the second round of medsurg- that's before the abnormal peds and ob, mental health, and our final medsurg/ leadership and management course.I continued on with the ADN program. But as far as technical skills were concerned, I felt more like a nurse at the LPN level than I did after all the specialty courses. We barely touched anyone in peds or ob and not at all in mental health so when the final med surg came around and we were thrown back into the hospital, I felt like I hadn't retained much. I can see where an someone exiting at the LPN level would, at first, seem to have more skills than someone exiting at the ADN level as a new grad (if they didn't work while in school.)

Quote from minnymianyone who says they are must be an lpn?? i also had a degree in education prior to nursing.

My previous degrees were in sociology and education. I'm a LPN student. Our course is very similiar to ADN's in terms of clinicals. Med surg 1-4, maternity and nursing leadership. They just take more electives than we do. Im curious if they do different things in clinicals than we do. Interesting.As for tasks, some states clearly outline what LPN's can and can't do. Then there are stories I hear of LPN's doing the exact same job as RN's, they just are paid less. So who really knows. I guess it depends where you live and work.

Quote from tothepointeLVNConsidering that you've been on Allnurses for about 21 days and you've gone out of your way to start threads insulting LPN/LVN's I'm going to take THAT with a grain of salt. Did you teach punctuation and bullying when you were a teacher? My previous degree was in Fashion Design with an emphasis on Apparel Manufacturing.

I'm in Alberta, Canada. An RPN here is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse, which the last time I looked was a 2.5 year College diploma (but it's supposed to be going the degree route soon).LPNs (or RPNs if in Ontario, waves at Lori) are educated using the old diploma RN programme. Basically when the BScN was introduced in Canada back in the 1970s, it was to create a management route for RNs. The BScNs were to go into management roles and not work at the bedside. Flash forward 40 odd years and in Canada the LPN has evolved into the bedside nurse. The scope of practice is constantly being increased, perhaps in part to get the government the most value for their healthcare dollar. A top line RN is worth $41/hour as opposed to a senior LPNs $31/hr. Considering how few iv push meds are on most surgical floors and blood requires two nurses of to hang, many units are running with two RNs (Charge and relief) and six LPNs. It's a myth that safe care can only be obtained from an RN. Sorry CARNA but it's true. There are just as many "iffy" RNs as LPNs out there.Oh, and yes I have a degree in a totally unrelated field. I've worked with LPNs who have had degrees in education, marine biology, and liberal arts. Their degrees weren't recognized by the local universities for admission in to their nursing programmes, so they chose to go the PN route.

Quote from Fiona59It's a myth that safe care can only be obtained from an RN. Sorry CARNA but it's true. There are just as many "iffy" RNs as LPNs out there.