Compare And Contrast The Roles Of Lpn And Rn

The comparing/contrasting of Roles between LPNs and RNs

Brittany S Jones

Medical Prep Institute of Tampa Bay

Abstract

Although both Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses (LPN/LVN) and Registered Nurses (RN) have plenty in common such as caring for patients in the healthcare field whether that’s in a hospital setting, a doctor’s office or private practice, there are several things that differentiate the two as well. These range between education, salary, licenses and certifications, but majorly in the roles and responsibilities they must carry. The lines can be blurred when comparing the two roles, but an expounding on each’s responsibility to bring clarity between them will follow. In this document, there will be an overview of the scope

Although both roles are required to meet certain educational requirements to maintain certifications, the span of schooling is quite different between them. To obtain an LPN license, one would attend schooling for about a year’s length, usually retrieving a certificate after completion. On the contrary, RNs have a broader scope of schooling which extends from attending a nursing program of at least two years receiving an Associate’s Degree to acquiring a Bachelors of Nursing degree, which could take up to an average of four years. LPN education mostly focuses on the practical or “doing” side of nursing while RN education adds in a critical thinking component to its focal point. Therefore, RN education takes a longer time to complete than

Within their scope of practice, LPNs can provide direct care of patients by; taking vitals, charting medical records, monitoring patients, changing wound coverings, collecting specimens, caring for patients who uses assistance to breathe, assisting patients with catheters, performing CPR, performing a nursing care plan given by an RN, caring for patients need assistance with feeding and administering medications except for IV treatment. With that being said, RNs have the additional role of issuing medication intravenously (IV treatment). As mentioned earlier, LPNs operate under the supervision of RNs but on the other hand, RNs mostly work independently but can work under a physician as well. They also can create care plans for the patients, diagnose, admit and discharge patients, with the inclusion of performing BLS, ACLS, and PALS. Whereas LPNs could only make suggestions in reference to the diagnosis and care plans of