The Transition from LPN to RN

A great initial post for this week's discussion. I agree with you it is not acceptable for the RN to ignore the comments. We as nurses have to always make sure our patient's are safe and their needs and wants are met. According to our textbook LPN to RN Transitions, ethics are concerned with determining a right act from a wrong act (Harrington & Terry, 2013, p. 409).

Transitioning from an licensed practical nurse to a registered nurse is of the hardest things I have ever done. Twelve years ago I took my boards and became a licensed practical nurse. Going to school to become an LPN was difficult, but I was not a mother and I did not work full time as I do now. Getting to know the students I attend school with has made me realize that each student’s role transition is different, with unique outlooks and emotional roller coasters. In the following paragraphs I will preview licensed practical nurse to registered nurse role comparisons, my change in

As an acute care nurse practitioner I hope to utilize my experience as an Intensive Care Unit nurse along with clinical knowledge and skills acquired through a graduate level program to provide the highest quality patient care. In my current role, I place high value on patient-family centered care and advocacy as well as commitment to lifelong learning. I have built my nursing career upon these values. I am excited to begin the journey of becoming an acute care nurse practitioner and to further my education and expand my scope of practice in the field of critical care, for which I have already developed a passion.

Over the course of this preceptorship, I have written a few different journals with the nursing process as my topic, the reason for this is because the nursing process is everywhere and has become a part of my day to day life, not just during my different clinicals over these past couple of years, it has spilled over into work, school work assignments, and home life, as well as. I now find myself assessing everything that needs to accomplish throughout my day and developing a plan of action, setting priorities to works towards their completion. Another topic that I feel is very important for a nurse is professionalism and important in developing a trust with the patients in your care, as well as, to earn the respect of your fellow nurses and other members of the hospital staff. Over these past couple years and I have seen that many of the patients and their families look to their

Healthcare systems and the way safe, quality health care is delivered are continually changing to better serve patients and communities. Professional nursing practice is a large component in the healthcare system today. Back in the 1960s, professional nursing leaders tried to adopt the bachelor degree programs as the only educational track to become a registered nurse (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Due to nursing shortages and demands this motive did not hold fast. Individuals entering the nursing profession today must first decide which educational pathway to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

In today’s healthcare system, nursing is a challenging field as a result of rapid technological advances and changes in healthcare policies. As a dedicated nursing professional, with a great passion for learning, I strive to stay on top of these changes. I am determined to increase my knowledge to be an instrumental part of providing quality healthcare. The demands of nursing are high; however the rewards are even higher. Nursing requires both a supreme understanding of the science of health, and a caring bedside manner befitting only those who seek a position of such a personal involvement in the well-being of a patient. Academically, I will put forth all of

The new graduate nurses (NGN) are faced with various issues and challenges especially in their first year of nursing practice. The period of transition from a student to a graduate nurse is a demanding period that is filled with new experiences and there are several concerns and factors that can affect the transition process. The research into the issues has recommended some strategies that can be utilised to ease the transition process from being a student to a professional practicing nurse. Exhaustion, reality shock and time management are some of the factors and issues that the new graduate might encounter during their first year in their career.

With an ever-increasing body of knowledge in the field of nursing, more education is being required to enter the field of nursing. Many healthcare institutions are raising the educational requirements in order to become employed or maintain employment in their facilities. Healthcare organizations are transitioning to hiring registered nurses (RN) who have a higher level of education, such as, a graduate from a Baccalaureate Degree Nursing (BSN) program. The goal of these institutions is to have nurses with a broader array of skills that can meet the growing demands of our patient population. BSN prepared nurses are recognized for their well-rounded skills in critical thinking, management, case management and health promotion versus Associate Degree nurses (ADN)/Diploma nurses that focus on direct patient care.

When you find yourself wondering what is next in life after high school or even if you are in college and have a change in heart, but not everyone is cut out to be a nurse. Knowing what the different nursing degrees will help you in making intelligent choices as to which career path to follow. The differences between RN and LPN, you will notice the degree that suits your needs without regrets. It would be best to learn about the educational requirements, scope of duties, responsibilities and the career paths for both.

Nursing can be a demanding career, but the benefits far much outweigh the challenges. Most importantly, it’s the rewards it offers by allowing an opportunity to make a difference in another person’s life through the provision of care when they need it. Just as Patricia Benner theorized in her book “Novice to Expert,” nursing encompasses both educational knowledge and extensive clinical experience acquired throughout one’s career. This far, I continue to acquire knowledge and clinical knowhow which will promote proper and efficient care to patients. Since I began practicing one year ago in a long-term healthcare facility, I have interacted with patients, families, physicians and other members of the healthcare team to coordinate patient’s care which has enabled me to gain confidence in myself. While I cannot deny that it was difficult to transition from a student to a licensed nurse, I learnt to overcome these challenges and focus on my strengths. Practicing as an LPN has provided a platform to learn and gain experience even though the duties and responsibilities are limited by the scope of practice.

Most nurses decide to take this journey to transition because acute care settings are switching towards an overall RN health care provider, and this makes it harder for the LVN to find a position in the hospital. In my case, transitioning to a role of an RN means becoming more knowledgeable and confident as a nurse, as well as being able to do more for my patients. The expectations are higher of the RN’s even if they have some of the same duties as the LVN’s. In my understanding, the RN’s have to analyze issues even further and use critical thinking to determine what certain conditions are and how they relate to the patient. As an LVN with one year of experience working in home health, I have some experience with situations that require critical

Going back to when I was a novice nurse, I was nervous, scared, afraid of making medication error, charting errors or fail to recognized patients worsening symptoms. These fears, made me vigilant, focused and kept me on my toes at all times. No matter which part of nursing I ended up as I grew up the from medical surgical nursing to stepdown unit nursing to intensive care nursing, I felt those fears in every step of my growth and they helped me be a better nurse for my pateints. Today, I am in the advanced practitioner program to become a nurse practitioner who is responsible for: interviewing, assessing, diagnosing, counseling and treating patients. To provide safe and quality healthcare, I am expected to have good critical thinking and decision making abilities (Maten-Speksnijder, Grypdonck, Pool, & Streumer, 2012). while I can recognize clinically deteriorating patients and recommend treatments, I am now responsible for providing treatments. I am now recognizing that facts about being not only responsible for the patient, but also to provide safe care that keeps the patient out of the hospital and out of the ICU. Knowing these facts, I am yet again, faced with the fears of my limited clinical practice knowledge as a practitioner. The amount of information that I have received and learned during this clinical rotation was both exciting and overwhelming at the same time, because I realized as a novice student nurse practitioner (NP), the limited depth of

Prior entering into RN-BSN program at University of Maryland School of Nursing, my perception about nursing as a profession was that, nursing is about follow doctor’s order and passing medications. But after working and joining this program at UMSON and working at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in the surgical floor about a year now, l could now see that nursing beyond just passing meds rather nursing entailed and focused on delivery quality patient-centered care that individualized to the needs of each patient care. With the knowledge have acquired so far in this class and at my job, my philosophy about nursing has positively changed and improved. One aspect that l learned in this class most, is to be able to advocate to my patient rights

Charlie, it was great to listen to you make appointments and hear your passion and enthusiasm for the RN to BSN program.

Transition is a familiar concept in nursing literature. One well-known theory in nursing used to explain the concept is the Transition Theory (TT). It is a mid-range theory developed by Afaf Meleis during the mid-1980s. It has been applied to the transition of patients who had cardiac surgery, has been used to explore African-American women as they entered into the role of motherhood, and utilized to examine the experiences of immigrants’ transition into a new country (Nursing Theory, 2015). It is appropriate to use the Transition Theory as a theoretical framework to explore the RN-FNP transition. The theory revolves around four major assumptions: 1) Transitions have many dimensions and are often complex; 2) Each transition has an element of