Licensed Practical Nurses and the Nationwide Nurse Shortage
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lpned/



To: US Congress et al., United States Boards of Nursing et al., State Legislators et al., Professional Nursing organizations et al.

From: US Nurses and United States Health Care Consumers

We, the undersigned Nurses and Citizens, implore the United States Congress, United States Boards of Nursing , State Legislators , and Professional Nursing organizations to address the United States Nursing Shortage through legislation to enable the thousands of qualified Licensed Practical Nurses to meet proposed requirements to sit for boards and transition as Registered Nurse. The time has come for our Legislators and Educators to address the considerable resources of the already educated, experienced, and available, LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE. We propose an expedited yet fair and logical solution for change to the educational requirements for transition from LPN to RN based on years of experience and working backgrounds. Thousands of LPN?s are already practicing at a skilled level. States currently have different Scope of Practice Regulations for Licensed Practical Nurses; most of which limit practice in name only, and are composed in such a way that LPN's have the skills and perform the tasks of a "professional nurse", while not being acknowledged or accepted by their RN counterparts . The current trends regarding the Nursing Shortage concentrate on the shortage of educators, the age and upcoming retirement of RN?s, how to retain and prevent current RN?s from leaving the profession, and how to recruit high-school students. Although these issues must be addressed, these solutions involve a lag-time. As the National Council of State Nursing Boards is continously promoting higher education standards for the Nursing Profession; increasing prerequisites for LPN Program admissions, and raising the required pass score for LPN Licensure, they are simultaneously creating and promoting the certification of UNLICENSED personnel. This is illogical. We propose a program be enacted through which experienced LPN?s can be certified in ASSESSMENT, DELEGATION, AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS quickly, and be allowed to sit for RN Licensure. The SCOPE OF PRACTICE needs to be unified nationwide. "ASSESSMENT, DELEGATION, AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS are acquired and sharpened primarily through practice- not from books.
There have been numerous references to patients being safer under the care of an RN than an LPN. Yet no studies have ever proven this. Ever. Thousands of LPN's are performing in acute care settings and are capable in these duties. The Licensed Practical Nurse has thus far been completely ignored in all studies and proposed solutions to the Nursing Crisis. Thousands of LPN?s are currently practicing and contributing, but are being terminated, or replaced by less educated personnel,such as Medical Technicians, Medication Aides, and Dialysis Technicians. We oppose the increased use of and legislation for Unlicensed Personnel in our Hospitals, Clinics and Long Term Care Facilities, and view these practices as contrary to improving the Health Care System in this Country. We believe the practice of utilizing Foreign Nurses, while ignoring commonsense solutions is further evidence of poor decision making. We believe in setting standards and criteria for professional nursing, but also know that no amount of general study courses can replace the years of work experience and job experience that thousands of LPN?s already have. To ignore this vast pool of qualified nurses is an injustice. We believe this solution is a more logical and cost effective way ease the Nursing Shortage and ensure Quality of Care.