Jobs Hot for LPNs

Abington Memorial Hospital, located in Abington, Pennsylvania, recently announced that it will be doing away with 73 licensed practical nursing jobs in early January of next year. The decision to cut the number of LPNs on the hospitals payroll is part of a plan to change the way patients are cared for.

In doing away with these nursing jobs, the hospital hopes to increased registered nurses involvement in patient care. Since RNs have more education and training, they are able to do more for patients without having to be supervised, such as administering medication intravenously. The hospital hopes that, by giving those with RN jobs more direct contact with patients, that they quality of patient care will increase.

Abington Memorial, which was named one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania in December of 2007, currently employees 107 LPNs. The cuts in healthcare jobs are expected to occur in patient care intensive areas of the hospital such as critical care, maternity and telemetry. According to Barbara Wadsworth, the hospital’s chief of nursing, Abington may keep one or two LPNs in the medical-surgical unit. At this time there are 11 LPNs working in this section of the hospital.

Wadsworth says that the need for change was caused by an increase in the number of patients at the hospital, more complex care and shorter hospital stays. According to her, other hospitals that are similar in size to Abington Memorial have already adopted this model.

Jobs for LPNs will continue to be apart of sections in the hospital including hospice and home care, the operating room, the emergency room, and the ob-gyn clinic. Other areas where patient care is less intensive will also continue to employee LPNs. Hospital officials hope to be able to shift many LPNs to these sections of patient care as positions become available. At this time the exact number of individuals who will lose their jobs at Abington Memorial is unknown.