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AFSCME Commissions Study on the Value of LPNs
 Alarmed by the growing trend in acute care to reduce or eliminate LPNs from hospital settings, AFSCME has contracted with the University of Oregon to conduct a study on the role of LPNs in hospitals. The goal is to identify and emphasize the critical role of LPNs as valued members of the health care delivery team.
To date, almost all studies on health care workers have focused on registered nurses, with little data on what LPNs do and the contributions they make to improving the quality of patient care. Without supporting research, it can be difficult to prove that replacing LPNs with a RN-CNA mix would be detrimental to patient care.
The research team is led by Dr. Gordon Lafer, who authored “Solving the Nursing Shortage: Best and Worst Practices for Recruiting, Retaining and Recouping of Hospital Nurses.” That study, which focused on RNs, was commissioned by AFSCME in 2003.
The report will be released at the 11th UNA-AFSCME National Nurse Congress this May.
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