A licensed practical nurse (LPN) and a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) are one and the same profession. LPNs and LVNs assist Registered nurses in caring for patients who are sick, injured or disabled. LPNs perform many nursing functions such as giving medications, assisting with procedures and helping to monitor a patient’s daily condition. LPNs can find themselves working in hospitals, doctors’ private clinics, nursing care facilities, home health care agencies, mental health facilities, convalescent homes and other health facilities.
If a career in nursing sounds interesting to you, use these tips to train for the nursing profession and find LPN jobs. You can begin by enrolling in one of the many accredited online nursing schools out there and earning your nursing degree.
Job Responsibilities
As a license practical nurse, you will perform many nursing functions under the guidance of the doctor and Registered Nurse (RN). You may even have a certified nurse’s assistant to assist you with your patients’ personal care needs. Here are some of the job responsibilities of LPNs:
- Take a patient’s medical history.
- Take vital signs such as body temperature, pulse rate, oxygen levels and blood pressure.
- Measure a patient’s height and weight.
- Collect samples from patients for laboratory exams.
- Insert Intravenous lines and start saline drips.
- Administer oral, topical medications and give injections.
- Perform wound and surgical incision care and dressing changes.
- Help patients bathe, brush their teeth and perform other personal hygiene tasks.
- Provide health and disease education to patients and family’s i.e. diabetic teaching.
- Communication of patient status with doctors, registered nurses and other members of the health care team.
- Supervise nursing aides.
- Assist the Registered Nurse in her duties.
Skills Needed
LPNs need to have a high degree of professionalism in their daily work and be able to work with a variety of personality types in stressful settings. You should be very comfortable working closely with people and have qualities such as attention to detail, empathy, patience and good communication skills. Good math skills are necessary for properly calculating dosages of medications. You will also need good penmanship or computer skills for documentation. Above all, you should be ready to do shift work from 8 to 12 hours and work nights and weekends.
Education and Training
- Start early. In high school, focus your studies on math and science. It is also helpful in high school if you perform some volunteer work at a hospital or convalescent hospital.
- Enter a training program. After graduation from high school you will need to find a vocational nursing program that is accredited for licensing in your state. You may even be accepted into a program if you passed a General Educational Development (GED) program. You can find a variety of training schools that offer LPN courses. The programs can run from one to two years. Some courses that you will take are anatomy, chemistry, physiology, pharmacology, patient care and more. There are schools that offer both day and night classes and schools that allow you to take parts of their program online. LPN training programs are offered at junior or community colleges, technical, trade or vocational school and some hospitals. Visit the Web site of The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) to search for an accredited LPN program near you.
- Complete clinical hours. Once you finish the academic side of your LPN program, you will need to complete your clinical hours working with patients. In this supervised setting, the candidate learns the different tasks performed by an LPN. This includes taking vital signs, giving injections, feeding patients and more. Some if not most programs integrate the clinical hours with the academic portion so you can better apply what you are learning.
- Get your nursing diploma. Once you complete your LPN training and receive your nursing diploma, you need to pass the nursing board exam for your state in order to receive your nursing license. The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) is administered by individual states. Application procedures, requirements and fees may differ from state to state.
Job Opportunities
LPNs work in acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, convalescent hospitals, retirement homes, doctors offices and surgical and rehabilitation centers. LPNs with experience can even work in home health care and for insurance companies. For your first job, you will need to be in an acute care setting for at least a year before being hired in other settings. This way you get plenty of experience with different situations as an LPN.
Salary and Job Growth
The starting salary for most LPNs is around $14.00 to $16.00 per hour depending on the state in which you work and the facility. Average LPN salaries for experienced nurses are about $38,000 to $40,000 per year and salaries can reach as high as $48,000 per year.
With the expansion of long-term care facilities, the need for more nurses is expected to grow 21% by the year 2018. Also, LPNs can grow within the nursing field by taking additional classes to become a Registered Nurse.
A career as an LPN can be very rewarding and put you in line for great opportunities. You will have the benefit of working closely with patients and helping them recover from illness while teaching them about good nutrition and health practices.
If working as an LPN sounds like the perfect career path for you, start looking for an LPN program and begin your path to a brighter future!