LPN Licensed Practical Nurse

Licensed Practical Nurse or LPN cares for those who are sick, injured, disabled, and convalescent. A Licensed Practical Nurse generally works under the direction of a Doctor or a Registered Nurse. Often times a Licensed Practical Nurse will supervise one or more Nursing Assistants or Nurse's Aides. As a nursing career, Licensed Practical Nurse falls in the middle between the Nursing Assistant and the Registered Nurse. One way to think of practical nursing is to consider that a LPN generally provides less complicated and more routine patient care in contrast to a Registered Nurse who would perform more complicated functions.

LPN Nursing Career Points:

LPN nursing programs generally last about 1 year and are offered by hospitals, vocational nursing schools, technical schools, community colleges, and junior colleges.
LPN designation is obtained by passing a state board of nursing practical nursing license exam and paying any required fees.
LPN nursing job prospects are currently very good and are expected to grow.

Licensed Practical Nurse At Work

The majority of Licensed Practical Nurses and other nurses work at hospitals. Licensed practical nursing work in a hospital varies by department, shift, nursing care philosophy, and hospital specific procedures. New practical nurses will undergo a nursing orientation period designed to help them learn and understand their daily routines. A few of the well known hospital departments where LPN and other nurses work are the Emergency Room (ER), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Obstetrics & Gynecology, Operating Room (OR), and Outpatient.

In addition to hospitals, Licensed Practical Nurses may also work in private practice medical offices, clinics, surgical centers, emergency medical facilities, and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Nursing Homes and other private and public health facilities may also hire Licensed Practical Nurses, however, remember that state licensing and other factors may limit the LPN role compared to that of a Registered Nurse.

A Licensed Practical Nurse in a hospital or nursing care facility may perform these basic services: Measure and record patient information such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. Dress wounds, monitor catheters, give enemas, injections, collect samples, and perform laboratory tests. Basic bedside patient care to help keep the patient comfortable such as assisting with bathing, moving inside and outside of the bed, and personal hygiene. LPN nurses may feed patients who need help and record food and fluid intake for example. Observations and information gathered by the LPN is generally shared with registered nurses, doctors, and facility staff as needed to best care for the patient.

As with many medical careers, a Licensed Practical Nurse often stands for a long period of time. A 40 hour work week is typical, however, shifts at facilities that require 24 hour care may be split into mornings, days, and nights, with the additional need to fill weekends and holidays. Medical environment hazards include the presence of disease, the use of chemicals, injections, possible radiation exposure, and injury if providing direct patient care to patients who are confused or uncooperative. During times of patient overload at a hospital, for example, workload related stress can also be present for a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Licensed Practical Nurse Requirements

To become a Licensed Practical Nurse, you must complete a state approved Practical Nurse training program, then pass a state sponsored practical nurse licensing exam. Practical nursing programs generally last about 1 year and are offered by vocational nursing schools, technical schools, and community colleges. The applicable license exam for all U.S. states is the NCLEX-PN, which was developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. The NCLEX-PN exam is computer based and covers 4 subject areas: (1) Safe Effective Care Environment, (2) Health Promotion and Maintenance, (3) Psychosocial Integrity, and (4) Physiological Integrity.

Aside from the training requirements, LPN candidates should be caring and sympathetic by nature. In other words, if you are easily agitated by others, Licensed Practical Nurse is not a career for you. Caring for the sick, injured, disabled and convalescent can be emotionally stressful. LPN candidates should not be squeamish and afraid to interact with patients in a medical setting. Good decision making and communication skills are also required given the amount of interaction between the LPN nurse, patients, patients' family, Registered Nurses, Doctors, and other medical facility staff.

Visit your state board of nursing website using the links on our site to obtain the latest information about LPN requirements in your state and neighboring states. Always remember to verify that your Practical Nurse programs is approved by your state, otherwise you may not be able to take the NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

Licensed Practical Nurse Jobs

Licensed Practical Nurse jobs are expected to grow faster than average through 2016 according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Licensed Practical Nurses held approximately 749,000 jobs in 2006, with about 26% of LPN nursing jobs in hospitals, 26% in nursing care facilities, 12% in physician offices, with the remaining LPN nurses working in home health care services, employment services, residential care facilities, community care facilities for the elderly, outpatient care centers, Federal, State, and local government agencies. Approximately 19% of the LPN jobs were part-time positions.

Licensed Practical Nurse median annual earnings was $36,550 as of May 2006. Where you live within the U.S. and the industry for which you work will greatly impact your salary as a LPN. The report from the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that the lowest 10% of LPN nurses earned less than $26,380 while the highest 10% earned more than $50,480. Below is a short list of median annual earnings for LPN nurses by industry.

Employment services $42,110
Nursing care facilities $38,320
Home health care services $37,880
General medical and surgical hospitals $35,000
Offices of physicians $32,710

Licensed Practical Nurse and all nursing careers are somewhat dynamic and constantly changing. Medicine and patient care, for example, continues to improve over time. Health care service providers like most businesses face financial and budgetary constraints alongside state and federal practice guidelines. Healthcare industry changes, state licensure restrictions, LPN work settings, specialties, and emergency medical situations are just examples of ways a Licensed Practical Nurse duties may change. While exploring a career as a Licensed Practical Nurse, we recommend that you talk to LPN nurses currently working at a nearby facility, potential employers, and to search for Licensed Practical Nurse jobs online to review job descriptions and requirements.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupation Outlook Handbook 2008 - 2009 Edition

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