LPN Nursing Jobs

To become a licensed practical nurse potential students are required to complete a LPN program, which takes approximately one year to finish. Students are taught how to take patient’s medical information, take vital signs and to collect lab samples. Depending on the type of facility they work in they may be required to look after newborns and administer medications as well. LPN’s work directly under registered nurses and Doctors and they supervise cna’s and aide’s.

Training courses are taught at community colleges, trade schools and online training courses. A big part of LPN training includes working in a medical facility for a designated amount of time. Each graduate is required by their state to pass the NCLEX-PN exam before they are allowed to gain meaningful employment. Each state’s requirements vary. A license is given to those who pass the exam and they are able to practice what they have learned in a medical facility.

LPN’s are primarily responsible for checking on patients after a physician or RN has seen them initially. Their job description includes lots of rewarding and helpful activities such as making sure immobile patients are rotated regularly so they do not get bedsores. They also make sure that a patient hygienic needs are taken care of and that wounds are properly dressed and changed often. They usually speak to a patient’s family to offer guidance and show family members how to properly care for their ill loved one. This may include teaching them how to administer medication and the appropriate dosage necessary or how to properly dress wounds and change bandages.

Most LPN nursing jobs are in hospitals, nursing homes and clinics in some cases adult day care centers or assisted living facilities as well. Patients see LPN’s on a daily basis and develop bonds with them over time. Unlike other nurses LPN’s are skilled in a variety of medical practices and must be flexible and think on their feet. LPN’s wear many hats that may include filing medical records behind a desk to feeding infants in the nursery room. Each state is different an LPN nursing jobs may require different job duties from other states but the one thing LPN’s have most in common is their close contact with patients.

LPN Nursing Jobs are becoming more and more in demand with the increase in elderly people requiring extended stays in healthcare facilities. The job market is expecting LPN nursing jobs to be in higher demand within the next ten to twenty years due to baby boomers getting older. Most LPN’s earn a salary of 35,000 to 45,000 annually. An increase in salary may occur with years experience and the type of facility they are employed by.

Tags: Jobs, Nursing