Licensed Practical Nurse

Licensed Practical Nurses are also known as Licensed Vocational Nurses in some places. Their job is to care for the sick and injured or for the recovering or permanently disabled. LPN’s work under the supervision of doctors, surgeons, and registered nurses. They can also assist in physical and occupational therapies when trained. Each state and job setting has limits on the scope of practice and the amount of supervision required. Duties would be different in a hospital for instance, instead of a long term care facility, or a manufacturing facility as a plant nurse.

The nurse you will see at a patient’s bedside checking vitals, giving bed baths, assisting in toileting and ambulation will most likely be an LPN. They are the work horses, so to speak of direct care. An LPN can prepare and give injections, do catheterization, give enemas, dress wounds and give massages and baths. Many of them love the personal contact and interaction with their patients. Because the work can be so intense, however, there is a great degree of burnout in the field. There is also a great number of LPN’s who continue education moving on to RN or BSN while working in the field. Experienced LPN’s can supervise nursing assistants and aids, medication aids and personal care attendants.

Nursing is a field with an open outlook for employment. Most training programs can be completed in one to two years at a vocational or technical school or at a community college. Depending on the type of facility or agency the LPN wants to work for, the prospects are very good. Some fields have more openings than others. There are also constant openings when workers leave the field permanently.

LPN to RN

There are many motivating factors for an LPN to advance to an RN. One thing to consider is that in making that step a nurse can raise their annual income by about $15,000. Another positive factor is that with online training, an LPN can continue working and still fit the additional course work into a busy life. The costs of online nursing schools are usually 50% less than a traditional university. There are no waiting lists and the training is self paced. An LPN who continues working while getting advanced training does not lose a job, or tenure in that job while gaining the benefits of being able to do more treatments and opening up the possibility of promotion into nurse management or specialization. The nursing experience becomes much more rewarding.

The path from LPN to RN involves either achieving an ADN or BSN. Either of these courses will allow you to take the national certification (NCLEX-RN). There is also the option of going for a Master’s of Science in Nursing, which has added benefits. The ADN is an associate degree, or two year equivalent, while the BSN is a bachelor’s degree. The BSN is the minimum requirement for consideration in nurse management and certain other specializations. It is the four year degree for nursing and is the middle ground in the advanced RN degree path.