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Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.
Also Known As:
Charge Nurse
Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN)
Clinic Nurse
Home Health Licensed Practical Nurse (Home Health LPN)
Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
Office Nurse
Pediatric LPN (Pediatric Licensed Practical Nurse)
Private Duty Nurse
Radiation Oncology Nurse
Triage LPN (Triage Licensed Practical Nurse)
Wages
Annual wages for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
674,700
3% Change From 2023
Explore Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Wash and dress bodies of deceased persons.
- Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
- Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
- Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
- Apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles.
- Record food and fluid intake and output.
- Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.
- Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
- Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
- Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.
- Clean rooms and make beds.
- Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
- Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
- Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
- Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
- Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
- Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.
- Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
- Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
- Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
- Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")