Medical Assisting Career
— and Related Allied Health Care Professional Disciplines

Licensed Practical Nurse's Career Choices

Licensed Practical Nurse

Most Licensed Practical Nurses and, or LVN provide basic bedside care and take vital signs. They also prepare and give injections and enemas, monitor catheters, apply dressings, treat bedsores and give alcohol rubs and massages. These nurses monitor their patients and report adverse reactions to medications or treatments. They collect samples for testing, perform routine laboratory tests, feed patients and record food and fluid intake and output. To help keep patients comfortable, LPNs/LVNs assist with bathing, dressing and personal hygiene.

Nursing is a great field but it also has its challenges and hazards, especially in hospitals, nursing care facilities and clinics, since nurses may care for individuals with infectious diseases. They often must deal with the stress of heavy workloads and cope with situations where patients under their care may be confused, irrational, agitated, or uncooperative.

Read: Chosing LPN or Medical Assisting?

Licensed Practical Nurse Job Description:

LPNs/ LVNs work under the direction of physicians and registered nurses. Most are employed in hospitals and nursing care facilities and work a 40-hour week, but because patients need around-the-clock care, some work nights, weekends and holidays. They often stand for long periods and help patients move in bed, stand, or walk. In States where the law allows, they may administer prescribed medicines or start intravenous fluids. Some LPNs/ LVNs help deliver, care for and feed infants. Training lasting about 1 year is available in about 1,100 State-approved programs, mostly in vocational or technical schools. A step up from LPN is the RN (registered nurse).

LPN, LVN Job Summary

Earnings
Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of licensed practical nurses in May 2006 were:

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

Education: High School, postsecondary vocational award (diploma).
Employed: 702,000

Openings: Applicants for jobs in hospitals may face competition as the number of hospital jobs for LPNs/ LVNs declines. An increasing proportion of procedures, which once were performed only in hospitals, is being performed in physician's offices by medical assistants and in outpatient care centers such as ambulatory surgical and emergency medical centers, due largely to advances in technology.

Projected Growth: 10% to 20%
Earnings: $26,430 to $37,050 (median annual)

Find a School: Schools by State

More Information: U.S. Department of Labor