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Licensed Practical Nurse

Licensed practical nurses (LPNs), known as licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) in Texas and California, provide bedside care to patients and perform a variety of other nursing duties. Under direct supervision of registered nurses and physicians, LPNs assume the responsibilities of taking vital signs, observing patients and seeing to their comfort, collecting specimens for laboratory tests, administering medications, dressing wounds, starting IVs, and in some cases supervising nursing aides or assistants. Depending upon place of employment, some licensed practical nurses perform clerical or administrative duties.

The majority of licensed practical nurses are employed by large multi-bed facilities like hospitals and nursing homes. In 1994, 40% of LPNs worked in hospitals, 25% worked in nursing homes and 10% worked in doctor's offices and clinics. Government agencies and home health care agencies are other common places in which to find employment. Although 40-hour work weeks are typical, the nine-to-five work day is not. Patients in large facilities especially require around-the-clock monitoring by LPNs and other health care personnel.

Entrance to a practical nurse training program may or may not require a high school diploma, although a diploma is definitely recommended. Of the close to 1,100 state-approved training programs in 1993, most were through vocation-technical schools and community or junior colleges. After a one-year training program, graduates must pass a licensing examination to earn the title of licensed practical nurse.