Earn an LPN Certificate and Your Vocational Options Become Vast
It only takes about one year of schooling to become a Licensed Practical Nurse, or LPN, and then your LPN salary will become equitable, your newfound skills widely sought, and options to continue on in the field of nursing will be at your fingertips.
To enlist in an LPN program, one of many such programs that’s widespread at different training sites throughout the U.S. or accessible online, all one needs is to be is at least 18 years of age and possess no less than a high school diploma or a GED.
LPN classes routinely are held at high schools, technical schools, vocational schools, community colleges, junior colleges, and hospitals, although the number of potential nurses taking LPN courses over the Web is growing steadily and shows no signs of slowing down. LPN classes take place both in classrooms—or in the homes of individuals in the case of online students—and in the field, often in hospitals, under the tutelage of a Registered Nurse (RN) or a doctor.
LPN pay differs markedly depending on the type of work environment one chooses and where in the country any LPN decides to work. For example, according to Indeed.com, LPNs who worked in the generic Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN, the same as LPNs, yet called LVNs in Texas and California,)-LPN field, earned a median annual salary of $55,000 in mid-January 2012. In contrast, the same table of information depicts that LPN clinical nurses receive an annual salary of $41,000.
Geographically speaking, according to a 2009 posting on the Web site LPN123, the highest median LPN salaries were paid in the amount of $48,000 per year is the state of Massachusetts and dropped as low as $24,940 in the state of Georgia.
There are Many Differences between an LPN and an RN
LPN vs. RN is a question which often surfaces when speaking of health care, though in reality their authorized roles are quite different. A major difference between LPN and RN duties is that an RN, the beneficiary of much advanced education beyond that received by an LPN, has more authority to perform and approve a broader number of tasks than does the LPN.
As a general rule, LPN duties find the LPN working under the supervision of RNs and doctors. In most cases, LPNs work more closely with patients than do RNs and doctors and get to know many patients on an intimate one-on-one level. Because of their close relationship with patients, a common responsibility for an LPN is to take notice of any significant health changes in the patient and immediately report such changes to the appropriate RN or doctor.
The responsibilities of an RN far exceed those of an LPN. A small sample of duties an RN is trained to perform include educating patients about their medical condition, providing advice and emotional counsel to the family members of a patient, educating family about how to care for their sick loved one, operating medical machinery, performing and analyzing diagnostic tests, administering medications, maintaining intravenous (IV) lines, administering therapies and treatments, and more.
Unless specifically instructed by an RN or doctor to do so, an LPN is not authorized to perform any of the aforementioned tasks.
Whether LPN classes are taken in high schools, technical schools, vocational schools, community colleges, junior colleges, or in hospitals, all LPN schools, including those offering classes over the Internet, train their LPN students for the ultimate achievement of passing the nationally mandated NCLEX-PN licensure exam. It’s only after passing this exam following about one year of mixed classroom (at home for online students,) and in-the field studies, often under the supervision of an RN or doctor in a hospital, that the student can become a certified Licensed Practical Nurse.
LPN Graduates Emerge from One year of School with Marketable Skills
With the median age of U.S. citizens growing older because of improved medical advancements and the aging of the Baby Boomer generation, LPN jobs are becoming more and more plentiful and the stability of the LPN job market looking brighter at all times.
In 2008 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were more than 750,000 LPNs actively working in the U.S., and projected the need for LPNs would increase 21 percent by the year 2018.
The logical question many have before they take the leap into a career as an LPN, a position which can be a steppingstone for anyone interested in advancing their education to become an RN, psychiatric technician, or occupational therapist assistant, is what does an LPN do?
Quality LPNs should feel compassion for their patients and be well-versed in communication skills. While working alongside RNs and doctors, who in most cases will be their supervisors, LPNs will be trained to perform a variety of tasks working toward an end-result of best meeting the needs of a patient or patients assigned to their care. That will be the case whether the patient is ill, disabled, convalescing, or injured.
Specific duties assigned to an LPN vary in accordance to the setting where they work, and yet common duties include the collection of samples for testing; measuring vital signs such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiration; preparing and giving injections and enemas; and dressing wounds.
Anyone interested in pursuing a career as an LPN or considering the possibility of such, simply needs to go online to discover all types of LPN data including the availability of jobs anywhere in the U.S., who pays how much and where, and more particulars of what’s required of a Licensed Practical Nurse.
