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The Licensed Practical Nurse has been a valuable member of the healthcare team for a long time. The LPN career position is kind of between the Certifiied Nursing Assistant (CNA) and the Registered Nurse (RN). The LPN can do more than what a CNA can do, but not as much as what a RN can do. The certified nursing assistant can become certified after 75 hours of training. Usually, the LPN needs to go to school for about one year. The RN can obtain a degree in two or three years. A majority of resources will provide positive information on how this is a very good career, in just about every category. As true as that may be, there is enough concern being voiced over the job security of the licensed practical nurse career position. There has been concern over the past 20 or 30 years and there continues to be some concern about the hiring practices of some medical institutions. Some medical facility administrations would prefer to hire the lower-paid certified nursing assistants and have them do as many of the duties that a LPN could do. The registered nurses can pick up whatever duties that the CNA cannot do. It is a business, cost-saving decision in very difficult economic times. As positive as we would like to be about this career, we know how difficult it is to go to school and not find a job for what you went to school for. According to the statistics, there are over 700,000 LPNs on the job so that is VERY encouraging. If you talk to many of them, they love their job. However, unlike certified nursing assistants and registered nurses, there is a little more of a job security risk with becoming a LPN.
There is a very good Pro and Con article that may help give some explantation at:
http://www.nursetogether.com/tabid/102/itemid/1885/What-is-the-Future-of-LPN-Programs.aspx
Another interesting "thread" can be found at the following address:
http://www.allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner/future-of-lpn-484951.html
The job tasks of a LPN can vary greatly at the specific institution that employs them. So much really depends on the medical facility. Although an LPN's certification will not allow them to do everything an RN can do, they can do a lot of the duties that RNs can do. LPNs can do just about everything a certified nursing assistant can do and the LPN will do those tasks if there are not many nursing assistants employed at the medical facility. LPNs are known to be caregivers while the RNs do more administrative duties. Here are some typical LPN duties that vary per state and medical institution:
The LPN will be working with people who are sick, hurt and dying. This means that the LPN will need to have the right attitude for this job. The LPN will need to have patience and the ability to have compassion for their fellow human beings. This can be a very rewarding job, but it can be a very stressful one, too.
Students need to graduate from a state-approved licensed practical nurse program. This can be from a vocational school, community college, or a university. Usually, the training takes about one year. After the completion of the program, the students will need to take a national licensing examination that is administered by the states.
The wage for LPN will depend on a number of factors, but the average annual salary for an LPN is around $35,000. Like a majority of jobs within the health industry, if you get a full-time job, it is likely that you will get a very good benefit package, especially if you are employed by a hospital.
Indeed.com job website features a web page that allows you to type in the name of your career and Indeed.com will search its job postings. An average of the salaries for that job within Indeed's job postings will be presented. This gives a more up-to-date view of what employers are paying LPN's. The website page is located at http://www.indeed.com/salary. Just type in LPN or you can type licensed practical nurse.
For more information, please contact the National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Services at http://www.napnes.org/
1940 Duke Street
Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-933-1003
CityTownInfo.com has a very good LPN career profile at: http://www.citytowninfo.com/employment/lpns
ExploreHealthCareers.org has a good overview of a Licensed/Vocational Practical Nurse at:
http://www.explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/22/VocationalLicensed_Practical_Nurse
Nursing Grants and SCHOLARSHIPS: The College and Career Library provides a list of nursing scholarships at http://www.booksinformationandmore.com/nursingscholarships.html.
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