LPN Travel Nurse Jobs

Licensed practical nurses or LPNs work under the command of a physician or a registered nurse. In hospitals, their primary focus is more on bed side care, allowing them more contact with the patients.

Licensed practical nurse job description includes monitoring and recording vital signs, taking samples for laboratory tests, administering timely medications, and assisting patients in basic personal tasks like bathing, dressing and even feeding. Some may even help patients in regaining their mobility through prescribed exercise routines. Experienced licensed practical nurses can be trained to operate special equipments and even supervise nursing aides and assistants.

Since they can work in a variety of health care settings in and outside the hospital, the licensed practical nurse job description can also be very diverse. Inside hospitals, they can work in special units like the pediatrics, maternity and the intensive care unit (ICU). Outside the hospital, they can work in nursing home facilities, assisting the elderly with functional disabilities, where they can also be promoted to become nurses-in-charge given experience and extra trainings.

Large corporations may also employ LPNs as their personal staff nurse. They look after employees and workers suffering from minor ailments and injuries. In clinics and doctors’ offices, they also do clerical work like keeping records and setting appointments.

Recuperating patients can also employ LPNs to assist them in their recovery in their homes.

Depending on the laws and regulations of each state, some tasks may not be undertaken by LPNs. For instance, administering drips or IVs may or may not be allowed in some states.

A career in practical nursing requires, first and foremost, a high school diploma. A one year degree program is offered to an interested candidate. This can be taken in a community college or a vocational school. This one year degree program includes theory classes and supervised clinical practice. Basic first aid, nutrition, pharmacology and physiology, to name a few, are some of the subjects taught in the LPN program. The clinical practice is similar to that of an RN, albeit less intensive.

Graduates are required to take the licensure exam for practical nurses before officially becoming a licensed practical nurse.

For more in depth discussion on LPN, follow this link: LPN Career