Becoming an LPN is a great way to get into the nursing field. However, before you start your journey, it is essential to see who hires nurses so you can make better plans for your future. Numerous healthcare settings rely on the skills and knowledge of LPNs. This article will help you learn more about who hires them, their role, and how to become one so you can start your new career.

What Does a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Do?

As an LPN, you are part of a comprehensive team of medical professionals who provide diverse care to your patients. LPNs often complete common tasks, regardless of the setting.

As an LPN, you may conduct patient assessments, measure their vital signs, and review medical histories. You will observe patients and report your findings to the doctor or RN on duty. It is expected to administer medications, including oral, injectable, topical, and IV medicines. Wound care and monitoring wounds are everyday LPN tasks, too.

You might provide patient education or help a patient’s family understand treatments and conditions. LPNs often help patients with daily activities, including grooming, toileting, bathing, dressing, and mobility. Some administrative duties like answering phones and scheduling appointments are also possible, primarily if you work at a small clinic or office.

Where Are LPNs Most Likely to be Hired?

LPNs are employed in a variety of healthcare settings. Your duties might differ depending on the facility type and staff you work with.

Doctor’s Offices

You will usually report to a registered nurse in a doctor’s office; if the office is small, you may report directly to the doctor. You will manage patient care, including basic health assessments, taking a patient’s vital signs, and helping with examinations. You might also give injections and vaccinations and collect samples for lab tests.

Hospitals

If you work in a hospital, a registered nurse is often your supervisor. You will help with primary patient care, such as feeding, mobility, and personal hygiene. It is common for the LPN to monitor patients and report to the RN if there are any changes. Assisting with clinical procedures, helping with diagnostic tests, and doing documentation are also everyday LPN tasks.

Clinics

As an LPN working in a clinic, you will work alongside doctors and other nurses. You will help prepare patients for examinations, record their medical histories, and take their vital signs. Patient education and assisting with clinical procedures are also things that LPNs often do in a clinic. Sometimes, you might support the office staff by helping with appointment scheduling, updating patient records, and other administrative tasks.

Urgent Care

Those working in urgent care will report directly to more advanced nurses and doctors. You will help with patient triage and take their vital signs when they arrive at the facility. LPNs often help monitor patients, observe and document procedures, and provide support to other healthcare staff as they treat patients.

Assisted Living

An LPN will coordinate with other healthcare professionals to help ensure complete care for the patients. This includes other nurses, doctors, and professionals such as respiratory and physical therapists.

You will perform regular health assessments and take patient’s vital signs. You will also help them with their activities of daily living and administer medications. LPNs may aid with managing catheters, wound care, and other basic medical treatments.

Home Health Agencies

If you choose to work for a home health agency, you will usually have a supervisor to whom you report directly. When you visit your patients, you will conduct assessments and take their vital signs. You may also administer their medications and perform any necessary wound care. Providing education to your patients and their families is also a common task.

How Do You Become an LPN?

The average LPN program takes 1 to 2 years. Once you complete your schooling, you must pass your licensure examination before you can seek employment.

Attend a Vocational College

An LPN program at a vocational school provides the education to prepare you for the licensure examination and work as an LPN. Classroom instruction focuses on nursing theory, physiology, medical terminology, anatomy, and pharmacology. You get hands-on training a lab to learn and practice LPN skills, including wound care, patient hygiene, medication administration, collecting laboratory specimens, performing a patient assessment, and getting vital signs.

Part of the program includes completing clinical hours where you work in healthcare facilities alongside staff to gain practical experience. Vocational schools provide you with an externship for more real-world experience working under the supervision of an experienced LPN.

Complete the NCLEX-PN Exam

To become licensed as an LPN, you must pass the NCLEX-PN exam. This standardized exam will thoroughly assess your skills, abilities, and knowledge. The exam focuses on multiple areas of nursing, including health promotion and maintenance, physiological integrity, promoting a safe and effective care environment, and psychosocial integrity.

Career Services

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ College offers career services to help you find employment after graduating from the LPN program and passing your licensure examination. We allow you to develop effective job search strategies and hone your interview skills. These services offer networking opportunities and assist you in creating a professional cover letter and resume. You will also get help finding legitimate job listings and schedule one-on-one career counseling sessions to increase your chances of finding the job that best suits your preferences as a new LPN.

Final Thoughts

As an LPN, you have a wealth of opportunities. Exactly where you can work will depend on which types of facilities are operating and utilizing the skills of LPNs. However, once you have your license, numerous doors open, allowing you to decide how to start your journey and enjoy your new career.

Practical Nursing Program

The at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute provides training to prepare you to enter the nursing profession as an LPN. After graduating from the Nursing diploma program and successfully passing the NCLEX-PN licensure exam, you will further your career to become a licensed practical nurse.

today to learn more about becoming an LPN at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute.

Did you know that you can become a registered nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse (LPN) in two years or less depending on how much time you can commit to schooling? Either program brings you a step closer to your career goals. There’s no wrong way to be a nurse, the important part is to get started. Let’s explore your choices.

What Does an LPN Do?

LPNs provide basic bedside care. Their responsibilities include:

Assisting with Activities of Daily Living

Practical nurses help patients eat, bathe, dress, groom and eliminate, performing personal care while making clinical observations about their physical, emotional, and cognitive status.

Taking Vital Signs

LPNs are entrusted to take vital signs, measurements of temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and respirations that reflect a patient’s health.

Monitoring Intake and Output

How much people eat and drink has a significant impact on their health. Practical nurses measure intake and output to monitor fluid and calorie balance.

Administering Medications

LPNs administer low-risk oral, injectable, topical, and inhaled medications, monitoring patients for adverse effects.

Wound Care

Practical nurses clean wounds, apply dressings and change bandages, monitoring patients for signs of infection or healing.

Collecting Biological Samples

LPNs collect urine, sputum, and stool samples for laboratory analysis, using techniques that prevent contamination and ensure valid results.

Inserting Urinary Catheters

When a patient can’t urinate, a common chronic and post-surgical problem, practical nurses insert urinary catheters to drain urine from the bladder.

Changing Ostomy Appliances

Debilitated patients who have ostomies for elimination rely on practical nurses for help changing them. You’ll remove the bag, monitor the skin at the adhesive site and fit a new appliance when needed.

Giving Tube Feedings

Patients with gastrointestinal disorders may require liquid nutrition through a gastric tube. A risk for aspiration, tube feedings require the skill of a nurse to administer.

Assessing for Pain

Pain plays a critical role in how fast patients get back on their feet after an illness or injury. If discomfort affects their mobility, they can’t participate in therapeutic exercises. Practical nurses assess pain through verbal screening and observation, administering analgesics when necessary.

Protecting Skin Integrity

Skin ulcers are a consequence of immobility and poor nutrition. Practical nurses help bedridden or chair-bound patients eat better and change positions more often to improve circulation.

Assisting with Therapeutic Exercises

Physical and occupational therapists prescribe exercises to keep patients fit. Practical nurses assist with range-of-motion and conditioning plans that improve stamina and enhance flexibility.

Managing Medical Equipment

Practical nurses manage medical equipment from oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and CPAP devices to mobility aids, like walkers and wheelchairs.

Providing Emotional Support

A nurse’s hand is often the only hand a patient has to hold. Practical nurses are not only caregivers, but they’re also friends, providing emotional support when the family isn’t near.

Educating Patients and Families

Patients and their families require a lot of teaching when it comes to diagnoses and treatments, knowledge and a good support system can be the difference between success and failure. Practical nurses serve as frontline educators, helping them better understand the doctor’s recommendations.

Supervising Paraprofessional Staff

Patients have an entire team of paraprofessionals, such as nursing and dietary assistants, on their side. Practical nurses ensure they’re following the care plan.

Documenting Care

Documentation takes time away from patients, but it’s crucial for the continuity of care. You’ll record changes in their condition and the care you provide each shift.

What Does an RN Do?

Registered nurses do everything practical nurses do plus high-risk technical tasks beyond a practical nurse’s scope of practice. They manage sicker patients with more complicated needs while assuming most care planning, education, and supervisory duties. Their work includes:

Patient Assessment

Practical nurses gather data, registered nurses decide what to do with it. Using their clinical expertise, they assess patients for responses to treatment and changes in condition.

Care Planning

RNs create care plans, blueprints for nursing care that include interventions and goals. An action plan, it helps nurses provide consistent, around-the-clock care.

Administering Intravenous Medications

In many states, only registered nurses can handle some parts of intravenous therapy due to the risks. Examples include initiating new medications, giving blood transfusions and total parental nutrition (TPN), IV nutrients that bypass the GI tract. Once established, practical nurses may assist with treatments.

Delegation and Supervision

In facilities where both RNs and LPNs are working, registered nurses take the lead. They delegate straightforward tasks to practical nurses while tackling tougher cases.

Practical nurses, for example, can handle minor wound care, while RNs manage deep wounds at risk for complications. Registered nurses, however, are responsible for the outcome of what LPNs under their supervision do, so trust and supervision are necessary.

Education

All nurses are educators. However, RNs have more training, so they’re better prepared to teach patients how to self-manage their illnesses. Registered nurses hold positions as patient navigators, case managers and disease-education specialists.

Management

Registered nurses serve as floor supervisors, unit managers and department leaders, rising through the ranks with experience and continuing education.

What Are the Main Differences between the LPN and RN Roles?

RNs and LPNs are both state-licensed professional nurses, but each has a different role. An LPN provides intermediate bedside care for stable patients who require medical supervision but not acute care. RNs perform more complex nursing tasks plus patient assessment and care planning. Practically speaking, however, the job descriptions are similar.

You’ll find RNs and LPNs working side-by-side with the same patients and doing many of the same tasks, but RNs are better educated. Responsible for the outcome of nursing care, they assume a supervisory role, delegating tasks with predictable outcomes, such as assisting with daily activities, to nursing assistants and practical nurses.

LPNs can work in acute care environments. Contrary to rumors, practical nurses are not being phased out of hospitals. While there’s a nationwide effort to hire more RNs, LPNs fill a valuable niche as bedside nurses as registered nurses assume increasingly complex technical tasks and managerial responsibilities.

Conversely, practical nurses are the primary caregivers in long-term care facilities. RNs offer distance supervision, filling mostly managerial and leadership roles. LPNs work on the floor and serve as charge nurses, directing daily care.

Ultimately, both RNs and LPNs are autonomous caregivers with skills their patients rely on. And though their responsibilities vary, each role offers nurses an opportunity to spread their wings. The differences allow nurses to choose their own path.

Is it Faster to Become an LPN or RN?

You may have guessed by now, but it takes longer to become an RN than an LPN. Practical nurses need at least a diploma, programs take about a year to complete. It takes two or more years to become a registered nurse, you need an associate degree or higher.

RNs with a bachelor’s or master’s degree qualify for greater responsibility than associate-educated RNs, but they hold the same professional license. States set the licensure requirements for nurses, so students get the same core training regardless of the length of the program.

How Do You Become an LPN or RN?

Registered nurses can get their degree from a university, college or vocational school. Some universities offer practical nursing degrees, but most students opt for diploma programs. Cost-effective and lifestyle-friendly, vocational school training is fast becoming the education option of choice for both registered and licensed practical nurses. The benefits can’t be ignored.

The Benefits of a Vocational School Program

There are many benefits to attending a vocational school. These benefits include:

Fast Training

Vocational training is quick but comprehensive. Accelerated programs can be intense, but you’ll be out of the classroom and into the field faster, earning money and gaining experience.

Flexible Schedules

Vocational schools specialize in the needs of adult learners. They know how hard it is to hold down a job and go to school, so they offer flexible schedules and hybrid learning options when possible.

Seasoned Instructors

Vocational school instructors are hired straight out of the field. The goal is to give students the most insight possible into the nursing industry during the short time they’re enrolled. You’ll learn from people who’ve been there and know how to succeed. The tips you’ll glean will help you transition more effectively from the classroom to the workplace.

License Preparation

All nurses take the same licensing exams, the NCLEX-RN for registered nurses and the NCLEX-PN for practical nurses. Vocational programs are shorter, but instructors focuses on the content on these exams. You’ll graduate well-prepared and ready to take the exams.

Career Services

Vocational schools take pleasure in helping graduates find jobs. They partner with local healthcare facilities, so they’re the first to know about choice job openings. Graduates get first consideration.

Final Thoughts

The healthcare industry is growing faster than expected, and the demand for nurses is projected to grow 6 percent in the coming decade, according to the . If you’re ready for a life change and want a nursing career you can train for in two years or less, call your local vocational school. They’ll help you channel the time and resources you have into the program that’s best for you.

Practical Nursing Program

The at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute provides training to prepare you to enter the nursing profession as an LPN. After graduating from the Nursing diploma program and successfully passing the NCLEX-PN licensure exam, you will further your career to become a licensed practical nurse.

Registered Nursing Program

The provides training to prepare you to enter the profession as a registered nurse (RN). Upon successful completion of the nursing training degree program and demonstrated nursing competence, you will be eligible to apply to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination.*  

*While Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute provides test preparation and review assistance to college students, it cannot guarantee any college student will be able to take or pass any type of licensure exam. College students must be mindful throughout their entire training program that licensure is a prerequisite for employment as a nurse and to diligently prepare themselves to meet this important requirement.

today to learn more about becoming an LPN or RN at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute.

Licensed practical nurses work in a wide range of settings, but among the most rewarding is the maternity ward. Also known as labor and delivery units, maternity wards are busy, but the work is exciting. LPNs with an interest in both maternal and child health can use their role for the benefit of both mothers and their newborns. It’s more than a career, it’s a mission.

What is a Maternity Ward?

A maternity ward is a hospital unit where women give birth to their children. There, mothers and newborns receive care from a team of professionals from admission to discharge. The goals are to promote safe deliveries, manage complications and optimize care for new families.

What Do LPNs Do in a Maternity Ward?

An LPNs role in a maternity ward begins with helping families through labor. It’s an unpredictable process that can last from a few hours to a few days, and it can be either simple or complicated. Labor is similar for all women, occurring in three stages, yet no two labors are exactly alike.

Care consists of both physical and emotional support, and new mothers may seek care as soon as they begin experiencing early contractions. Lasting from a few hours to 30 or more, this is the most prolonged phase of labor. It progresses from mild contractions until the cervix is completely dilated at 10 centimeters, and the woman is ready to push.

As the process moves along, pain and anxiety increase. During that time, maternity ward nurses offer encouragement and reassurance, keeping the family informed of progress while monitoring the physical condition of the mother and fetus and preparing for birth.

Responsibilities for an LPN include:

• Welcoming the mother and family into a delivery room
• Promoting physical comfort by assisting with activity and therapeutic position changes
• Checking maternal vital signs, such as blood pressure, for indications of complications
• Recording the frequency, duration and severity of contractions
• Monitoring pain and offering control measures per the birth plan
• Informing the obstetrician or midwife about progress and unexpected symptoms
• Keeping the delivery area clean
• Starting an intravenous line for medication or fluids
• Preparing instruments for the birth
• Assisting perineal relaxation techniques or episiotomies
• Measuring fluid intake and output
• Administering medications and blood transfusions

During the second stage of labor, pushing through birth, maternity ward nurses:

• Support the mother and family emotionally
• Help with pain control using medications and breathing techniques
• Monitor for fetal distress
• Act in the event of complications
• Assist with the delivery of the child

The third stage of labor begins after the child is born and includes delivery of the placenta and care for the newborn, including:

• Collecting cord blood
• Cleaning the skin and suctioning fluid secretions from the nose and mouth
• Weighing and measuring the child
• Conducting APGAR periodic assessments of heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes and color
• Providing a clean, warm and safe environment
• Encouraging the first breastfeeding
• Recording vital statistics
• Documenting the nursing care provided during labor and delivery

Unless there are complications, both the mother and child are moved to a room together after delivery. There, nurses assume responsibility for the well-being of both mother and child by:

• Watching for uterine hemorrhage or infection
• Monitoring episiotomies
• Administering analgesics and other medications
• Assisting with lactation
• Keeping the physician informed of changes in the mother’s condition
• Assessing for risk of post-partum depression
• Assisting with post-natal treatments for the newborn
• Offering nutrition guidance
• Cord and circumcision care
• Scheduling aftercare care visits for the woman and child

Family bonding is critical during this time. Maternity wards that were once cold and sterile are now home-like, and partners and siblings may room-in. Families take on the role and tasks associated with newborn care, such as bathing and dressing, while LPNs assist with cord care and lactation.

New mothers have many questions after the birth of a child. LPNs are their go-to source for information for a broad array of topics such as:

• Newborn nutrition
• Lactation issues
• Circumcision
• Elimination patterns
• Immunizations
• Environmental needs
• Child safety
• Well-care schedule

Today, maternity wards offer full-service care, so no newborn falls through the cracks. Recognizing that a mother is a child’s primary caregiver, nurses also help women get back on their feet as soon as possible. Some women suffer few health effects from labor and delivery; others can experience complications from mild to severe. Common issues include:

• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Episiotomy pain
• Anemia associated with blood loss during delivery
• Depression linked to post-partum hormonal changes

And because women are giving birth later and have higher incidences of chronic disease, LPNs are increasingly involved in preventive care education.

What Does it Take to Work on a Maternity Ward?

Maternity ward nurses have a unique role, and beyond professional competence, soft skills like compassion, communication skills, a nonjudgmental attitude, critical thinking skills, emotional stability, team management skills, team spirit, confidence and flexibility are important.

Skill #1:Compassion

Compassion is the desire to alleviate the suffering of others. Childbirth is an enriching experience for most families, but it can be a stressful time for those with physical and emotional challenges. Healthy births are the norm, but there is always the risk of complications for both mother and child. The role of maternity ward LPNs is to put themselves in the shoes of their patients and tackle sensitive issues with both clinical proficiency and compassion.

Skill #2: Communication Skills

No other nursing specialty requires caring for two lives simultaneously. As frontline healthcare providers, maternity ward LPNs guard the physiological health of both mother and child, reporting changes to providers while also acting as a liaison between the family and the healthcare team. New parents want to be informed every step of the way, and the questions they ask can be complicated. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are critical to this role.

Skill #3: A Nonjudgmental Attitude

Giving birth is usually a joyful time in a woman’s life, but it’s also fraught with change. New mothers depend on maternity LPNs for guidance and emotional support. However, maternal health and child-rearing are sensitive issues, and families may make unconventional health decisions that make LPNs feel uncomfortable. As long as ideas present no danger to the mother or child, LPNs must offer guidance without judgment.

Skill #4: Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is the ability to look at facts and come to sensible conclusions. It’s a vital skill that helps LPNs prioritize tasks and make quick, accurate clinical judgments. In a maternity ward, it’s how an LPN decides that an expectant mother with heavy vaginal bleeding needs to see the doctor before a woman with indigestion. Critical thinking isn’t a process that comes naturally to everyone, but it’s a skill that can be learned and nurtured with experience.

Skill #5: Emotional Stability

Crises are common in a maternity ward, and to function effectively, LPNs need to be emotionally stable. The labor and delivery process can be stressful, and after giving birth, physical exhaustion and hormonal changes take their toll. For some women, it’s a blissful time, but for others, it’s filled with anxiety, pain and fear that can manifest as negative behavior. Emotional stability helps maternity ward LPNs stay level-headed during emergencies and guide new mothers through challenging times.

Skill #6: Time Management Skills

Maternity wards are busy. Except for cesarean sections, labor and delivery rarely happen on schedule. Two days of downtime may be followed by around-the-clock deliveries. LPNs must then care for two patients at a time with different needs while being prepared for the unexpected. The pace can be stressful some days but being able to make the most of every minute keeps it from becoming overwhelming.

Skill #7: Team Spirit

Maternity care is collaborative, requiring input from the family plus a diverse team of health professionals, including doctors and nurses as well as midwives, lactation consultants, nutritionists, doulas and others. Everyone has a role to play while working toward a common goal, and outcomes are best when everyone is willing to work together. As the liaisons between the mother and family and their healthcare providers, team spirit is especially important for LPNs.

Skill #8: Confidence

Childbirth is a normal physiological process. In a maternity ward, doctors try to make it less medical by not hovering over patients as they might do in acute care settings. LPNs tend to bear more responsibility for monitoring, and therefore, they need to be self-starters with the confidence necessary to take charge of the process.

As professionals, they’re responsible for their practice, and it’s a nurse’s role to set goals for their patients and create plans of care. It’s a responsible role.

Skill #9: Flexibility

The maternity ward never sleeps. Mothers and newborns need care around the clock, and women may arrive in labor at any time, shifts don’t always go as planned. Managing work-life balance is important to avoid stress, but there are times when new patients exceed the number of LPNs scheduled, and employers expect nurses to be flexible.

Nursing is among the few careers where there are opportunities available to fit every lifestyle, but flexibility is essential when working in a maternity ward.

Final Thoughts

LPNs everywhere make a difference in the lives of the people they serve, but nowhere do they make a more significant impact than on a maternity ward. From celebrating the moment of birth to giving new families the best possible start in life, maternity ward LPNs are the gatekeepers of mother and child health. It’s an unforgettable ride and an awesome responsibility.

Did learning about the role of an LPN working in a maternity ward interest you? The at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute provides training to prepare college graduates to enter the nursing profession as an LPN.  Classroom theory, challenging assignments, skill labs, simulations, and clinical experiences help to prepare college graduates for an entry-level nursing position. 

After graduating from the Nursing diploma program and successfully passing the NCLEX-PN licensure exam, nursing students will further their career to become a licensed practical nurse. There is an overall need for LPNs in response to the aging baby boomer population.

*While Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute provides test preparation and review assistance to college students, it cannot guarantee any college student will be able to take or pass any type of licensure exam.  College students must be mindful throughout their entire training program that licensure is a prerequisite for employment as a nurse and to diligently prepare themselves to meet this important requirement.

today to learn more about becoming an LPN at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Institute.