What is Vocational Nursing?

Have you ever wondered, "What is an LPN-Licensed-Vocational-Nurse-LVN/">LVN?" A LPN-Licensed-Vocational-Nurse-LVN/">Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) is an entry-level medical care provider who generally works directly under an RN (Registered Nurse) or physician, and handles numerous day-to-day patient care responsibilities. Because LVNs are usually closer to the patients, and more aware of their individual statuses and needs than almost every other caregiver, they are always in demand and are among the most-essential members of any medical care team. Hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities all depend heavily upon well-trained teams of Licensed Vocational Nurses to keep everything moving smoothly and to properly tend to their patients' needs.



What Are The Responsibilities of an LVN?



The LVN's standard duties include tasks such as reading and recording vital signs, collecting samples for tests, cleaning and dressing wounds, administering injections, bathing and feeding patients, and monitoring medical equipment. While the limitations vary from state to state, LVNs are generally not allowed to do such things as push IV medications (though they are allowed to start IVs just about everywhere) or administer patients any other kinds of medicines unless expressly ordered by a physician or Rn.



How Can I Become an LVN?



To become a Licensed Vocational Nurse, you need to first take and complete an accredited LVN training course that includes the necessary number of hours. In California for instance, the curricular requirements for an LVN program to get fully-accredited include 1,530 total hours of study broken down into 954 hours of Clinical study, 576 hours of Theory, and 54 hours of Pharmacology. Required content for accredited programs usually includes topics such as Communicable Diseases, Nursing Fundamentals, Nutrition, Pharmacology, Psychology, Anatomy and Physiology, Leadership, and Gerontological Nursing.



Admission requirements for most LVN programs dictate that the applicant is at least 17 years of age and holds a high school diploma or equivalency (e.g. a GED), and are fairly representative of what is necessary for programs in other states.



Upon completing your training program, the next (and most critical) step toward becoming an LVN is to get your license. Getting licensed requires you to pass a standardized examination called the NCLEX-PN, which is a multiple-choice test designed to verify your understanding of the following four areas:



Effective and safe care environment Health maintenance and promotion Psychosocial integrity Physiological integrity



What's an LVN's Salary?



As with every other profession, LVNs have a wide pay range based on various factors but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics did report in 2011 that the average annual salary for the occupation ranges from $28,912 to $55,120. The average LVN salary may vary greatly depending upon which area of the state an individual works in, which kind of facility he or she works at, and how much experience he or she has.



What Does Tomorrow Look Like for this Vocation?



With the health care industry expected to expand significantly as the nation's population ages over the next 20 years, the need for LVNs is expected to be very high. As a matter of fact, by the majority of estimates, California by itself will need to add more than 150,000 new Licensed Vocational Nurses over the next seven years just to keep up with demand. So, if you began reading this article by asking "What is an LVN?", along with the other answers you have found, you can also include "a job of the future" onto the list.