Find Nursing Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse

Find Schools Near

What is a Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse?

Job Description & Duties Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.

Life As a LP or LV Nurse

  • Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
  • Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.
  • Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.
  • Wash and dress bodies of deceased persons.
  • Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
  • Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.

What Skills Do You Need to Work as a LP or LV Nurse?

These are the skills Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses say are the most useful in their careers:

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Types of LP or LV Nurse Jobs

  • Private Duty Nurse
  • Home Health Care Provider
  • Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
  • Clinic Nurse
  • Nursing Technician

Job Outlook for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

In the United States, there were 724,500 jobs for Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 12.3% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 88,900 new jobs for Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 62,700 job openings in this field each year.

undefined

The states with the most job growth for LP or LV Nurse are Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. Watch out if you plan on working in Kansas, Wisconsin, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Do Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Make A Lot Of Money?

The salary for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses ranges between about $33,680 and $62,160 a year.

undefined

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses who work in Rhode Island, Alaska, or Massachusetts, make the highest salaries.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in different U.S. states.

State Annual Mean Salary
Alabama $38,230
Alaska $58,250
Arizona $54,090
Arkansas $39,570
California $56,200
Colorado $51,210
Connecticut $56,970
Delaware $52,860
District of Columbia $53,370
Florida $44,400
Georgia $41,690
Hawaii $50,930
Idaho $44,280
Illinois $51,080
Indiana $44,310
Iowa $42,820
Kansas $43,240
Kentucky $41,920
Louisiana $39,480
Maine $45,610
Maryland $53,650
Massachusetts $58,990
Michigan $49,040
Minnesota $47,020
Mississippi $37,930
Missouri $42,580
Montana $43,770
Nebraska $43,160
Nevada $57,140
New Hampshire $52,510
New Jersey $56,290
New Mexico $47,560
New York $48,770
North Carolina $44,610
North Dakota $46,410
Ohio $43,430
Oklahoma $41,260
Oregon $53,240
Pennsylvania $48,120
Rhode Island $59,130
South Carolina $40,890
South Dakota $38,630
Tennessee $40,120
Texas $46,990
Utah $48,130
Vermont $49,720
Virginia $44,850
Washington $55,420
West Virginia $36,770
Wisconsin $45,290
Wyoming $46,790

Tools & Technologies Used by Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Web browser software
  • Word processing software
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Spreadsheet software
  • MEDITECH software
  • Scheduling software
  • Google Drive
  • Medical procedure coding software
  • Epic Systems
  • Inventory tracking software
  • Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
  • Medical condition coding software
  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • Diagnostic and procedural coding software
  • PointClickCare
  • Prescription processing software

How do I Become a LP or LV Nurse?

What education or degrees do I need to become a Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse?

undefined

How Long Does it Take to Become a LP or LV Nurse?

undefined

Where Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Are Employed

undefined

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses work in the following industries:

undefined

References:

Image Credit: via

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Nursing Schools Near You

Our free matching tool for schools matches students with nursing schools across the U.S.