Licensed Practical and Vocational Nurses
Health Science > Therapeutic ServicesProjected Growth: Much faster than average
Projected Job Openings
Medium Preparation Needed
Job Description
Your job is to 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.
Common job titles of Licensed Practical and Vocational Nurses include:
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Experience and Education
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
43.43% said they needed a Post-Secondary Certificate.
34.98% said they needed a Some College Courses.
Tasks
Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
Record food and fluid intake and output.
Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.
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.
Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.
Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.
Clean rooms and make beds.
Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
Apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles.
Wash and dress bodies of deceased persons.
Assist in delivery, care, or feeding of infants.
Tools
Wrist restraints
Wheelchairs
Wheelchair belts
Walking braces
Walkers
Vented intravenous IV catheter tubing
Urinary catheters
All ToolsUltrasonic nebulizers
Ultrasonic Doppler equipment
Ultrasonic cardiac output monitors
Tuberculin TB skin test equipment
Transfer boards
Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation TENS equipment
Traction weights
Traction equipment
Tracheotomy tubes
Tourniquets
Through-the-needle intravenous IV catheters
Telemetry units
Tablet computers
Syringes
Suture removal kits
Subcutaneous hypodermic needles
Saturation of oxygen SaO2 monitors
Safety vests
Safety needles
Safety jackets
Safety infusion systems
Safety belts
Rotating bed
Restraints
Respiration monitors
Pulse oximeters
Pulmonary function testing PFT equipment
Posey vests
Portable nebulizers
Pocket spirometers
Pneumatic boots
Personal computers
Personal computer PC-based spirometers
Pediatric nebulizers
Patient lifters
Patient controlled analgesia PCA pumps
Oxygen tubing
Oxygen supplies
Oxygen masks
Oxygen cylinders
Over-the-needle intravenous IV catheters
Ostomy equipment
Open infusion systems
Notebook computers
Non-vented intravenous IV catheter tubing
Non-invasive cardio respiratory monitors
Non-invasive cardiac output monitors
Needleless intravenous IV withdrawal equipment
Needleless intraveneous IV sets
Needleless glucometers
Neck braces
Nebulizers
Mercury blood pressure measuring equipment
Mechanical stethoscopes
Limb restraints
Lap belts
Lancets
Knee braces
Jackson-Pratt drains
Intubation suctioning kits
Intravenous IV needles
Intramuscular needles
Intradermal needles
Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB apparatus
Intermittent infusion sets
Infusion sets
Infusion pumps
Infusion controllers
Hyper/hypothermia blankets
Hollow needles
Heparin locks
Hemovac drains
Hemoglobinometer machines
Heart monitors
Handheld spirometers
Halo traction equipment
Glucometers
Gastric suction equipment
Gait belts
Frames
Flexible nasogastric tubes
Filtered intravenous IV catheter tubing
Fabric body holders
Evacuated blood collection tubes
Enema equipment
Electronic stethoscopes
Electronic compressor nebulizers
Electronic blood pressure units
Electrocardiography EKG units
Digital spirometers
Dialysis machines
Desktop computers
Crutchfield tongs
Crutches
Continuous passive motion CPM equipment
Compressor tabletop nebulizers
Closed infusion systems
Clinical trapezes
Circo-electric beds
Capillary tubes
Canes
Butterfly needles
Bucks extensions
Blood transfusion drip regulators
Blood glucometers
Balkan frames
Bag infusion systems
Automated spirometers
Automated external defibrillators AED
Apnea monitors
Ankle restraints
Air fluidized beds
Abdominal binders
Technologies
Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
MEDITECH software
Diagnostic and procedural coding software
Electronic medical record EMR software
Infusion management software
Inventory tracking software
Medical procedure coding software
All TechnologiesMedicWare EMR
PointClickCare
Prescription processing software
Scheduling software
Spreadsheet software
Telephone triage software
Skills
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
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.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Abilities
Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Comprehension
Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Comprehension
Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Expression
Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Problem Sensitivity