Become an LPN, the Fast Path to a Nursing Career

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Careers

Licensed Practical Nurses provide the most amount of direct patient care within the nursing category of healthcare. If you're interested in a healthcare career dealing directly with patients, becoming an LPN is a rewarding opportunity.

LPN Job Description

LPNs provide a large portion of direct patient care. LPNs may be assisted by nurses' aides ( CNAs ) and other assistants in some of their duties. LPNs are directed by doctors and nurses (RNs & nurse managers). Typically, a LPN's work duties include:

Taking vital signs

Preparing and administering injections and enemas

Applying dressings and bandages

Watching catheters

Treating bedsores

Providing alcohol massages or rubs

Monitoring patients and reporting changes

Collecting samples for testing

Provide patient hygiene

Feeding patients

Monitoring food and liquid input/output

LPNs work in a variety of settings like hospitals, outpatient facilities, long term care facilities, clinics and home care. Tenured LPNs may supervise nursing aides and assistants.

Salary Ranges

While nursing jobs in general are in high demand nationwide, LPN positions in hospitals are declining. However, since this has been caused by an increase in outpatient services, LPN positions in long term care facilities and home health is in as much demand as other nursing categories.

The U.S. Department of Labor has published the median income for LPNs as $31,440 in 2002. The range was $22,860 to $44,040 based on geographic location and work experience. Contract LPNs made the most money, while doctor's office nurses made the least on average at $28,710.

A nursing career offers other benefits including a flexible schedule, a short work week (three 12 hour shifts with four days off), tuition reimbursement and signing bonuses.

Education / Getting Started

Because of the high level of patient responsibility, nursing is highly regulated, requiring both education and a license. Graduates must complete a state approved practical nursing program and pass a licensing examination. An LPN certificate can be completed in less than a year. Some RN students become LPNs after completing their first year of study. Course work in the Lpn program includes anatomy, physiology, nutrition, biology, chemistry, obstetrics, pediatrics, first aid as well as nursing classes.

Becoming an LPN is the fastest path to a nursing career. Advancement can take many forms, but additional education is usually required.

If you possess the traits necessary to become a successful nurse and want to secure a well paying, important profession caring for others, getting an LPN degree in nursing is a great way to secure your professional future.

How to Become a Licensed Practical Nurse LPN

A licensed Practical Nurse or Licensed Vocational Nurse is responsible for patient care under the supervision of a Registered Nurse or sometimes a Physician. When faced with the question of how to become a licensed practical nurse the applicant must look in three areas.

Do you have the aptitude for a career in nursing? Are you able to enroll in and complete the course of study? And the applicant must pass the state licensing examination for LPN.

Becoming a LPN requires that you have the desire to help other people. Most of the patients that an LPN will deal with are unable to care for themselves in regards to eating, hygiene, and exercise.

Will you be able to give injections, monitor catheters, and turn patients that are unable to turn themselves. And can you perform these takes in a caring and empathetic way? Without the ability to be empathetic you will never learn how to become a licensed practical nurse.

College level work in either a technical school or a community college is necessary for those learning to become a licensed practical nurse. Most of these schools require at least a high school diploma for entry.

If you want to become a LPN you should start preparation for the college work in high school. The more you learn and understand at this level the easier the college work will be for you. Your college preparation should include as many science courses as possible. Biology and chemistry are good as they will have a direct application to later learning requirements.

On the college level you will be required to complete courses in Anatomy and Physiology. In addition to the science background classes you will be taking classroom instruction in the introduction to medical-surgical nursing, pediatrics, obstetrics, and psychiatric nursing.

You will also have classes in the administration of drugs, nutrition, and first aid. As your year long course of instruction moves on you will be given the opportunity to learn patient care. You will work under the supervision of other nurses as you learn the practical side of nursing.

The finial proof that you have learned how to become a licensed practical nurse will come when you sit for you license. All states require a license before you can be employed as an LPN or LVN and work with patients. To obtain the license you must obtain a passing score on the state board examinations.

Louis Zhang, Licensedpracticalnursecourse dot com

Why You Should Join an Lpn program

There are a lot of good programs out there that you can get started in. Most schools offer great programs that only their school offers. However, one program that can be found at lots of schools that is great to take is the LPN programs. This is a great program just because of the simple fact that it opens a lot of job fields for you to be in. Truth be told, there are a ton of job fields right now that are looking for people who have taken LPN programs. This is because LPNs can be used at more places than just hospitals. In fact, a lot of retirement homes need these kinds of people on staff all the time. They need someone that has been trained like a nurse to be able to preform simple nurse functions, and that is what an LPN can do. Of course, in some states they can do more than just basic functions. In fact, a lot of them can even do IV drips for people. However, most LPNs are used to bathe, clean, and work one-on-one with people.

LPN programs are pretty easy to find. These are programs that are offered at a lot of schools, but there are a lot of classes that go with them. The main thing to note is that some LPN programs can change, depending on what school and what state you go to. However, there are some things that are in every program no matter where you go. Things like basic nursing and so on are classes that you are going to have to take. Whenever you are taking LPN programs, there is a good chance that you will end up taking classes like psychology and so on. These are classes that a lot of people have to take, and it helps them when working with people.

When looking for these programs, there are a few things that you have to keep in mind. First of all, before you can get your license, you do have to take a big exam that everyone has to take. If you do not pass the exam, then you do not get your license. On top of that, you need to note that you have to get your degree from a program that is at an accredited school. A lot of people like to take online courses, and that is fine. However, if you are going to take online courses, then you need to take them from a school that is accredited. You can find out if a school is accredited by looking for reviews on that school and so on.

Overall, you are going to want to take LPN programs. This is a type of program that is going to open your future to so much more. If you have been looking for a program that is going to not only make you a lot of money, but also let you give something back to the community, then this is the program for you. It's nice to be able to have a job that is as rewarding as this one.

Online LPN to RN Bridge Program Benefits

Due to increasing demands at home, busy work schedules and diversity of roles it is hard for nurses to further their career or obtain a degree. But with the advancement in technology, today we have the opportunity for a higher education through distance learning, a nontraditional way to earn a degree, which was not as readily available in the past. Today, most colleges or universities offer both traditional and nontraditional nursing programs often called "Bridge Programs" allowing nurses to obtain an LPN to RN, Paramedic to RN, RN to BSN, or BSN to a Masters Degree.

Traditional and nontraditional LPN to RN Bridge programs are quite different in many ways. With a traditional nursing program the student has a structured atmosphere, face to face interaction with the instructors and other students, and onsite resources are available. The disadvantage of a traditional program is that most nursing programs only start once or twice a year with a limited number of students that are accepted into the program as well as most schools choose their applicants based on a point system which limits those who are accepted into a program. With today's nursing shortage, traditional nursing schools lack nursing instructors to teach the programs.

A nontraditional LPN to RN Bridge program is an appealing alternative to those who wish to further their education but due to family, work or other obligations are unable to attend a traditional program. The benefits of a nontraditional LPN to RN Bridge program are that one can usually start at any time and the school usually does not have a limit on the number of students to attend. The classes can be taken at the convenience of the student allowing them to be flexible with work or their family.

In studies that explored distance education in nursing programs several studies confirmed that the students who took online courses showed equal if not better achievement of program outcomes when compared with students in traditional nursing programs. The studies indicate that the education delivered via online is at least equal and, in many cases is superior to traditional education (Legg, Adelmen, & Levitt, 2007, p. 65). A study performed by Shachar & Neumann (2003) demonstrated that in two thirds of the cases, the students who took courses using distance education "outperformed their student counterparts enrolled in traditionally instructed courses" (Shachar & Neumann, 2003, p. 1). Thiele (2003) reported that nursing students who took online courses became more independent and self-disciplined learner (Thiele, 2003), (Legg et al.)

The goal of the nontraditional LPN to RN Bridge Program is to make it easier to obtain a nursing degree for students who work full time, have unusual work schedules, are single parents or are unable to enroll in a traditional nursing program. Studies show that program outcomes with the nontraditional nursing programs are at least equal, to if not superior to the traditional nursing program. Many nurses find that learning through distance education provides a practical and acceptable alternative for degree completion.

Online LPN to RN Bridge Program Explained

LPN refers to Licensed Practical Nurse, one of the entry level practitioner qualifications to the nursing vocation, whereas RN refers to Registered Nurse, which is widely considered to the qualification that makes one a 'professional nurse' capable of making major nursing decisions in a healthcare setting. Put another way, the Registered Nurse's position is a decision making position in the nursing system, whereas the Licensed Practical Nurse position is a decision-implementation position in the nursing system.

Although there are practitioners who enter into the nursing vocation directly as registered nurses, a majority of would-be professional nurses start out as Licensed Practical Nurses (wherever the qualification is accepted), before moving to climb higher onto the nursing career through programs like the increasingly popular online LPN to RN bridge.

At its core, then, the LPN to RN Bridge is basically an instructional system, through which any ambitious Licensed Practical Nurse can get to upgrade to being a Registered Nurse (basically building on the skills they already have by virtue of their Practical Nurse Licensing, and adding onto them the professional skills they need to become Registered Nurses).

In a way of speaking, then, the LPN to RN Bridge can be seen as the bridge through which a nurse gets to move from being basically a 'manual worker' in the healthcare system, and into being a professional 'knowledge worker' in the same healthcare system. Although there are some places in which Registered Nurses get directly involved in the physical aspects of patient care (which can be a vocationally rewarding undertaking anyway), but for the most part, the Registered Nurse is a 'nursing supervisor' of sorts, who is supposed to use her (or his) advanced nursing training to make the major nursing decisions, which are supposed to be physically implemented by lower cadres like the Licensed Practical Nurses.

Online learning, on the other hand, has found easy application in Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse bridges for a number of reasons. The first of these, of course, is the fact that Licensed Practical Nurses seeking to upgrade into Registered Nurses are typically already working in the nursing field, so that getting a place for them to do the practical aspects of Registered Nursing training is not really hard. Getting a place for Registered Nurse practical training (as all nursing training is made up of both theoretical and practical modules) can be tricky in most cases where the students does not have a place to do the practical modules, but in the case of LPN to RN bridge training, this tends not to be too much of a problem, as the LPN is typically already practicing.

The nursing practitioner who opts for the online LPN to RN bridge, of course, has a chance to move up their career ladder with lower monetary investments (as the online LPN to RN bridge is typically cheaper than LPN to RN programs run in brick and mortar nursing schools). Of course, this is in addition to the fact that the online LPN to RN bridge does not require for the nursing practitioner to get separated from their family (as they can learn at home during 'after-work' hours), which is unlike the probable case with brick and mortar school run LPN to RN bridge programs, that typically require study travel and separation from family.

Teach Online Classes - 4 Reasons Why Students Fail and How to Weed Them Out

When teaching online classes you will find that there are 4 very specific reasons any of your students might fail to succeed in accomplishing all that thy could. Now I'm not talking about those who quit due to a family emergency. I'm referring to those who stay in the program for its entire duration and still fail to achieve the expected results.

Most often the student holds the trainer at fault and the trainer holds the student at fault, so how can we predict who would be an ideal student? First we must understand what the most common causes for students to fail are.

1.Indecision - Maybe you didn't clearly outline exactly what the outcomes would be upon completing your program. Maybe they aren't sure they want to sped that much money. Either way they face some level of indecision with your program, and it will show up in their end results.

2.Commitment - Maybe they are spread out to thin, maybe they have too many pokers in the fire to solidly commit to another project. But you sold them into a training program and now they are likely to fail because they do not have the tenacity to stick with their commitment.

3.Familiarity - Maybe they have never enrolled in a program like this before and they are unfamiliar with the demands or expectations of this type of training. If not you can be sure of the fact that they are likely to get confused with even the most mundane of tasks, add to that difficulty anything they should have known before enrolling but don't and you can see a failure heading your way.

4.Adaptability - This is a matter of personality, being properly matched with the best curriculum to help them at their level with their goals. There is no short cut to matching the right needs with the right provider and services. With that being said every student has varying degrees of ability to adapt to new demands or expectations, this by itself can cause massive failure even with the best of intentions.

You can weed out those students who would likely fail your class by interviewing your student before enrolling them. Inform them that you teach an online class and that type of learning is unlike many other forms of learning.

Begin by asking them;

How they adapted to the challenges? Why they want to take this course? Why they think they will succeed? What they will need to succeed? What they have done in the past that's similar to this course? What they will gain by taking this course? What they will do if they fail this course?

These questions will give you significant insight into the student and there likely chances of succeeding with you teaching your online class.

Tips on Resume Writing For LVN LPN Nursing Professionals

According to Beth Lytle, eHow Contributing Writer, "Today's job market is tough, regardless of how much experience and training someone has. The nursing field is a competitive and popular field to get into. The pay is decent and the benefits are great, but finding a full-time LPN position after school may be more difficult than you may think. That is why it is so important to write a resume that is both objective and eye catching, but without going over the top."

When you write your objective statement, write a concise statement that focuses on the type of position you are seeking and the environment in which you would like to work. Beth Lytle, states," most resumes start with an objective for the introduction. This is important. She considers this to be the "hook," meaning that if it does not catch the reader's eye immediately, the resume may be put into the reject pile. The objective should be brief and should not be written in the first person. For example, instead of saying, "I am a recent graduate with professional experience..." the interviewee should write something like, "recent graduate with professional experience..."Avoid the use of "I" and "me" and stick with clear nouns, active verbs and adjectives to describe the objective."

The next section should be where the job shopper should list his/her qualifications. According to Beth Lytle, she states to be specific, "but do not offer too much information. One method of listing this information is to list the health care organization name on the first line, followed by the diploma or certificate information that was received on the next line, along with the location and any other relevant information listed on the third line."

Knowledge and experience - where this section goes depends on personal preference. Ms. Lytle goes on to state that some people choose to list this information toward the end of the resume, after the employment information, whereas others choose to list it after the certification information. Choose the location that feels right or looks best and include a bulleted list of relevant information and experience. Lytle states to avoid making the list too long (listing about 10-15 things is OK). Examples of things to list include specific health care-related training, rehabilitation services and other similar information that pertains to the health care field.

Undergraduate clinical training and health care employment information listing depends upon the person doing the resume. Beth Lytle states that, "some people list the employment information next and then list all remaining information afterward, the undergraduate information can be listed next."

Ms. Lytle goes on to state the employment information should be specific but brief. List the job title first (bold) on the left side of the page and dates of employment on the right (bold). Include the company or organization name (can be in italics) underneath the job title. You can include a bulleted list of job duties (list no more than five), briefly describing the duties for each specific job (keep this section brief and do not use paragraphs, one to two sentences or one to two word descriptions are sufficient).