LPN Jobs | LPN Careers | LPN Employment

Nursing is one of today’s most rewarding careers. Caring for patients who are suffering from illness or injury and helping to restore them to health can bring great personal satisfaction, but nursing also offers career advancement opportunities in a time when job security is a major issue. The need for qualified nurses is higher than ever, with tens of thousands of positions going unfilled. Online LPN nursing classes are helping to provide access to the education necessary to pursue a career as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Not only is the LPN in good demand, but if you have ambitions to get a degree nursing online LPN programs are a great way to get a foothold on the ladder.

A Licensed Practical Nurse assists the Registered Nurses and doctors in skilled facilities or hospitals. They are responsible for taking patients’ vital signs and medical histories, performing first aid, preparing medication charts, preparing and administering injections, taking samples and performing routine laboratory tests, caring for infants, assisting with hygiene, performing I.V. maintenance, educating patients and their families, supervising Certified Nursing Assistants and aides, as well as providing emotional support. Licensed Practical Nurses care for patients under the direct supervision of physicians or registered nurses. An LPN is the first level in nursing and does not require an Associates, Bachelors or Masters degree. It is often a stepping stone to one of the higher levels of nursing.

The majority of LPN programs are still offered by traditional universities, colleges and vocational schools, however a growing number of courses are being offered via the internet, allowing for those who do not live in proximity to a traditional campus to study the same coursework and submit assignments as do students in a regular program. The added advantage of having flexible hours and locations for studying allow for enrollment of students who are working or caring for children and might otherwise be unable to pursue an education.

Online lectures, video conferencing, email discussions and class chat rooms provide for interaction between students and instructors, as well as enrich the learning experience. Some online schools may require students to coordinate with local medical facilities or hospitals for practical training as the program progresses.

To become an LPN, it is necessary to earn a certificate from a state-approved school and pass the NCLEX-PN, the national licensing examination. Although most are not online programs, 1,250 state-approved programs currently exist in the U.S. A convenient tool offered by The National Association for Practical Nurse Education & Service (NAPNES -http://www.napnes.org/schools/index.htm) allows a search by state for approved programs. There are two basic ways of locating a qualified online LPN program. One is to obtain a listing of approved online programs from your particular State Board of Nursing. So if you are looking for an LPN degree nursing online directory sites will also serve to aid in locating a program, after which you may contact your state board for approval.

Tuition fees vary from one institution to the next, and considering an online program may save a student quite a substantial amount of money. Many schools offer financial aid, and educational grants are available. With the current demand and even larger projected future demand for Licensed Practical Nurses, the short duration, easy availability and low cost of a degree nursing online LPN program can put a student on a fast track to a rewarding medical career.

If you are interested in training to become an LPN and want to know what LPN training qualifications you will need then read on. Fortunately one of the reasons why starting a nursing career by initially pursuing the Licensed Practical Nurse or LPN qualification is that the initial qualifications that you need to get on to most LPN training programs are comparatively easy to come by.  Indeed a candidate only need show that they have been able to attain a high school diploma and that they have no criminal record.  Some LPN training programs do not even wait until you have a high school diploma and you can start your training whilst in high school.

The reason for the comparatively low LPN training qualifications is due to two main factors.  The first factor is that the LPN role, whilst increasingly a significant part of healthcare teams across hospitals, physicians surgeries and other healthcare outlets, remains a relatively junior role with most activities undertaken by the LPN requiring supervision by a physician or possibly by a registered nurse.  This does not mean that the role of the LPN is unimportant.  Far from it.  The LPN increasingly relieves other healthcare professionals from the need to undertake a wide array of every day tasks.  It is really a reflection of the qualification process, which concentrates on a short training program with a high degree of practical experience included on the LPN program.

The second reason is that increasingly there is a shortage of good quality LPN’s.  This is not due to the quality of the candidates who are looking to use the LPN qualification as a route into nursing.  No, this is much more a reflection of the fact that demand for the services of LPN’s has been increasing for a number of years and is expected to continue to increase at a reasonably significant pace until at least 2016 and possibly beyond.  As a result, the State Boards of Nursing are anxious not to set the bar too high and to encourage as many prospective students to start on an LPN training program as possible.  This is complemented by the fact that accessibility to LPN schools has been made a great deal more straightforward and the LPN programs themselves are now a great deal more flexible than has been the case in the past.  Indeed, with the introduction of online LPN programs it has never been easier or more flexible to become an LPN.

The fact of the matter is that LPN training qualifications are comparatively easy to achieve and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

A Licensed Practical Nurse, or LPN, must complete an LPN program that typically lasts one full year. The program is fairly inexpensive and does not have stringent admission requirements compared to other college programs. An individual considering this career can begin looking for programs at the community college or local hospital. Even in semi-rural areas the community college provides an LPN program. It is common for LPNs to work at a hospital while pursuing further education for a promotion. An example would be working on an LPN to RN program. This program takes into consideration the courses already completed and saves the LPN time in earning the title RN. With the promotion and graduation to RN the responsibilities become greater, the pay is higher and the burnout rate goes down.

Once an LPN finds a job, he or she will work under the supervision of a physician or Registered Nurse (RN). LPN employment consists of typical hands-on nursing duties. Some of these duties are: taking vitals of new patients, assisting RNs or doctors with patient charts, and ensuring a patient is comfortable during hospital treatment. LPN employment can be found 24 hours a day as many clients require constant care. LPNs also provide shots, draw blood and maintain any medical equipment a patient is using. Duties that LPNs do that create job dissatisfaction consist of bathing clients, changing clothes and assisting clients with routine self-care (i.e. using the bathroom, using a bed pan, or changing soiled linens and clothes).

LPN employment leads to a moderate annual salary of $30,000-$35,000 depending on the location. In some areas of the United States the demand for LPNs is so high that sign on bonuses and higher salaries are offered. One may find that LPN employment is a great stepping stone before seeking further education and license to practice as an RN. Because LPN programs only last one year, it is a great way to explore the healthcare field after graduating high school or when considering a career change. One year of training is not a large commitment and it will allow the individual to determine if LPN employment is a good fit. Turnover is high in the LPN position because of the type of care provided to patients, the number of hours LPNs are needed and the only moderate salary paid. Overall, LPN employment is rewarding and focuses on basic nursing tasks and dealing directly with patients.

You are thinking of training to be an Licensed Practical Nurse, or LPN.  But you are not sure what the qualification entails and whether the there are much in the way of LPN jobs available.  You would also be interested in the LPN employment prospects and LPN salary prospects.  This is perfectly understandable.  According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) the prospects for LPN employment are above average.  Indeed the rate of  growth in LPN jobs is forecast to grow at 14% per annum through to the year 2016.

So what is it that LPN’s do?  Well in short LPN’s care for people who are sick, or injured, or convalescing or disabled.  Generally they work under the direct supervision of a registered nurse (RN) or a physician.  The typical LPN is indeed a generalist.  They are able to provide basic bedside care, give injections, enemas, dress wounds and give alcohol rubs and massages.  They are able to monitor patient reactions to drug treatments, take samples and record bodily functions, through to providing general advice to family members on how best to stick to good health habits.

In order to qualify as an LPN and ultimately to pursue and LPN career you need to undertake an LPN training program (LPN program) which usually lasts one year.  At the end of the years training course in order to qualify as an LPN you must pass the licensing examination known as the NCLEX-PN.

LPN salary expectations, once qualified are generally good, with the median in the region of $30,000-$40,000 per year which equates to $15-$20 per hour.  So the prospects can only really be considered to be positive and with the current focus on healthcare there are surely many more prospects for the furtherment of you LPN career in coming years.

So where do you find an LPN school or an appropriate LPN program?  Well much of the training may be done online in a realtively flexible manner.  In fact the only real parts of the training program that you are not really able to undertake online is the practical parts, including for instance anatomy, which is really only possible in a classroom environment.  Do not worry however as these sorts of classes are available as evening classes and can be intermingled with the LPN online training.

Hopefully you have been persuaded that the prospects for the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) are indeed very exciting and therefore you have decided to embark on an LPN career.

Your decision as to whether to train as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) will largely depend upon your perception of the LPN jobs market and what it is like once you have qualified.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics LPN jobs are forecast to increase at a faster than average rate.  Job prospects, although generally felt to be very good will still likely vary by particular sector.  Particularly good LPN jobs are expected to be experienced in the care home sector, in particular nursing home facilities and in home health care services.  In contrast the LPN jobs outlook for the hospital sector is felt to be more likely to be competitive and more challenging.

Its a widely recognised fact that most routine and some not so routine medical procedures that were once only ever performed in hospitals are increasingly being performed in physician’s surgery’s and other outpatient care facilities, for example walk-in surgical and emergency medical centers.  The main reason for this is advances in healthcare and improvements in procedures due to the enhancing impact of technology.

LPN’s routinely care for patients who have been treated with these medical procedures and as a result it is expected that LPN jobs in hospitals will very likely fall over the next several years as the level of these routine procedures in hospitals declines.  Conversely and as you might expect the level of LPN jobs is expected to increase in facilities outside of the hospital sector.

The home health care sector is expected to grow strongly in coming years as the consumer preference for care in the home is likely to create strong demand for LPN jobs.  Again technological advances have made it more possible to provide technologically advanced treatments, previously only provided in hospitals, to be now provided in the privacy and comfort of peoples homes.

Despite the rising demand for home health care services because of the rapidly increasing population of aged and infirm people the nursing care sector and as a consequence the opportunities for LPN jobs is expected to grow most stongly. LPN jobs in nursing homes provide routine bedside care, help evaluate residents’ needs, develop care plans, and supervise the care provided by nursing aides.

LPN jobs are also a great way to decide if you want to pursue more advanced study in nursing.    The employment landscape looks promising and so the decision to enroll in an LPN program or LPN school should be a straightforward one.