What Do Licensed Practical Nurses Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Licensed Practical Nurses 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. They also administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients’ charts.

Other tasks include:

• Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients’ conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
• Answer patients’ calls and determine how to assist them.
• Measure and record patients’ vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
• 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.
• Supervise nurses’ aides or assistants.

We asked Licensed Practical Nurses how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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68% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 78% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Licensed Practical Nurses record food and fluid intake and output. They evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.

A typical day for a Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurse will also include:

• Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
• Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
• Supervise nurses’ aides or assistants.
• Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
• Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.

We asked some Licensed Practical Nurses a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	84% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	80% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	95% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	53% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	38% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	71% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Licensed Practical Nurses also apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles. They may also collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Licensed Practical Nurses Clean rooms and make beds. They might also Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.

In addition, they Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.

To some Licensed Practical Nurses, it is also their responsibility to Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.

Working life

Less than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurse, you can expect to work less than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/licensed-practical-and-licensed-vocational-nurses.htm

http://www.napnes.org/

http://www.nflpn.org/

http://www.nln.org/