A Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) is a state-licensed nurse that works to provide routine patient care under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or doctors. These nurses are the same as Licensed Practical Nurses or LPNs. The term used merely vary depending on the state of employment but the nature of work is basically the same.
Licensed vocational nurses are employed in hospitals, doctor’s offices, surgical clinics, convalescent homes, long-term care facility and other health care facilities where they provide the a lot of the same services that RNs perform.
However, they can’t do everything that Registered Nurses can do. Their tasks are generally limited to the following:
• take blood
• administer injections
• prepare rooms for new patients
• bathe patients, dress them up, groom patients
• in some states they are allowed to start intravenous (IV) lines as long as they received certification for this task
Licensed vocational nurse training programs usually takes 1-2 years to complete and includes the following courses and materials:
• Anatomy
• Physiology
• Patient care
This training significantly differs from that of a Registered Nurse’s which requires a 4-year education and several more years of advanced science learning.
After training, the LVN has to complete supervised work for a period of time before qualifying to apply for licensure.
A lot of people see these state-licensed nurses as the hardest of workers who are not paid enough. Licensed vocational nurses receive roughly half of what Registered Nurses receive in a year which is $24,000 to $48,000 USD.
A large number of LVNs choose to further their studies and become Registered Nurses after some years of working however there are some who are satisfied with their title as well as pay and responsibilities.
There is a high demand for vocational nurses in nursing homes or long-term care facilities where they can be paid more than in hospitals. For a growing number of hospitals, the hiring of licensed vocational nurses is not cost effective because of the specified supervision laws. State-licensed nurses need supervision from an RN and an RN can only supervise a specific number of these nurses. This means that if a hospital hires state licensed nurses, it has to hire RNs as well. This is not very practical as RNs can actually do more duties.
In private doctors’ offices however, Licensed Vocational Nurses are preferred than RNs because of the difference in salary. A nurse’s job in a doctor’s office mainly involves taking temperature and medical history, measuring blood pressure, giving injections, and during emergency situations performs CPR. These are things than an LVN can do.
Related posts:
- LVN Jobs – The Duties of a Licensed Vocational Nurse
- LPN Nursing: Understanding the Nature of the Job
- International Nursing Jobs: Work Abroad As a Nurse
- Your Simple Guide to LVN Programs
- Nurse Job Description: The Many Faces of the Professional Nurse