Due to an aging population in need of assisted living care, wellness care is a booming field looking for many new workers. If you are considering starting your profession in wellness care or making a career move, becoming a licensed practical nurse or LPN, might be a wise decision. However, if you do not have the time or resources to attend school in-person to study for a new credential, an LPN online class might be a great choice for you.
Licensed practical nurses are healthcare staffs who work under the direction of doctors and RNs. LPNs provide many kinds of primary bedside care. Their responsibilities often include dressing wounds, measuring and rewarding vital signs and assisting with bathing and feeding. LPNs also assist RNs and doctors in administering a variety of tests. LPNs work in many areas of health care, including home health care, assisted living facilities and long term care facilities, and in physician’s offices. Highly experienced LPNs sometimes have supervisory responsibilities where they are in charge of healthcare aids and assistants, as well as more inexperienced LPNs. In some jurisdictions, LPNs are also able to administer medications, take care of sufferers dependent on ventilators, as well as start intravenous fluid therapy.
In the U. S., licensed practical nurses generally need one year of training at a college or technical/vocational school. LPN training programs can be completed in person at a university or technical school, or through an LPN online class offered by one of these kinds of institutions. These programs generally need a secondary school degree for admission and generally combine classroom research on primary healthcare topics as well as supervised clinical practice. After completing this course, newly-graduated LPNs must pass a nationwide licensing exam (NCLEX-PN) to become a fully-licensed LPN.
The major difference between licensed practical nurses and RNs in the U. S. is the number of years of education each one undertakes. Licensed practical nurses generally complete a one-year program, whereas RNs generally have either a two-year college degree (RN) or a four-year undergraduate degree (BSN). As well, depending on the jurisdiction, LPNs and RNs have differing scopes of practice; RNs are generally able to work more responsibilities and work with less stable sufferers.