What You Need To Know About an LVN

An LVN or Licensed Vocational Nurse is defined as a person who provide care to patients with the direction of nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals. This job title is only specific to Texas and California. In other states, these care providers are known as Licensed Practical Nurses. The basic duties of an LVN is to attend to patient’s needs. When the LVN cannot meet these needs, a physician or other professional will then be contacted. For instance, an LVN takes a patient’s vital signs: temperature, pulse rate, and blood pressure. If the results show that the patient is out of the normal, then the LVN will report to the doctor. Since LVNs act as a middle man between the patient and doctor, they should accurately deliver information.

How to Become an LVN?
Educational requirements differ from state to state. Generally, you will need to graduate from a vocational nursing program offered by community colleges or vocational schools. These programs both have classroom and clinical training and subjects that include physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, first aid, pediatrics, and patient care.

In some states, those who have completed nursing training programs need to take the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX) in practical nursing to get a license.

Other Career Options for LVNs
A licensed vocational nursing provides a career in occupational therapy. As an occupational therapy assistant, they help disabled and ill patients with their everyday tasks and help accomplish them. In order to have a permanent occupation on this field, an associate degree is needed plus state licensing. Reports have projected that there will be a growing need for occupation therapy assistants in the next ten years.

Another career path to take is becoming a Registered nurse. It requires a nursing diploma, various nursing degrees, and passage of the NCLEX. The same research above shows that there will be an increase in job opportunities for Registered nurses until 2020.

LVN Schools

If you are thinking about being a licensed vocational nurse, you are most likely wondering which of the LVN schools to select. But that won’t function as the problem you face if this involves nursing schools. Your challenge might be getting recognized. Now, if you are inside a province or small town, and you won’t want to move, your options on which LVN school to go to might be quite limited, since there may be one that is close enough to where you reside. However in most medium or large metropolitan areas in the U.S., prospective nursing school students will often have several schools to select from. In a few of the greatest metropolitan areas they’ve got several.

If this involves LVN schools, the more you will find in your town, the better. Nursing education is strictly controlled in every state, much more than other majors, since it is a medical area. Finding qualified nursing teachers can be challenging, and may limit the size of the classes offered. Most LVN schools have always had more candidates than places on their behalf, and the issue is just getting worse. That’s due mainly towards the economy becoming a lot more centered on healthcare, along with other industries less prosperous as they lately were.

Meaning, increasing numbers of people are applying to LVN schools nowadays, which make it much harder than it was once to gain entrance right into a program. Will new LVN schools start opening? Yes, you are able to bank on it. When they don’t, America’s already critical nursing shortage can get much worse, and also the government can’t allow that to happen. It is in your best interest to wisely select the LVN school that you wish to enroll it. After all, this is an investment to your career as a future LVN.