A licensed practical nurse, or LPN, typically works under the supervision of doctors or registered nurses. They’re trained to perform a variety of tasks in their role as caretaker. If you’ve an interest in a health related career, you may be pleased to know that the demand for LPNs is growing all the time.
The duties of an LPN include caring for ill and injured patients as well as those patients that are disabled, elderly or terminally sick. They provide both short and long term services and handle personal care aspects of the patients. While some may specialize in certain areas, most LPNs work in many various medical environments.
Licensed Practical Nurse Overview
They perform basic bedside care, take a patient’s vital signs, collect medical history, and record any changes in the patient. They also dress wounds and give injections. In addition, LPNs make sure their patients are comfortable. To this end, they help with eating, bathing, dressing and hygiene.
Other duties include collecting urine and blood samples for testing as well as assisting doctors and RNs in doing advanced tests. They provide family services such as caring for and monitoring infants while their mothers are resting. For patients that need long term care, LPNs instruct family members in caring for them and recognizing an emergency.
LPNs work in various medical environments. These include hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, hospices, and psychiatric hospitals. Some dentists employ LPNs to work in their offices. In addition, they may take on private patients and work in their homes.
The rewards of being an LPN are many. It’s a dependable career as the demand grows higher all the time. It also provides a way to act on your caring and compassion for others. The salary of an LPN is one that will allow for a decent income to take care of yourself and even a family if you need to. The flexibility of an LPN career is also something that’s highly desirable. You can even choose to be a floater of sorts, which means you can work in a lab one week and then providing personal patient care the next week.
The biggest reason for becoming an LPN for most people, though, is still the fact that they just have an abiding compassion for others and want to help alleviate their suffering in any way they can. Providing care to people on a daily basis can bring about a huge feeling of accomplishment. In the end, when you do a job that you love, nothing can beat that.