subject: How to Become a Licensed Vocational Nurse - Making a Career in Caring for Others [print this page] How to Become a Licensed Vocational Nurse - Making a Career in Caring for Others
Do you find pleasure in helping others? If yes, then becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse may be the right job for you. Here's a quick reference guide to help you learn the ropes, and find out all you need to know regarding this job.
Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a Licensed Vocational Nurse include:
Taking care of the sick, injured and the disabled
Taking vital signs, blood pressure, temperature and measuring patients' rate of respiration
Making appointments, keeping patients' records and performing other duties in doctors' offices and clinics
Preparing and giving shots, collecting blood samples and performing routine lab tests
Teaching family members simple nursing skills
Monitoring catheters, applying dressings, and treating bedsores
Providing basic bed care, alcohol rubs, massages, baths, dressing, etc
Setting up equipment and ensuring that they are all sterile and completely functional
Preparing the medical room for patients
Administering the prescribed medications
Starting intravenous fluids as well as noting down their time and amount on patients' charts
Monitoring patients and reporting any abnormalities in their treatment or adverse reaction to medication
Helping evaluate residents' needs, developing care plans, and supervising nursing aides
Educational Pre-requisites
Once you get your high school diploma, you should enroll in an accredited LVN program. Luckily, many universities, vocational and community colleges offer the Licensed Vocational Nurse program nowadays. Usually an LVN curriculum includes basic nursing concepts, medical terminology, and science courses such as anatomy, biology and chemistry. Additional courses include emergency medical technology, first aid and food and nutrition. You may later choose to specialize in any of these.
Apart from this, you will also receive hands-on training in a medical setting so that you can gain some initial experience of the job. Once you complete the program from a school accredited by the National League of Nursing Accreditation Commission, you must take the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN).
This is a test to determine your readiness as an LVN, both in theory and practice. So, had you trained well in the past, your chances of acing this exam and getting licensed will be much higher.
Skills Required
Studying alone is not enough for this profession. Apart from your knowledge, you must possess the right skills as well. You should be:
Empathetic and compassionate
Organized, calm and emotionally stable
Able to communicate effectively with patients and the medical staff
A quick learner
Filled with zeal and a lot of physical stamina
A quick decision maker
Career Outlook
Working as a Licensed Vocational Nurse is far from glamorous. However, as people become more and more health conscious, the demand for this job is also on the rise.
The pay is $25-$35 per hour, and you will have to work for long working hours in a stressful environment and with anxious patients. Still, if you have a compassionate, kind hearted nature, becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse is definitely the right choice for you.
