subject: Licensed Practical Nurse - Become One Today [print this page] Licensed Practical Nurse - Become One Today
Licensed Practical nurse is commonly known as a LPN. These nurses are senior then the nursing assistant and work under direct supervision of registered nurses. The main duty of these nurses is to check and keep the record of patient's vital signs like blood pressure, blood sugar and body temperature. They also have to keep the record of patient's food intake and feces. These nurses are also responsible for the medication, dressing and preparing injections for the patient. It is the duty of a LPN to make sure that the patient has taken the medicines on time. It is the duty of these nurses to prepare the patient for the laboratory tests like ECG, ultrasound and X-rays.If you want to become a LPN, one way to get this post is to start your career as a certified nursing assistant with a few weeks of cna training and then get promoted to this post by doing your work with full sincerity and dedication. If you want to join the nursing profession directly from the post of a Licensed Practical Nurse then you will have to get some more education. There are two education programs which will lead you to this post. Firstly you can get enrolled in an associate degree; this degree is of 2 years .Another program, specially designed for this post is a 9 months training program. These programs will give you a brief knowledge about the medical field and duties of a practical nurse.There are two methods of getting enrolled to these programs. Firstly you can take admission in any nursing college. There are many nursing colleges which are offering these programs and you can easily find them in your neighborhood. Red Cross is a very well recognized institute which is offering its programs in 38 cities. Secondly you can get admission in any online nursing college. These online colleges are cheaper that the real colleges and allow you to take your classes in the relaxed environment of your home without spending any money on transportation. After completing your training part, you will be required to appear in an exam called NCLEX-PN. This exam's usual duration is 5 hours. In these 5 hours, you will be required to a501 questions. When you will pass this exam, you will get your license to start your job as a LPN. This Licensing exam is conducted by various nursing associations. The requirement of this license is not placed by the government but it is there because employers only hire certified nurses.A licensed practical nurse you working in a hospital usually work for five days in one week with every shift of eight hours. Nurses may have to suffer from the effects of viral diseases and back aces because they have to stand for a long period and move the patient in and out of the bed. These nurses usually earn with an average of 45000 dollars per year. This figure is not exact and may vary on the basis of training organization, certification, working organization and many other similar factors.
