Become An Lpn, The Fast Path To A Nursing Career
|
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Careers
Licensed Practical Nurses provide the most amount of direct patient care within the nursing category of healthcare. If you're interested in a healthcare career dealing directly with patients, becoming an LPN is a rewarding opportunity.
LPN Job Description
LPNs provide a large portion of direct patient care. LPNs may be assisted by nurses' aides ( CNAs ) and other assistants in some of their duties. LPNs are directed by doctors and nurses (RNs & nurse managers). Typically, a LPN's work duties include:
Taking vital signs
Preparing and administering injections and enemas
Applying dressings and bandages
Watching catheters
Treating bedsores
Providing alcohol massages or rubs
Monitoring patients and reporting changes
Collecting samples for testing
Provide patient hygiene
Feeding patients
Monitoring food and liquid input/output
LPNs work in a variety of settings like hospitals, outpatient facilities, long term care facilities, clinics and home care. Tenured LPNs may supervise nursing aides and assistants.
Salary Ranges
While nursing jobs in general are in high demand nationwide, LPN positions in hospitals are declining. However, since this has been caused by an increase in outpatient services, LPN positions in long term care facilities and home health is in as much demand as other nursing categories.
The U.S. Department of Labor has published the median income for LPNs as $31,440 in 2002. The range was $22,860 to $44,040 based on geographic location and work experience. Contract LPNs made the most money, while doctor's office nurses made the least on average at $28,710.
A nursing career offers other benefits including a flexible schedule, a short work week (three 12 hour shifts with four days off), tuition reimbursement and signing bonuses.
Education / Getting Started
Because of the high level of patient responsibility, nursing is highly regulated, requiring both education and a license. Graduates must complete a state approved practical nursing program and pass a licensing examination. An LPN certificate can be completed in less than a year. Some RN students become LPNs after completing their first year of study. Course work in the LPN program includes anatomy, physiology, nutrition, biology, chemistry, obstetrics, pediatrics, first aid as well as nursing classes.
Becoming an LPN is the fastest path to a nursing career. Advancement can take many forms, but additional education is usually required.
If you possess the traits necessary to become a successful nurse and want to secure a well paying, important profession caring for others, getting an LPN degree in nursing is a great way to secure your professional future.
About The Author
Max Stein is a freelance writer who writes about business, education and marketing.
|
|
|
Why One Word Answers Are Bad News At Job Interviews
It takes a lot of time and effort to get invited to a job interview. Don't blow your chances by being misunderstood by the interviewer. Not many people are aware that giving one word answers to questions, substantially increases your chances of conveying the wrong impression.Active Listening Skill Tips for InterviewsDuring a job interview, a potential employer asks, "Can you take on more than one project at a time?" If you respond, "Yes," you may want to rethink that answer. According to Dynamic Listening: Interview Skills, a computer based training module from Mindleaders in Columbus, Ohio, you should avoid one-word or one-sentence answers.Be specific. And speak money-language. Here's a preferred answer to the question above, "In general, dep...(related: Employment)
Who Should Write Your Resume?
This is a question we get a lot. It seems rather easy to do it yourself if you have access to a word processing program and printer and feel comfortable writing your job history.I always wrote my own resumes over the years, for 10 successful job changes up the career ladder, as well as in 4 different states. Inherently I knew a few things about resumes ? number one being to write each resume to fit the specific job and employer. I rarely wrote what I call a "generic" resume. One tim...(related: Employment)
The 5 Essential Telecommute Résumé Components
1. An attractive layout that is easy to read and follow.Recruiters and hiring managers are busy people. They are often reading hundreds of résumés in a day so they don't have time to clean up your résumés formatting.If a hiring manager opens your e-mail attachment and the lines are out of alignment (usually from using the "tab" key) or if the font is too large/too small, they will likely hit delete and move on.Instead of using...(related: Employment)
Cover Letter Magic: 4 Ways To Ask For The Job Interview - And Get It!
Just how important it is to ASK for the job interview clearly and directly in your cover letter?IT'S EVERYTHING!So the question remains: how effectively are you ASKING? The following four ways will help you nail down many more job interviews. Try them all and see which ones work best for you.FOUR Surefire Ways To Effectively Ask For The Job Interview In Your Cover Letter1. Attract attention with a great headline using Bold Title Caps right below the greeting in your cover letter.May We Meet In Perso...(related: Employment)
Ten Things To Do When You Really, Really Hate Your Job
1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape. When you find yourself sharing the latest horror story, stop in mid-sentence and say, "What I want to have is....(related: Employment)
Network Now
Have you ever been to a networking event that was awkward, frustrating and nothing more than a business card exchange?
In his book MANHATTAN SOCIETY: The Art & Spirituality of Networking, Chris London says "Networking with integrity creates a greater willingness of all parties to be part of a ...(related: Employment)
Resume Objectives: How Do You Know If Resume Objectives Are Right For You?
Some experts say NEVER bother with resume objectives.While others say they should be an essential element onevery resume.So, how do you know who is right?The simple answer is... no one is absolutely right.Your decision on whether to use resume objectives willdepend on your circumstances, job search goals, and-insome cases-the person who reviews your resume.We can make recommendations, but you'll have to makeyour own choice, based on your individual situation andpreferences. But first, let's try to get a betterunderstanding of the 2 different schools of thought onresume objectives...THE NEGATIVE VIEWPOINTAsk anyone who does not believe in using job obje...(related: Employment)
Words. Words. Words.
They're only words. Some believe the school-yard taunt: "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." They're wrong. Words can hurt you in the workplace.I'm not referring to the caustic ones spoken (or received) tainted with sarcasm, irritation, anger or frustration, carrying an emotional punch. I'm talking about simple, everyday, normal word choices. These words, like black ice, are not an obvious danger at first glance. But, they can impact your results. So, user-beware.Words create impressions, images and expectations. They build psychological connections. They influence how we think. Since thoughts determine actions, there's a powerful connection between the words we use and the results we get.Think about these two words: spend and invest. Would you like your bank to spend your money or invest it? Si...(related: Employment)
The Power To Succeed
It's amazing how we fool ourselves... while at the same time believing we are doing what's best.Let me give you an example. I overheard a guy telling a group of friends, over drinks, how he had become fed-up with work. Guys being guys, they immediately started to come up with options to fix the problem ? ideas like changing company and changing jobs. That was when the guy got all logical?'Yeah, but I need to pay the mortgage and my kid's education and we've got a holiday planned for the Bahamas and?'I interrupted. 'How much do you need?''A hundred grand a year,' he replied.'What's more important,' I asked, 'your happines...(related: Employment)
Are You Winning The Talent Wars?
How many times have you heard or read, "Our employees are our greatest asset"?What are the chances of any company surviving if it cannot find the right employees ? or find enough of them? In 2003 Roger Herman, Tom Olivio, and Joyce Gioia wrote in Impending Crisis that by the year 2010 the U.S. economy will support 10 million more jobs than there will be people in the work force to fill them.This future scenario could make the late 1990's volatile job market look like it was relatively stable compared to what we m...(related: Employment)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved | Free Articles and Information | Employment