What is Vocational Nursing?
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"What is an LVN?" A Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) is an entry-level medical care provider who usually works directly under an RN (Registered Nurse) or physician, and handles a wide variety of daily patient care duties. The LVN is regarded as one of the most-important team members at any medical facility because he or she has more frequent exposure to the patients than anybody else, and therefore has the best feel for their needs of any caregiver. For that reason, employing a strong staff of Licensed Vocational Nurses is essential to the successful operation of any hospital, long-term health care facility, or any other health-related operation.
Just What Are The Duties of an LVN?
Collecting samples, dressing wounds, feeding and bathing patients, reading and recording vital signs, and overseeing medical equipment are only a few of the many duties that an LVN typically performs. Although the limitations differ from state to state, LVNs are generally not allowed to do such things as push IV medications (though they are allowed to start IVs almost everywhere) or administer patients any other kinds of medicines unless explicitly ordered by a physician or Rn.
What are the Prerequisites to Become an LVN?
To become a Licensed Vocational Nurse, you need to first enroll in and pass an accredited LVN training course that features the required number of hours. Curriculum requirements for LVN (or LPN, as they're termed everywhere except Texas and California) programs vary by state, but California's requirement of 1,530 cumulative hours of study consisting of over 900 hours of Clinical training and nearly 600 of combined Theory and Pharmacology is fairly typical. Course content must also include: Anatomy and Physiology, Psychology, Pharmacology, Nursing Process, Communication, Patient Education, Nutrition, Normal Development and Growth, Rehabilitation Nursing, Maternity Nursing, Nursing Fundamentals, Pediatric Nursing, Medical/Surgical Nursing, Gerontological Nursing, Supervision, Leadership, and Communicable Disease including HIV.
In an example that's fairly reflective of what the majority of states require, LVN programs in California mandate that applicants be at least 17 years of age, and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent (a GED, for example).
The next step in becoming an LVN is earning a vocational nursing license. Getting licensed requires you to successfully pass a standardized examination called the NCLEX-PN, which is a multiple-choice test intended to verify your understanding of the following four areas:
Safe and effective care environment Health promotion and maintenance Fundamentals of psychosocial integrity Physiological integrity
What's an LVN's Salary?
There are several factors that go into determining how much an LVN's salary will be, but the standard range in 2011 was $13.90 - $26.50 per hour (or $28,912 to $55,120 per year) as per the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average LVN salary may vary greatly based on which area of the state an individual works in, which kind of facility she or he works at, and how much experience he or she has.
What Does the Future Look Like for this Occupation?
With the health care industry expected to expand significantly as the nation's population becomes older over the next 20 years, demand for LVNs is expected to be extremely high. To illustrate the effect of this event on the job market, in California health care facilities will need to add over 150,000 additional Licensed Vocational Nurses over the next seven years to accomodate industry growth. If you are thinking of beginning a fast-paced, challenging career as an LVN, the future is so bright that you may have to wear shades.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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