All About LPN Nurse Career Paths

The following are some of the most common LPN job opportunities:

Hospitals – There will always be a need for LPN nurses in hospitals. Hospital nurses usually work in a specific departments or they may rotate between departments. Some of the most common settings include the following:

• Surgery
• Maternity
• Emergency room

Licensed practical nurses tend to be assigned more advanced nursing duties in hospitals than in some other settings. In the future, however, experts are projecting a decline in hospital LPN jobs because more medical procedures are being performed in physicians' offices and outpatient care centers.

Home Health Care Services – This is an enormous growth area for LPN nurse jobs, primarily because of significant growth in the elderly population. Many older people have functional disabilities and need assistance, and they often prefer to stay in their homes. Home health care is also becoming more common as technological advances make it possible to manage more health problems on an outpatient basis. LPNs working in patient homes provide direct nursing services to elderly patients, as well as people recovering from illnesses, accidents and diseases such as cancer. They also assess patients' home environments and teach family members how to care for their loved ones.

Nursing Care Facilities – This is another area where demand for LPN nurses is continuing to increase due to the growing number of people who are elderly, disabled or otherwise in need of long-term care. LPNs in this setting care for patients who have been discharged from the hospital but need additional recovery time or long-term rehabilitation. These LPN jobs typically involve the following tasks:

• Administrative work
• Health assessments
• Treatment plan development
• Basic nursing duties
• Supervise nursing aides

Office Nursing – LPN nurses provide care for outpatients in these settings:

• Physicians' offices
• Clinics
• Ambulatory surgical centers
• Emergency medical centers

This type of work usually has more regular hours and involves less severe medical conditions than other types of LPN jobs. LPNs in office nursing often perform the following tasks:

• Prepare patients for examinations
• Give injections
• Administer medications
• Dress incisions
• Assist with minor surgeries
• Clerical duties, such as making appointments and keeping records

Travel Nursing – Travel nurses are the temp workers of the health care field. They are contracted for short-term assignments—typically between eight to 26 weeks—through agencies that specialize in travel nursing. These agencies usually provide not just the job placement, but also housing, travel expenses and assistance with licensing. Most agencies provide health and dental insurance, as well as workers' compensation. Travel nurses get paid higher than average wages for the following reasons:

• They take positions that health care organizations can't fill because of the overall nursing shortage
• There's need for a nurse in a remote location
• Because of other urgent circumstances

Military Nursing – During both peace and wartime, almost every branch of military service needs nurses. The Army Nursing Corps requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in nursing for active duty, but if you want to enlist as an LPN, you may be able to get special training to become a medic. You can also work as a civilian in a military hospital or clinic through the Federal Civil Service. Military nursing is a great way to serve your country while expanding your knowledge of health care, and offers many education benefits—such as nursing school tuition reimbursement.

Your career as a licensed practical nurse could involve one or several of the opportunities described above. Other LPN job options might include work in dental offices, mental health institutions, community health clinics and public health departments. The options are almost limitless.

Return to the Nursing School Education Resource Center.

_{Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009
LPN Student Resources, 2009
Nurse Town, 2003-2009
Gannett Healthcare Group, 2008}