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Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses: Career Profile
Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.
What Tasks Do Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Perform?
The core tasks performed by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses include:
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
- Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
- Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
- Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
What Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Need to Know
Effective licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Charge Nurse
- Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN)
- Clinic Nurse
- Home Health Licensed Practical Nurse (Home Health LPN)
- Licensed Care Coordinator (LCC)
- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
- Long Term Care LPN (Long Term Care Licensed Practical Nurse)
Job Outlook
There are roughly 2,776,351 licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +14.4% over the projection horizon.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $118,810 |
| Hourly median | $57.12 |
| 10th percentile | $70,839 |
| 25th percentile | $94,824 |
| 75th percentile | $142,796 |
| 90th percentile | $166,782 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Washington | $79,700 |
| Rhode Island | $77,940 |
| Alaska | $77,670 |
| California | $77,170 |
| Oregon | $76,570 |
| Massachusetts | $76,560 |
| New Hampshire | $74,660 |
| Arizona | $74,020 |
| Nevada | $73,820 |
| New Jersey | $71,180 |
| Maine | $70,870 |
| District of Columbia | $70,420 |
| Maryland | $69,870 |
| Connecticut | $69,130 |
| Colorado | $67,480 |
| Delaware | $66,090 |
| Illinois | $66,030 |
| Hawaii | $65,560 |
| Vermont | $64,560 |
| New York | $64,030 |
| Michigan | $63,810 |
| Indiana | $63,690 |
| Virginia | $62,310 |
| Pennsylvania | $62,010 |
| Wyoming | $61,880 |
| Idaho | $61,720 |
| Utah | $61,710 |
| North Carolina | $61,380 |
| Wisconsin | $61,040 |
| Ohio | $60,990 |
| Minnesota | $60,870 |
| North Dakota | $60,820 |
| New Mexico | $60,760 |
| Nebraska | $60,740 |
| Texas | $60,150 |
| Florida | $60,080 |
| Kansas | $59,920 |
| Montana | $59,750 |
| Iowa | $59,460 |
| South Carolina | $59,050 |
| Missouri | $59,030 |
| Georgia | $58,490 |
| Kentucky | $58,450 |
| Virgin Islands | $56,670 |
| Oklahoma | $55,870 |
| Tennessee | $54,530 |
| Louisiana | $53,930 |
| Arkansas | $51,030 |
| Alabama | $50,100 |
| West Virginia | $49,850 |
| South Dakota | $49,170 |
| Mississippi | $48,850 |
| Guam | $36,150 |
| Puerto Rico | $24,920 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Pay for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $77,115 | 14.9% | 0.98 |
| New England | $73,549 | 4.6% | 1.04 |
| Middle Atlantic | $65,158 | 15.6% | 1.05 |
| Rocky Mountains | $64,013 | 1.8% | 0.50 |
| Great Lakes | $62,858 | 13.7% | 1.14 |
| Southwest | $60,440 | 12.3% | 1.09 |
| Plains States | $59,505 | 7.6% | 1.11 |
| Southeast | $56,860 | 29.0% | 1.33 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $92,840 | 2,930 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $90,810 | 8,290 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $81,820 | 320 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | WA | $80,880 | 120 |
| Salinas, CA | CA | $80,600 | 630 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $80,480 | 3,500 |
| Vallejo, CA | CA | $80,380 | 800 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | CA | $80,180 | 820 |
Top Industries Employing Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Most licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 543,940 | $61,990 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 30,580 | $75,730 |
| Educational Services | 13,320 | $52,160 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 2,170 | $63,450 |
| Finance and Insurance | 1,370 | $67,030 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,300 | $66,490 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 1,190 | $60,070 |
| Manufacturing | 250 | $60,650 |
Below are examples of industries where licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses work:
Tools and Technology
- Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
- Medical software: Epic Systems (hot technology)
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Video conferencing software: Zoom (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
Daily working conditions for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses reflects the following characteristics:
- Contact With Others
- Telephone Conversations
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Physical Proximity
How to Become Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Entry-level licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses positions require a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Physician Assistants (Supplemental)
- Registered Nurses (Primary-Short)
- Acute Care Nurses (Primary-Short)
- Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (Supplemental)
- Critical Care Nurses (Primary-Long)
- Clinical Nurse Specialists (Primary-Long)
- Nurse Anesthetists (Supplemental)
- Nurse Midwives (Supplemental)
Degree Programs
Students preparing for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses typically earn programs in:
Health Professions and Related Programs
2 programs across 1 majors
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 29-2061.00 (Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses).
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