LVN Job Description (Licensed Vocational Nurse)

What is an LVN Licensed Vocational Nurse?

The licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) have 18 months to two years of training and they must pass the state or national boards to renew their license. So what is nursing? In particular an LVN? The LVN is a type of nurse that can also perform both simple and complex medical procedures, and the only difference is that they must operate under the supervision of an RN or a physician. When it comes to medications, LVNs can administer most of them; they also can keep records, take measurements, perform emergency life-saving like CPR or administer basic care.

An LVN job description can be summed up as working with facilities such as:

• Medical hospitals
• Outpatient clinics
• Ambulatory surgery centers
• Blood Banks
• Physician Offices
• Home Care Agencies
• Dialysis Centers
• Vocational Nursing Programs
• Military
• Community programs
• Schools

Be sure to check out our available Houston Nursing Jobs LVN while you’re here.

LVNs provide compassion and hands-on care to people of all ages. They are the front line providers and their reward part of their daily work is the close and meaningful contact they have with their patients each day. Under the eyes of the registered nurses and physicians, a licensed vocational nurse job description is to deliver most of the bedside care. From wound dressing to assisting people, LVNs or licensed practitioner nurses LPNs as they are called in some other countries, spend most of their workday helping people with their daily tasks.

If you want to work as a licensed vocational nurse you may start by completing a certificate program at the career center or at your community college. While completing this program you may consider contacting the state board of nursing and gaining a list of approved programs. Most nursing programs require a high school diploma. Schools are offering LVN training in grades from 9 to 12. After graduation you may go directly into the workforce as many other students do, or you may continue to college and continue study nursing, medicine or pharmacy.

As for many other branches, licensure is mandatory for LVNs too.  After graduation many people who want to become LVNs apply to the state board of nursing. Those individuals who are eligible for licensure must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX – PN).

Nurse Salaries

In 2024, the median annual wage for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (LPN/LVN) in the United States was $62,340, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The lowest 10 percent earned less than $47,960, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $80,510, according to the BLS. This figure represents the midpoint, with half of the nurses earning more and half earning less.