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Career Details

29-2061.00 - Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses


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.


Key Facts
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Bright Outlook
1
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
719,900
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
837,200
Estimate
Change in Employment
+117,300
Estimate
Change in Employment %
+16.3%
Estimate
Tasks
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Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
  • Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
  • Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
  • Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
  • 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.
  • Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.
  • Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
  • Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
  • Record food and fluid intake and output.
  • Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
  • Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
  • Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
  • Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
  • Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.
  • Apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles.
Supplemental
  • Clean rooms and make beds.
  • Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
  • Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.
  • Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
  • Assist in delivery, care, or feeding of infants.
  • Wash and dress bodies of deceased persons.
  • Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
  • Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
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Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 Customer and Personal Service
  • 80%
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
 English Language
  • 78%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Psychology
  • 74%
    Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
 Medicine and Dentistry
  • 74%
    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
 Administration and Management
  • 66%
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 Education and Training
  • 64%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
 Therapy and Counseling
  • 62%
    Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
 Mathematics
  • 61%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 Computers and Electronics
  • 59%
    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 Clerical
  • 59%
    Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
 Public Safety and Security
  • 56%
    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
 Telecommunications
  • 52%
    Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
 Biology
  • 51%
    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
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Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Specimen collection and transport containers and supplies
  • Lancets
  • Tourniquets
  • Evacuated blood collection tubes
 Patient point of care testing supplies and equipment
  • Blood glucometers
  • Glucometers
  • Needleless glucometers
 Test Tubes
  • Capillary tubes
 Electrotherapy equipment
  • Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation TENS equipment
 Heat and cold therapy products
  • Hyper/hypothermia blankets
 Medical suction and vacuum products
  • Gastric suction equipment
  • Intubation suctioning kits
 Injection and aspiration needles and accessories
  • Butterfly needles
  • Hollow needles
  • Intradermal needles
  • Intramuscular needles
  • Intravenous IV needles
  • Subcutaneous hypodermic needles
  • Safety needles
 Syringes and accessories
  • Syringes
  • Tuberculin TB skin test equipment
 Urological supplies
  • Urinary catheters
 Restraints and accessories
  • Posey vests
  • Safety jackets
  • Safety vests
  • Limb restraints
  • Wrist restraints
  • Safety belts
  • Wheelchair belts
  • Fabric body holders
  • Ankle restraints
  • Gait belts
  • Lap belts
  • Restraints
 Emergency medical services resuscitation products
  • Automated external defibrillators AED
 Blood pressure units and related products
  • Electronic blood pressure units
  • Mercury blood pressure measuring equipment
 Electrocardiography EKG units and related products
  • Electrocardiography EKG units
  • Telemetry units
 Pulse oximeters
  • Pulse oximeters
 Acute care monitoring units and related products
  • Heart monitors
  • Non-invasive cardiac output monitors
  • Ultrasonic cardiac output monitors
 Stethoscopes and related products
  • Electronic stethoscopes
  • Mechanical stethoscopes
 Patient beds and accessories
  • Clinical trapezes
  • Air fluidized beds
  • Circo-electric beds
  • Frames
  • Rotating bed
 Patient transport products
  • Wheelchairs
  • Transfer boards
 Patient lifts
  • Patient lifters
 Intravenous and arterial cannulas and catheters and accessories
  • Over-the-needle intravenous IV catheters
  • Through-the-needle intravenous IV catheters
 Intravenous and arterial tubing and administration sets and related products
  • Filtered intravenous IV catheter tubing
  • Non-vented intravenous IV catheter tubing
  • Vented intravenous IV catheter tubing
  • Heparin locks
  • Intermittent infusion sets
 Intravenous and arterial infusion bags and containers and related products
  • Bag infusion systems
  • Closed infusion systems
  • Open infusion systems
  • Safety infusion systems
  • Infusion sets
 Intravenous infusion pumps and its analyzers and sensors and its accessories
  • Infusion pumps
  • Patient controlled analgesia PCA pumps
 Needleless intravenous injection and withdrawal systems
  • Needleless intraveneous IV sets
  • Needleless intravenous IV withdrawal equipment
 Blood administration and transfusion products
  • Blood transfusion drip regulators
 Nasoenteric tubes
  • Flexible nasogastric tubes
 Orthopedic traction supplies and accessories
  • Crutchfield tongs
  • Halo traction equipment
  • Balkan frames
  • Bucks extensions
  • Traction equipment
  • Traction weights
 Rehabilitation exercise devices and equipment
  • Continuous passive motion CPM equipment
 Respiratory monitoring products
  • Apnea monitors
  • Non-invasive cardio respiratory monitors
  • Respiration monitors
 Pulmonary function testing and treatment products
  • Automated spirometers
  • Digital spirometers
  • Handheld spirometers
  • Personal computer PC-based spirometers
  • Pocket spirometers
  • Pulmonary function testing PFT equipment
 Oxygen therapy delivery systems and devices
  • Oxygen cylinders
  • Oxygen masks
  • Oxygen tubing
  • Oxygen supplies
 Respiratory humidity and aerosol therapy products
  • Compressor tabletop nebulizers
  • Electronic compressor nebulizers
  • Nebulizers
  • Pediatric nebulizers
  • Portable nebulizers
  • Ultrasonic nebulizers
 Positive mechanical pressure ventilators and accessories
  • Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB apparatus
 Computers
  • Notebook computers
  • Desktop computers
  • Personal computers
  • Tablet computers
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
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Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Business function specific software
  • Inventory tracking software
  • Google DriveHOT
  • Microsoft OfficeHOT
 Content authoring and editing software
  • YouTubeHOT
  • Microsoft WordHOT
  • Word processing software
  • Scheduling software
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
  • Spreadsheet software
 Data management and query software
  • Diagnostic and procedural coding software
 Industry specific software
  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • Epic SystemsHOT
  • Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCSHOT
  • Infusion management software
  • MEDITECH softwareHOT
  • MedicWare EMR
  • Medical condition coding softwareHOT
  • Medical procedure coding software
  • PointClickCare
  • Prescription processing software
  • Telephone triage software
 Information exchange software
  • Microsoft ExchangeHOT
  • Microsoft OutlookHOT
  • FaceTime
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
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Certifications
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
 Specialty
 Advanced
 Core
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
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Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
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Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Blue Ridge Community College
Brightpoint Community College
Danville Community College
Eastern Shore Community College
Germanna Community College
J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Laurel Ridge Community College
Mountain Empire Community College
Mountain Gateway Community College
New River Community College
Northern Virginia Community College
Patrick & Henry Community College
Paul D. Camp Community College
Piedmont Virginia Community College
Rappahannock Community College
Southside Virginia Community College
Southwest Virginia Community College
Tidewater Community College
Virginia Highlands Community College
Virginia Peninsula Community College
Wytheville Community College
Jobs
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Jobs related to this career may be found on Indeed.com or on the Google Job Search page.