OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
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.
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
Fewer details
Responsibilities and activities
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses typically do the following:
- Monitor patients’ health—for example, by checking their blood pressure
- Administer basic patient care, including changing bandages and inserting catheters
- Provide for the basic comfort of patients, such as helping them bathe or dress
- Discuss the care they are providing with patients and listen to their concerns
- Report patients’ status and concerns to registered nurses and doctors
- Keep records on patients’ health
Duties of LPNs and LVNs vary, depending on their work setting and the state in which they work. For example, they may reinforce teaching done by registered nurses regarding how family members should care for a relative; help to deliver, care for, and feed infants; collect samples for testing and do routine laboratory tests; or feed patients who need help eating.
LPNs and LVNs may be limited to doing certain tasks, depending on the state where they work. For example, in some states, LPNs with proper training can give medication or start intravenous (IV) drips, but in other states LPNs cannot perform these tasks. State regulations also govern the extent to which LPNs and LVNs must be directly supervised. For example, an LPN may provide certain forms of care only with instructions from a registered nurse.
In some states, experienced licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses supervise and direct other LPNs or LVNs and unlicensed medical staff.
Salary
Median salary: $48,820 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $42,060 and $57,860.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
Fewer details
Salary growth for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Exposed to Disease or Infections (94%)
- Unpleasant or Angry People (83%)
- Time Pressure (80%)
- Responsible for Others' Health (76%)
- Consequence of Error (67%)
- High Conflict Frequency (63%)
- Physically Aggressive People (51%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (37%)
Fewer details
Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Compassion
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses must be empathetic and caring toward the people they serve.
Detail oriented
LPNs and LVNs need to be responsible and detail oriented, because they must make sure that patients get the correct care at the right time.
Interpersonal skills
Interacting with patients and other healthcare providers is a big part of their jobs, so LPNs and LVNs need good interpersonal skills.
Patience
Dealing with sick and injured people may be stressful. LPNs and LVNs should be patient, so they can cope with any stress that stems from providing care to these patients.
Physical stamina
LPNs and LVNs should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as bending over patients for a long time.
Speaking skills
It is important that LPNs and LVNs communicate effectively. For example, they may need to relay information about a patient’s current condition to a registered nurse.
Injury and Illness
About 110 licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 84% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Bruises and contusions
All multiple traumatic injuries
Soreness and pain
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses typically hold a postsecondary nondegree award.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
LPNs and LVNs must complete an approved educational program. These programs award a certificate or diploma and typically take about 1 year to complete, but may take longer. They are commonly found in technical schools and community colleges, although some programs may be available in high schools or hospitals.
Practical nursing programs combine classroom learning in subjects such as nursing, biology, and pharmacology. All programs also include supervised clinical experience.
Contact state boards of nursing for lists of approved programs.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
After completing a state-approved educational program, prospective LPNs and LVNs can take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN). In all states, they must pass the exam to get a license and work as an LPN or LVN. For more information on the NCLEX-PN examination and a list of state boards of nursing, visit the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
LPNs and LVNs may choose to become certified through professional associations in areas such as gerontology and intravenous (IV) therapy. Certifications show that an LPN or LVN has an advanced level of knowledge about a specific subject.
In addition, employers may prefer to hire candidates who are trained to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Education level of Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Only 5% of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Fewer details
Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Program
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses per 1,000 workers (ACS)
Fewer details
Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (ACS)
Employment
22% of Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 22% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 71% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
Fewer details
Distribution: Salaries of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses and gender
With 87% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 95% of careers.
Gender of Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Men (13%)
Women (87%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
Fewer details
Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the
US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%.
The situation is a little better for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, with the
median salary for men 9%
higher than the median salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
Race/origin of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
White (62% )
Black (27% )
Asian (4% )
Other (3% )
Multiracial (2% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
