Occupation · SOC 29-2061
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.
Median wage
$62,340
$47,960–$80,510
Projected growth
+2.6%
Slower than average
Annual openings
1,710
per year
Employed (US)
632,430
Job Zone 3
Typical preparation
Medium preparation
Stackable credential programs
287 mapped
Core skills
Service OrientationCoordinationSocial PerceptivenessMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingReading Comprehension
Knowledge areas
Customer and Personal ServiceEnglish LanguagePsychologyMedicine and DentistryAdministration and Management
Technology & tools
Categorization or classification softwareMedical softwareVideo conferencing softwareCloud-based data access and sharing softwareInventory management software
Representative tasks
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.Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.Record food and fluid intake and output.Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.Apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles.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.Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.Wash and dress bodies of deceased persons.Clean rooms and make beds.Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Vital signs and routine assessments — collect and document on stable patients under an RN's review.Medication administration within LPN scope — administer per state-practice-act limits and facility protocol.Standard treatments (wound dressings, urinary catheter care, oxygen titration) — perform on routine assignments.Patient identifiers and safety checks — execute reliably before any procedure or administration.Charting in the EHR — enter assessments, treatments, and outcomes accurately under RN review.Patient education on common conditions — deliver from facility-approved materials under supervision.Specimen collection (blood draws within scope, urine, wound cultures) — obtain per protocol.Communication with the RN charge — escalate appropriately on out-of-norm findings.Infection control and isolation precautions — apply consistently across patient encounters.Personal protective equipment + body mechanics — apply on transfers and treatments.
developing
Multi-patient assignments — organize and prioritize across an LPN-staffed hallway shift.IV initiation and maintenance within LPN scope — perform reliably where state practice permits.Treatment plans for common diagnoses — execute from RN-developed plans with reduced oversight.Stable but complex patients — provide care across multiple comorbidities under RN supervision.Family-member interactions on common concerns — handle directly and route clinical questions to the RN.Patient education and discharge teaching — deliver on a routine basis without RN follow-up.Newer LPNs and nursing assistants — guide on facility routines during their first weeks.EHR documentation for regulatory compliance — complete accurately across an entire shift.Common procedures (Foley insertion, NG tube management, glucose monitoring) — perform independently.Subtle changes in patient status — recognize and report to the RN charge or attending.
proficient
Complex routine patients in long-term care — provide care autonomously within scope of practice.Charge-LPN responsibilities (where the state and facility permit) — coordinate hallway team during a shift.Specialty-area protocols (dialysis support, hospice, post-op recovery) — apply within scope.Difficult patient and family conversations on routine clinical issues — handle within LPN authority.New protocols and EHR changes — implement and coach LPN and CNA peers.Preceptorship of new-grad LPNs — host structured orientations.Quality and safety concerns — identify, report, and follow through using facility processes.Care-team coordination (dietary, social work, rehab) — collaborate substantively in care conferences.Common-issue physician collaboration — communicate findings clearly enough to prompt the right order.Cross-shift handoffs and SBAR-style reports — deliver clearly to incoming staff.
advanced
LPN charge or supervisor role in long-term care — manage staffing, breaks, and care assignments across a unit.Restorative care or specialty-program leadership — design and audit on a unit alongside RN leadership.Preceptorship and clinical-teaching role for the LPN program — coach across cohorts.Survey readiness (state, CMS) — prepare the unit and represent staff in walkthroughs.Unit-level quality measures (medication errors, falls, pressure ulcers) — interpret trends and respond.Career pathway coaching (LPN-to-RN bridge programs) — mentor staff who want to advance.Senior advocate for LPN-staff voice — represent on facility committees and in leadership meetings.Regulatory and scope-of-practice updates — interpret and operationalize for the team as states evolve.Mass-care or surge-staffing situations — lead the LPN response with composure.Long-term-care operations — partner with administration on staffing models and clinical practice.
Also known as
153 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
Surgical Technologist Craftsman, Orthopedics (Air Force 4N171C)Medical Surgical Nurse (Army 66H)Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Aeromedical Nurse Practitioner (Air Force 46Y4F)Clinical Nurse, Critical Care (Air Force 46N3E)Surgical Technologist Helper (Air Force 4N111)Surgical Technologist Craftsman, Urology (Air Force 4N171B)Surgical Technologist Apprentice (Air Force 4N131)Orthopedic Specialist (Army 68B)Family Nurse Practitioner (Army 66P)Surgical Technologist Helper, Urology (Air Force 4N111B)Clinical Nurse, Critical Care (Air Force 46N1E)Triage LPN (Triage Licensed Practical Nurse)Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Family Nurse Practitioner (Air Force 46Y1H)Nurse Corps Officer (Army 66)Critical Care Nursing (Army 66S)Surgical Technologist Journeyman, Orthopedics (Air Force 4N151C)Clinical Specialist, Nursing (Navy 0925)Perioperative Nurse (Navy 0932)Pediatric LPN (Pediatric Licensed Practical Nurse)Mental Health Nurse (Air Force 46P4)Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner (Air Force 46Y1A)Dental Assistant Helper (Air Force 4Y011)Aerospace Medical Service Manager (Air Force 4N000)Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Air Force 46Y4M)Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Women's Health Care Nurse Practitioner (Air Force 46Y4A)Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (Air Force 46Y4B)Nurse, Licensed PracticalHospitalman (Navy HN)Army Public Health Nurse (Army 66B)Surgical Technologist (Air Force 4N1X1)Mental Health Nurse (Air Force 46PX)Dental Assistant Journeyman (Air Force 4Y051)Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN)Clinical Nurse, Emergency/Trauma (Air Force 46N4J)Health Services Management Helper (Air Force 4A011)Emergency/Trauma Nurse (Navy 0906)Certified Nurse Midwife (Army 66W)Health Services Management Journeyman (Air Force 4A051)Aerospace Medical Technician (Navy 003700)Clinical Nurse, Staff Development (Air Force 46N4D)