LPN Education Requirements

No other profession perhaps have a job as tough as those in the field of nursing. A day of any nurse, is filled with an unimaginable number of tasks and errands all of which are equally tough and also crucial for the smooth, safe and successful functioning of medical systems.

An acquaintance of mine who is a nurse describes his job by enlisting some common jobs, giving a terrified 5-year old an immunity shot, continuously monitoring the critical patients, consoling somebody in pain, check catheters, dress common wounds, giving a paralyzed person a bath.

Gently supporting and helping an old person to stand up, holding the hand and sooth the heart of somebody who has broken down in tears and even attending a very old person as he lies in a state of grace.

It must be noted that a LPN is also known as licensed vocational nurse (LVN), in California and Texas, whereas in some parts of the world, they are simply known as a registered nurse or a nurse.

In the United States, after serving as an LPN, a nurse can become a Registered Nurse, following which he/she can the opt to specialize in specific fields such as anesthesiology, psychiatry, senior health care. However, please note that colleges, schools and boards offering the specialization training also tend to have certain educational requirements.

In the United States of America and Canada, a LPN is a trained and certified nurse who does the job of caring for the sick and injured or any other patients. A LPN chiefly operates under the instruction and guidance of physicians, surgeons and most importantly other senior and certified nurses.

• As mentioned above, a LPN is charged with several different duties. However from the authority and the legislatively delegated authority's point of view a LPN is authorized to administer injections and medications as prescribed by doctors. 

Apart from that monitoring catheters and fulfilling the daily reporting compliance regarding the health of the patients under their care, are some crucial functions of a LPN's duty. A very, very important part of this job is administrating all kinds of medications at the exact precise time, in the apt dosages.

• In the reporting part, taking care of prescribed tests on their patients, keeping a tab on all the sensory machinery which depict heart rate, blood pressure and other bodily functions and in some cases manually checking the patients pulse and fever, come in the picture. 

Some reports also include, intake of food by patient, reactions of the patient, or even recording the narrated experience of a patient which often help out a doctor.

• Last but not the least, a LPN also provides emergency medical treatments such as a mouth-to-mouth, reviving a patient with electric pulse or putting on stitches, etc.

• Apart from these duties, the LPN's care a lot for their patients, and such duties include a lot of stuff, like giving a bath, sponging, even massaging or helping the patient in some psychiatric and physiotherapy exercises.

If you look at the picture broadly, a LPN is a nurse who takes care of an ailing human being.

The LPN requirements, education wise are very, very basic and simple. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing of the United States conducts an exam known as the National Council Licensure Examination-Practical Nurse (NCLEX-PN). 

Which helps all the LPN's to get their certification and also the right to be employed in a hospital, clinic or medical facility as a LPN. An additional certification of National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses is also required in some cases.

• Prior to appearing at any of these to examinations, aspiring LPN's need to attend a course in nursing at a nursing or a regular medical college. Conventionally, these course pan out to be about a yearlong or so and some of them being as long as 2 years.

• To qualify for attending such college that provides LPN training and education, one simply requires a GED Certification (General Education Development Test) or simply a high school diploma. Please note that some schools, colleges and institutes also impose a prerequisite condition which requires an applicant to have some subjects such as biology as their high school subjects.

A LPN or Licensed Practical Nurse, as they are referred, are indeed participating in a noble profession, a tradition which was first initiated by Florence Nightingale.

There are countless avenues which you can choose after becoming a LPN, for example, a nurse specializing in surgery assistance, anesthesia, childbirth, intensive care units, are just a few of the many fields in which you can specialize in.

A LPN is starting point of your career. On the whole, becoming a nurse, is a very, very fulfilling job. After all how many people have that quality of easing pain? To be honest, it's a rare one.