MightyRecruiterLicensed practical nurses (LPNs) promote and maintain the heath of their patients by performing numerous medical services, including vital monitoring, wound care and hygiene assistance. They also explain treatment options to their patients and discuss patient progress with their supervisors.
To qualify to work with patients, licensed practical nurses must complete certification programs and obtain state and national licensing. They can also become licensed in specific disciplines, so be sure to mention your preferred specializations in your licensed practical nurse (LPN) job description.
In addition to being capable medical providers, licensed practical nurses should have strong interpersonal skills so they can make patients feel comfortable as they care for them. They must also be detail oriented to increase the likelihood that they will notice errors and prevent them from affecting patients. To learn more about what to include in your licensed practical nurse (LPN) job description, review the following example.
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Job Summary
Do you want to spend your life making a difference? Sunny Days Senior Center is seeking licensed practical nurses to deliver compassionate medical care to seniors living in our facility. Working under charge nurse Maria Foreman, you will administer services such as hygiene assistance and medication distribution while also providing your patients with warm conversation and a friendly smile. This position will give you the opportunity to assist with specialized procedures, widen your knowledge base and diversify your qualifications. If you want to apply your hard-earned training in a positive, welcoming environment, then Sunny Days Senior Center is the right place for you.
Job Responsibilities
- Distribute correct medications to patients in proper doses, recording times of administration in charts to ensure ongoing accuracy
- Take and record patient vital signs, such as blood pressure, pulse and respiration, noting any undesirable signs and reporting them to other medical staff members
- Perform daily rounds to monitor patient morale and progress, converse with patients to gauge comfort levels, track changes and report patient status to supervisors
- Set up and fit patients with oxygen suppliers, catheters, feeding tubes, tracheotomy tubes and intravenous devices, removing and refreshing them as necessary throughout the day
- Provide hygiene assistance services, such as bathing, bedpan replacement, wound care and bedsore treatment, and advise patients on managing their symptoms
- Respond to patient requests, going above and beyond to make them as comfortable as possible while they are in your care
- Administer CPR to ailing patients, summon crash cart and otherwise assist care team during medical emergencies
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- Licensed practical nurse (LPN) certification
- Two years’ experience as an LPN
- Ability to stand for at least eight hours and lift 25 pounds
- CPR certification
Preferred:
- Gerontology certification or experience
- Highly organized and strong attention to detail
- Outgoing and patient with superior communication skills
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Job Responsibilities
The health of a medical practice depends on the quality of its personnel, and to hire the best LPNs you need a job responsibilities section that draws on key best practices to attract candidate attention. This section should be the most substantial, but forget about writing lengthy list of duties in exhaustive, excessive detail. Avoid gimmicks that do nothing to really tell potential hires if they want this job. With the right responsibilities section, your Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) job description can get right to the heart of the matter and gain the interest of the fresh blood your practice needs to thrive.
Start by thinking in terms of action instead of in terms of responsibility. Thinking of responsibility turns a life-saving practice into something dull and routine. Use action verbs to describe each duty depicted in your Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) job description, then create a list of 6-8 bullets giving the most important details of the role. By keeping it short and writing in energizing language, you give the reader exactly the information they need to know if you’re the right fit for them.
Here’s our shot at Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) job responsibilities:
- Conduct daily rounds of assigned floors to monitor and update patient condition
- Assist physicians with intakes, assessments and patient histories
- Administer medication regimens; monitor for adverse reactions
- Begin patient IVs, catheters and blood draws
- Ensure appropriate patient and family education and support
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Job Specifications
Once you’ve narrowed down your Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) job description to essential duties, you need to clarify the required qualifications and skills. These criteria can help eliminate unqualified applicants but can also ward the unqualified or overqualified away from applying in the first place. Save yourself the trouble of screening unnecessary jobseekers from your talent pool, and weed them out in the early stage with this list of job requirements.
For an LPN role, the job qualifications and skills section halfway writes itself when it comes to licensing and education. Once you have those mandatory requirements out of the way, think of other important things for the role, such as whether candidates should have experience in a hospital or private practice. Perhaps they should specialize in geriatric care or need more experience working in dialysis. Work out what’s absolutely critical, and include that in a list of five or six bullets at the bottom of your Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) job description.
Take a look at this example of Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) job specifications:
- State-licensed LPN
- At least 5 years of experience in a hospital setting
- Bachelor of Nursing preferred
- Experience with OR and surgical floor operations
- Expertise working with children and adolescent patients
