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Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Acute Care Nurses Nurse Practitioners Nursing Assistants Paramedics Registered Nurses

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
Record food and fluid intake and output.
Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.
Wash and dress bodies of deceased persons.
Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
Apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles.
Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
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.
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.
Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
Clean rooms and make beds.
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.
Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.
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.
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.
Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.
Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.

Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.

Administration and Management
- 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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Medicine and Dentistry
- 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.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Public Safety and Security
- 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.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- 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.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Psychology
- 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.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

79700/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

38.32/hr

Currently Employed

8,730

Yearly Projected Openings

800

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Sincerity
Empathy
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control
Social Orientation
Cooperation

Abdominal binders
Analgesic infusion sets or kits
Apnea monitors
Blood transfusion filters or screens
Canes
Capillary or hematocrit tubes
Cardiac output CO monitoring units
Cervical collars or neck braces
Clinical trapeze bars
Continuous passive motion CPM devices
Crutches
Desktop computers
Dial calibrated intravenous flowmeters or regulators
Dispensing pins or needles
Electrocardiography EKG transmitters or telemetry devices
Electrocardiography EKG units
Electronic blood pressure units
Electronic stethoscopes
Enema kits
Extremity restraints
Full body restraints
Glucose monitors or meters
Head or neck traction supplies
Hematology analyzers
Hemodialysis units
Hypodermic needle
Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB machines
Intravenous infusion pumps for general use
Intravenous or arterial extension tubing
Intravenous or arterial infusion bags or containers
Intravenous or arterial tubing adapter or connector
Knee therapeutic brace or support
Lancets
Leg traction supplies
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Medical gas cylinders or related devices
Medical or surgical suction or vacuum appliances
Medical oxygen masks or parts
Medical oxygen tubing or connectors
Medical syringes without needle
Medical ultrasound or doppler or pulse echocardiograph or echocardiograph units for general diagnostic use
Mercury blood pressure units
Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
Nasogastric tubes
Nebulizers
Needleless intravenous injection syringe sets or injection cannulas
Needleless vial or bag withdrawal cannulas or adapters or decanters
Notebook computers
Orthopedic traction hardware or weights
Ostomy appliances
Oxygen therapy delivery system products
Patient care beds for specialty care
Patient controlled analgesia infusion pumps
Patient lifts
Patient shifting boards
Patient stabilization or fall prevention devices
Perfusion oxygen or hematocrit saturation monitors
Peripherally inserted central catheters PICC
Personal computers
Pulse oximeter units
Respiratory monitoring kits
Restraint straps or buckles or supplies
Restraint vests and jackets
Spirometers
Surgical drains or drain sets
Suture removal kits or trays or packs or sets
Tablet computers
Therapeutic heating or cooling blankets or drapes
Tourniquets
Tracheostomy tubes
Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units
Tuberculin syringes
Urinary catheterization kits
Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
Vascular or compression apparel or support
Walkers or rollators
Walking braces
Wheelchairs
Winged infusion needle set