LPN Specialties

Licensed practical nurses (or LPNs) are needed everywhere that medical care is provided. Hospitals, health clinics, doctors' offices, home-bound patients, and even cruise ships need LPNs to assist doctors, handle records, attend to patients, and keep medical machinery running smoothly.

There are many different specialties within the nursing sector:

Hospital Nurses: From emergency rooms to geriatric care to surgery prep, hospital nurses do it all. LPNs working in hospitals are responsible for drawing blood, reading vital signs, monitoring patients' reactions to medication, teaching families how to care for sick or injured loved ones, feeding babies, and preparing IVs, as well as feeding, cleaning, and dressing patients who are unable to do so for themselves. Hospital settings are a vital—but demanding—workplace setting those in the nursing profession. 

Nursing Care Facilities: Nursing homes and palliative care facilities offer a slightly slower-paced, but no less important, job front for LPN nurses. Licensed practical nurses perform many of the same daily tasks as hospital nurses, but patients stay longer and may not be expected to make full recoveries. Nurses who work in nursing homes and hospices must have exceptional patience and the emotional stoicism to face death and dying firsthand on a daily basis.

Home Care: Private care nurses perform some of the same tasks as hospital and nursing care LPNs, but they do so in their clients' homes. Home care LPNs can be hired for short visits (to draw blood, check blood pressure, or monitor other vital stats) or for long-term care (food, hygiene, medication, and physiotherapy) for elderly, sick, injured, or disabled patients. Home care nursing is a fast-growing area, with a rise in the number of elderly patients and the increasing capability to perform medical tests and care outside of hospitals. Home care nurses must be comfortable working independently with minimal supervision.

OfficeNursing: Office nurses work in medical clinics, doctors' offices, and non-hospital surgery centers. These nurses help to prepare patients for examinations or surgery, assist doctors during surgery, handle injections or medications, and dress wounds and incisions. The position may also include some administrative office work. LPNs who work in this type of setting may have more traditional work hours with a lower stress level than nurses in hospitals or nursing homes.

Military Nursing: The military is always in need of skilled nurses. LPNs who wish to pursue a military nursing job may be required to get additional training, or even a bachelor's degree in nursing. Military nurses are consistently in demand in both peace and wartime, and the military will usually reimburse tuition for LPNs who receive additional training for active duty.

Travel Nursing: Many interesting opportunities exist for LPNs who wish to work in other states or in foreign countries. Nurses are in high demand in many parts of the world, and many agencies will spend top dollar to send nurses on short-term remote assignments (typically ranging from 2 to 6 months). Travel nurses can find job opportunities across the U.S. and almost anywhere in the world, including clinic assignments in other states, emergency health care in third world countries, and health centers on luxury resorts and cruise ships.