LPNs are licensed practical nurses, also known as licensed vocational nurses. Within any medical institution, LPNs are the nurses who provide the greatest amount of direct medical care to patients. As such, your role is very important. They are the ones who attend to the daily needs of the patients while they are undergoing treatment and communicate with their superiors, who may be registered nurses or doctors. Therefore, licensed practical nurses are the ones with whom patients are in communication most of the time.
LPN jobs are demanding of many roles, as these jobs are the most direct in healthcare organizations. The following is a list of some of the duties that licensed practical nurses have to dispense with:-
-LPNs have to take vital signs of patients, which allows doctors to make their diagnoses. If the patient is to undergo preliminary diagnostic testing, LPNs must prepare the patient for the test, collect their samples, send the samples to the appropriate laboratories, and then obtain the reports for physicians to review.
-For wounds and minor injuries, LPNs are required to perform first aid tasks such as cleaning wounds, applying dressings and bandages, etc. They have to help doctors provide sutures.
-It is the LPN’s job to administer injections to patients in most cases.
-LPNs must be vigilant about patients who are in serious conditions. They should be on the lookout for patients receiving blood, glucose, or saline drops. They have to carefully monitor patients with catheters and oxygen supplies.
-In patients admitted to the care center, it is the duty of the LPN to check that everything is going well. They are responsible for the patients’ food and water supplies. They must take care of the patient’s hygiene and can instruct the help staff at the health center to accompany the patient to the bathroom, change clothes, etc.
-LPNs are qualified to provide therapeutic massage to patients. If the case arises, such as the patient suffering from a pulled muscle due to lying in the hospital bed for a long time, then the LPN can administer a massage to set things right.
-LPNs have to prepare patients who are going to be operated on. They should change them to fit the surgery and take care of their water and food restrictions during the period. After surgery, they should monitor the patient during recovery and maintain constant surveillance until the patient is ready to be discharged.
Therefore, LPN jobs include complete patient care and follow-up, and at the same time, coordination with superiors. The responsibilities of the job are immense, but they are very good training grounds for licensed practical nurses, who are learning to be a registered nurse in the future.