The LVN shall provide nursing care under the supervision of the RN, as defined by the Nurse Practice Act.

The nursing process can be used to describe the scope of practice for an LVN as follows:

1.      In the assessment phase, the LVN will collect and review information about the client and communicate this information to the appropriate members of the health team.

2.      In the planning phase, the LVN will help the RN in the developing of nursing diagnosis, goals and plan of care and maintaining patient safety.

3.      In the implementation phase, the LVN will carry out the measures set forth in the plan to accomplish established patient goals.

4.      The evaluation phase is when the LVN determines the outcome of interventions performed to accomplish established patient goals

The following information is according to the knowledge and judgment of economists at the Bureau’s office of Occupational Statistics and Employment projections.

Licensed practical nurses held about 726,000 jobs in 2004. About 27 percent of LVNs worked in hospitals, 25 percent in nursing care facilities, and another 12 percent in offices of physicians. Others worked for home health care services; employment services; community care facilities for the elderly; public and private educational services; outpatient care centers; and Federal, State, and local government agencies. About 1 in 5 worked part time.

Employment of LVNs is expected to grow about as fast as average for all occupations through 2014 in response to the long-term care needs of an increasing elderly population and the general growth of health care services. Replacement needs will be a major source of job openings, as many workers leave the occupation permanently. Applicants for jobs in hospitals may face competition as the number of hospital jobs for LPNs declines; however, rapid employment growth is projected in other health care industries, with the best job opportunities occurring in nursing care facilities and in home health care services.

Employment of LVNs in hospitals is expected to continue to decline. Sophisticated procedures once performed only in hospitals are being performed in physicians’ offices and in outpatient care centers such as ambulatory surgical and emergency medical centers, largely because of advances in technology. Consequently, employment of LVNs in most health care industries outside the traditional hospital setting is projected to grow faster than average.

Employment of LVNs is expected to grow much faster than average in home health care services. Home health care agencies also will offer the most new jobs for LVNs because of an increasing number of older persons with functional disabilities, consumer preference for care in the home, and technological advances that make it possible to bring increasingly complex treatments into the home.

Employment of LVNs in nursing care facilities is expected to grow about as fast as average because of the growing number of aged and disabled persons in need of long-term care. In addition, LVNs in nursing care facilities will be needed to care for the increasing number of patients who have been discharged from the hospital but who have not recovered enough to return home. However, changes in consumer preferences towards less restrictive and more cost-effective care from assisted living facilities and home health care agencies will limit employment growth.

This table explains how to interpret the key phrases used to describe projected changes in employment. It also explains the terms used to describe the relationship between the number of job openings and the number of jobseekers.

Median annual earnings of licensed practical nurses were $33,970 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $28,830 and $40,670. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,480, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $46,270. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of licensed practical nurses in May 2004 were: