Duties of a Licensed Practical Nurse

Being a nurse is a very high responsibility profession. The reason for this is that doctors cannot be around to take care of patients 24-7. As a result, almost 90% of all stand-by patient care is carried out by hardworking nurses who work in shifts and are as capable as doctors in caring for their patients. But there are several categories of nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) are at the forefront of patient care.

What does an LPN do?

Licensed Practical Nurses are extremely important, as they are the ones who deal directly with patients on a day to day basis. They take care of the daily needs of the patient and convey any problems and discomforts during patient treatment to their supervisory nurses and doctors. As a result, Licensed Practical Nurses are in daily communication with patients and they have a lot of duties that deal with patient care. A few of the more common duties assigned to an LPN are-

1. Vital signs- LPNs are assigned the task of monitoring daily variations in the vital signs of the patients. Daily monitoring of the patients vital signs helps the doctors to diagnose their health and recovery from major surgical procedures or sicknesses.
2. Preparation- Patients who are admitted in a hospital have to undergo routine tests to check for health and vitality of organs. Prepping the patients by informing them about the procedure, dressing them, conveying them to appointment or hospital departments and pre-medicating them before required appointments are all tasks carried out by trained LPNs.
3. Medication charts- Almost every patient in a hospital environment is on a medication protocol. LPNs are assigned the task of monitoring medication, dosages and ensuring that patients take their dosages on time for effective patient care.
4. First Aid- Most emergency rooms are a mess of high tension and injured patients. Doctors can deal with the severely injured but LPNs are assigned the tasks of dealing the simple wounds and injuries to save time for the doctors. Cleaning wounds, giving simple injections, applying dressings and bandages, changing dressings and assisting in suture placements are all duties assigned to an LPN.
5. IV Maintenance- LPN does have to keep a careful eye on those patients who are on an IV drip. Patients who are being administered blood, medications, glucose etc have to be monitored, levels of IV solutions periodically noted and IV’s changed when required. LPNs may also have to change catheters, naso-gastric tubes, epidural infusions, perform tracheotomy care, fluid bags, and oxygen supplies.
6. Patient Hygiene- Inpatients who are admitted to the hospital for a long period of time have bathed, bedding changed, dressed and toileted everyday. LPNs are assigned these tasks.
7. Daily Massages- Bedridden patients are provided therapeutic massages from LPNs if they ask for it.
8. Home Care- LPNs can also work unsupervised in a home care environment. They help handicapped patients with the motions of daily life like bathing, eating, changing clothes etc. With a little additional clinical training by the patients physician; the LPN can also keep a close eye on the patients medications and carry out simple home care procedures for elderly bedridden patients like catheter changes, periodic bed changes to prevent bed sores, insulin injections, etc
9. Physician Orders- Sometimes doctors leave special instructions that have to be carried out for sick patients. A trained LPN should follow the physician during his rounds, comprehend detailed instructions and carry them out to the letter.
10. Food and Water- Feeding incapacitated patients and ensuring that they have a constant supply of water is one of the tasks of a caring LPN. 
11. Emotional Support- A very important aspect of an LPNs duties is dealing with depressed patients who are in severe pain. Providing emotional support to stressed patients is a very important role that LPNs have to play.

As such, Licensed Practical Nurses are expected to care for patients completely but under the supervision of a trained nurse of a physician. The work is hard and requires a lot of mental and physical strength but ultimately the entire process of caring for a sick person and nursing them back to health makes it worthwhile!