Texas Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN)
Licensed vocational nurses are entry-level healthcare providers who work under the supervision of registered nurses or physicians and are responsible for providing basic nursing care. In general, licensed vocational nurses provide bedside care for the sick, injured, convalescent, and disabled. Among other things, they may monitor patients and report adverse reactions to medications or treatments, take vital signs, record blood pressure, pulse and temperature, prepare and give injections, apply dressings, monitor catheters, treat bedsores, and give alcohol rubs and massages.
There are over 725,000 licensed vocational and practical nurses in the U.S. out of which about 65,000 work and reside in Texas.
Due to the current shortage of health care workers, job prospects for vocational nurses are very good and almost all vocational nursing students secure positions well before graduation. LVN salary in Texas range from $34,000 to over $41,000 but can be significantly higher and vary depending on shifts, agency, experience, facility size, nursing specialty and location. New graduate licensed vocational nurses in the Houston area typically make $12 to $18 hourly and receive extra pay for working overtime, holidays, nights and weekends. Vocational nurses with several years of experience and additional credentials in specialties such as ICU, ER, and OR may earn around $30 hourly while agency work assignments may pay even higher rates.
Licensed vocational nurses are employed by hospitals, doctor's offices, home health organizations and a variety of other healthcare settings. Most vocational nurses work a 40-hour week but they might be required to work overtime, holidays, nights and weekends.
In order to become and practice as licensed vocational nurses, graduate nurses are required to pass a licensing examination (NCLEX-PN) and qualify for a license through the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas. Most vocational nursing programs last one year, include classroom study and supervised clinical practice, and do not require prerequisite courses. A high school diploma or its equivalent is usually required for entry but some programs accept candidates without a diploma. Vocational nursing programs are usually available from technical and vocational schools, or from community and junior colleges but some may be offered through high schools, hospitals, and universities.
Classroom study covers basic nursing concepts and subjects related to patient care such as anatomy, medical-surgical nursing, gerontology, psychiatric nursing, pharmacology, nutrition, physiology and first aid. Clinical practice is usually provided in hospitals but may include other settings such as nursing homes or school laboratories.
LVN employment of will continue to grow due to the nursing shortage, the long-term care needs of an increasing elderly population, the need for replacing nurses who leave the profession or retire, and the general growth of health care services. LVN hospital jobs are on the decline but there are an increasing number of new jobs created in nursing care facilities and in home health care services.
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