Nursing is a growing industry in the US, and there is an incredible demand for trained, licensed professionals in a range of different medical facilities. While there are many different nursing designations, a career in vocational nursing might be the best thing for your immediate needs. Becoming a licensed vocational nurse  (LVN) allows you to start a rewarding career, in a variety of different medical institutions.

What Is a Licensed Vocational Nurse?

An LVN is a nursing professional trained to assist other nurses and doctors within medical institutions. You might be more familiar with this occupation as a licensed practical nurse, rather than a licensed vocational nurse, but the two designations are identical. Licensed vocational nurses provide a range of different services for patients, other nurses, doctors and surgeons. For instance, you might be responsible for providing bedside care for patients, or for monitoring and recording vital signs. An LVN might be responsible for dressing wounds, for updating patient charts correctly and for providing proper personal hygiene for patients. An LVN might also assist patients who have difficulty eating, sitting up or provide aid during physical therapy or rehabilitation.

Occupational Settings for a Licensed Vocational Nurse

A vocational nurse can work in any of a number of medical institutions. These medical professionals might work in a hospital, a nursing home or permanent care facility, or within a private doctor’s office. Surgical centers also employ LVNs, while some professionals find the home healthcare field very rewarding. Travel nursing positions are also available for LVNs.

How Do I Become a Licensed Vocational Nurse?

Becoming an LVN requires completing a state-licensed education program and then passing the NCLEX-PN exam to get your license. Most LVN courses offered by vocational colleges can be completed in about one year, but the exact program tenure may vary from one college to another. Even though you may find a number of LVN courses available, but you must find a program that fits your budget, your needs and provides a quality education that will prepare you to pass your licensing examination.

When choosing an LVN school, accreditation is one of the most important considerations. It is also good practice to check the percentage of graduating students from the school who have gone on to pass the state licensing examination. This will help you determine if the course is a good fit for your needs or if you need to continue searching for another education provider. Finally, make sure you understand all the fees involved. Double-check the tuition payment schedule, application fees and other charges that will be applied, and don’t forget the cost of any study materials and medical equipment you will have to purchase.

It is obvious that nurses will be in-demand for a long time to come. Those in a vocational nursing college are sure to find tremendous career opportunities when they enter the job market.

What Is Vocational Nursing and Is It a Good Career Choice? is a post from: Unitek College Blog

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LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) programs prepare a practical nursing student to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination for Vocational Nurses (NCLEX-PN). The Board of Nurse Examiners in each state certifies lvn schools that meet the national standards. In order to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse, you must graduate from one of these programs.

To be accepted into an approved program you must:

• Be a high school graduate or have an equivalent diploma
• Be 18 years old
• Be current with vaccinations including Hepatitis
• Have a TB test
• Have no drug convictions
• Have no felony record
• Be of sound mind

If you believe you might have a background problem, check with the nursing board before you spend the time and money for the educational program. Acceptance into and graduation from an LVN program is no guarantee that the State Nursing Board will allow you to become a nurse. 

LVN Program Studies

An LVN school will prepare you for responsibilities related to patient care in hospitals, long term care facilities, home health, assisted living centers, physician’s offices, and community health centers.

• Your studies will include subject content such as Anatomy and physiology, Disease processes, Ethics as related to Health Care, Physical assessment of adults, elderly, and children, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Pharmacology, Task and Time Management, personal care and patient ADL to name just a few.

You will be required to have classroom instruction and clinical labs for hands on practice. Once you are proficient when practicing your skills in a setting with mannequins and other students, you will move on to a clinical area with real patients as a student nurse. You will be supervised by a licensed staff nurse and your clinical nursing instructor during these clinicals so you’re your skills are honed to handle real patients.

A full time student can complete their LVN program in about one year. This is a short educational time for better than average earning potential.  As an example, an LVN  employed in the San Francisco Bay Area  can expect to earn an annual salary can range from  $41,652 to $58,448 depending on the location, experience and employer (Source: www.salary.com, 1/2012).

After Graduation

Once you complete the LVN program course of study, you must apply to take the State Board examination. A background check will be performed by the Board of Nurse Examiners, and the following factors will be determined:

• You must have good morals and a professional conduct.
• You must be free of drug abuse, alcoholism and mental incompetence.
• Be truthful. Falsification of facts on your application for a nursing license can get you banned for life from your career choice.

After passing your examination, or “sitting for the boards” as it is sometimes called, you will receive your nursing license. Until you have the license in your hand, you cannot work as a licensed vocational nurse. You may work as a nurse tech, or graduate nurse in some locations.

Entering an LVN school is a great start to a career in healthcare. The field is exciting and ever expanding. Layoffs and cutbacks on nurses have not, and probably never will happen. The job outlook grows every year with increasing wages and excellent benefits with most companies. Many nurses continue their education and climb the corporate healthcare ladder. If you love helping people, are compassionate and yet strong under pressure, then an LVN program may provide the career you’ve been looking for.

LVN Programs: An Exciting Career Choice is a post from: Unitek College Blog

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The nursing field is booming and nurses are in high demand for hospitals, clinics and in the private sector. Are you having a hard time finding an LVN job? Check to see if you are making these mistakes.

On Scrubsmag.com, there is an article providing by NursingLink that gives five reasons why some nurses are having difficulties landing a position:

1) Read the job description – If the job is requiring a certain amount of experience or training that you don’t have and you apply anyway, you’re probably wasting your time and the interviewers. “With so many job applicants, recruiters are naturally going to pick the best of the best, and that means you’ve got to meet every single one of the job requirements, at the very least. But that doesn’t mean you should give up, either. If you find yourself not meeting a certain job requirement time after time, do something about it! Take a certificate course, or brush up on your bedside manner. Nothing shows dedication like taking action.”

2) Word play – Make sure your resume is free of spelling and grammatical errors. Also, use the key words used in the job description to re-emphasize your qualifications. I would also recommend asking a fellow nurse or even a professor to look over your resume to get their opinion on your word usage.

3) Job search tactics – Where are you looking for your job listings? Classified ads, human resources and hospital job boards are outdated and not always up to the minute. “The right social network can connect you directly with the job you want. Use Monster to find jobs in your field, post a resume and find your calling with their new Career Mapping tool, and LinkedIn and NursingLink to maintain your connections.”

4) Not the right fit – You could do everything right and still not get the job. Shake off the dust and trust that there is a better job just waiting for you.

5) Too high expectations – Are you aiming for a salary that is too high? Do you expect primo benefits? Are you only willing to take certain shifts? Sometimes you have to compromise to get your foot in the door.

Looking for a job is nerve wracking and stressful but when you know the right things to do, the doors will open. When you have your LVN degree, you’re halfway there to a brand new future!

To read the complete article mentioned in this post, please visit
http://scrubsmag.com/why-you-arent-getting-hired-as-a-nurse/

Having Trouble Finding a Job? is a post from: Unitek College Blog

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It’s common knowledge that one of the main reasons why a nursing shortage is pending is because people are living longer and Baby Boomers are entering into their senior years. With an older population, it is obvious that more health care workers will be needed to care for these aging individuals. However as the need grows, the supply of geriatric nurses is not. Could vocational nursing students fill this void?

In The Columbian, Paris Achen highlights the desperate need for nurses interested in geriatric care. “Nursing assistants, along with other jobs serving seniors, are expected to grow faster than average for all occupations as 70 million baby boomers reach the age of 65 or older by 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

“’There is a strange paradox here, because demand for people with a background in gerontology is increasing, but one of the problems we’re experiencing is reluctance in terms of students who want to do coursework in gerontology,’ said Graham Rowles, president of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education and University of Kentucky professor of social and behavioral sciences.”

There are several factors to why gerontology is not getting the workers that it needs. Medicaid and Medicare are the major funding sources for these patients so the payments are not as high as for privately insured patients therefore bringing in less money. Secondly, lower pay, odd hours and the emotional toll on caregivers causes some workers to change jobs. Finally, there is a stigma about working with the elderly that many nurses shy away from.

My husband, who is an LVN, did home health care for many years. He got attached to several of his patients and loved visiting them in their retirement communities or chatting with them about their lives. The hardest part about caring for the elderly can be the difficult conditions they live in if they are unable to clean their homes, the lack of family support and the loneliness that many are struggling with.

I think that the main reason for why workers aren’t turning to gerontology is lack of real understanding of what it entails. We mainly envision a smelly nursing home with a depressing environment. However, there are many aspects to this specialty and different levels of care that are needed. After vocational nursing school research all of your opportunities, even the ones you’re not sure about. You may be surprised.

To read the complete article mentioned in this post, please visit
http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/dec/20/help-wanted-need-for-medical-professionals-who-ser/

Need for Gerontology Nurses Growing is a post from: Unitek College Blog

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My husband has been an LVN nurse for about 13 years and I can’t imagine him doing anything else outside of the medical profession. Not only are male nurses more sensitive and compassionate than the average guy, but his career choice has had some pretty good results. Here are the reasons I’m glad I married a nurse:

1) The uniform – Not only does my husband look hot in his scrubs, but they are so convenient. They don’t have to be dry cleaned, they never go out of style (because they’re pretty much never IN style), they don’t have to be ironed and they last a really long time. If my husband worked in an office we’d be spending a fortune on expensive suits, ties, dry cleaning and shiny shoes.

2) There’s always a place to work – For a while my husband and I were considering moving to be closer to (and farther away from some) family members. No matter where we chose to go in the state or country, we knew that there would always be a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or care facility in the area.

3) An opportunity for growth – As an LVN, Vince has a good platform to build on for professional growth. He can go as far as he wants or be content to stay in his current position. The opportunities are endless. (Currently he is pursuing an education to become a fire fighter. His LVN skills certainly give him the upper hand since most on duty calls are medical emergencies.)

4) Convenient scheduling – Currently Vince works the day shift at a detention facility. He leaves at 6:30 am and is home by 4:00 pm. I love that he comes home early and can spend time with our 2 year old daughter (which gives me time to make dinner and have a little break.) Granted, he does work every other weekend which is a bit of a bummer, but he comes home early enough that we can still go out evenings and have fun. He also works every other holiday, but who can argue over holiday pay?

5) He loves being a nurse – All jobs have their ups and downs, but overall my husband loves being a nurse. He loves caring for people, he works with other great nurses with vibrant personalities and it was what he was born to do.

Being a vocational nurse is a great way to join the medical field. There are so many opportunities and positive factors for choosing this career. I’m glad I married my LVN!

I’m Glad I Married a Nurse is a post from: Unitek College Blog

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Patient-centered care: isn’t that why people go into the medical profession in the first place? Well, that’s what most people do but a new study was conducted focusing on patient care and satisfaction. As a student in an LVN program, keeping patients as a top priority is important to remember amongst all of the paperwork, office politics and often demanding physicians.

Measuring patient-centered care is an important job for any hospital or clinic to focus on. On FierceHealthCare.com, Karen M. Cheung questions, “How does an organization evaluate patient-centered care? Many organizations use the industry standards of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, Press Ganey, or other similar patient surveys.” However, patient satisfaction does not equal patient outcomes.

“Studies have shown experience correlates to quality performance, although there is little correlation between satisfaction and outcomes, according to Dr. Eric Holmboe, chief medical officer of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). For example, patients who report their providers’ communication as good have better outcomes. Patients who experienced higher ratings of performance (access to care, waiting time, general communication, communication about illness, care coordination, and office staff interaction) showed to have better blood pressure control, indicating a link between communication and care outcomes,” explains Cheung.

“In certifying physicians, the ABIM looks at the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/American Board of Medical Specialties core competencies to evaluate the skills of those clinicians: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning, systems-based practice, professionalism, and interpersonal skills and communication. Where does patient-centered care fit in? Holmboe explained that patient-centeredness plays a role throughout all six competencies,” writes Cheung.

While this study focused on physician care concerning patient outcomes, nurses could glean valuable information from this report. Who couldn’t become a better professional with more knowledge, practice and people skills?

During hospital stays, nurses are the bridge between the physician and the patient. As a patient, I tend to feel more comfortable speaking to and asking questions of a nurse. They seem less rushed, more compassionate and more personable.
Nursing is a demanding job on both a professional and emotional level. We know that we need to invest in our patients and yet there has to be established boundaries or else LVN nurses would get overwhelmed. I think time and experience can help to establish the balance for nurses on patient centered care.

To read the complete article mentioned in this post, please visit
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/teaching-patient-centered-care-must-physicians-patients/2011-11-29?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

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