LPN Career – Job Prospects and Advancement
The demand for licensed practical nurses is projected to increase significantly over the course of the next ten years. Apart from being able to find a job easily, you will have different positions to choose from. You will have a very good salary, standard working hours and excellent LPN career prospects.
You can choose to work on various job positions. Most nurses work in hospitals and have a 40-hour work week. More and more LPNs are being employed in clinics and doctor’s offices. The work in such places is certainly less hectic and demanding, but the remuneration is smaller. You can readily find a job in a nursing care facility as well. You will be working with chronically ill patients who need 24-hour special care. The lpn salary is relatively high, but you can expect to work longer shifts as well as on weekends.
In most cases, professionals working in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices do not advance in their LPN career, even though as their experience grows, they are entitled to pay raises. In addition, they might be given more responsibility, but promotion is rare. It is much easier for a nurse to advance in his/her career, when working in a nursing home or a similar nursing care facility. An Licensed Practical Nurse can be given a supervisor and/or managerial job and become responsible for the rest of the nursing staff.
Specialization is another way in which you can improve your career prospects and remuneration, in particular. You can choose to specialize in fields, such as gerontology, pharmacology, IV therapy or long-term care. This will certainly give you a salary boost and a better job position.
Perhaps the best way for LPN career advancement is for you to become a registered nurse (RN). With this qualification, you will be able to take higher managerial position and receive larger remuneration. There are many LPN to RN programs, which you can enroll in while working.
