Popular Bedside Nursing Jobs (LPN)

00:01 There is a common misconception that LPNs can't work in an inpatient acute care setting.

00:08 And honestly, this isn't true.

00:10 Hospitals hire LPNs.

00:13 Now keep in mind this is going to vary on the specialty, the facility and the state you're practicing in.

00:19 Hospital systems hire a certain percentage of LPNs in acute care.

00:25 And as an LPN, you will be an asset for the hospital.

00:29 And if you're interested in going back to school, there are often tuition reimbursement options for LPNs to enroll in LPN to RN programs.

00:39 In the state I live, Med Surg units still widely used LPNs and Med Surg has a wide variety of patient issues going on.

00:49 It could be anything from post-surgical to renal issues, to transplant patients, ortho you name it.

00:55 Now nurse to patient ratios are about anywhere from 4-8.

01:00 And the wide variety and a sometimes larger patient load can deter many nurses from working in this area.

01:08 I have a bit of a different perspective on this.

01:10 I find Med Surg a great place to start as a new LPN or RN.

01:16 You're going to develop a wide range of skill sets, ability to show off your great technical skills and gain a larger knowledge base than working a specialty area alone.

01:28 The good news is many times your patients in Med Surg can talk to you.

01:33 They are not on any high level of care, such as ventilation, titratable drips, and generally, they're more stable than those who need the ICU level of care.

01:44 Now, the important thing to know here is that not all Med Surg units are the same.

01:51 I, as nursing faculty, have had numerous times, nursing students tell me they hate Med Surg because past experiences, then they had clinicals on a different unit different Med Surg unit with a nurse to patient ratio of about 5:1.

02:08 The unit was cohesive, the unit manager was great.

02:12 And the student ended up loving that unit, and actually ended up working there.

02:16 Now just know these floors can vary widely as really many nursing floors do.

02:22 Now, let's talk about the ICU or intensive care unit.

02:26 These patients are very sick, in critical condition, and many times they can't talk to you because they're intubated, or they're in like a coma-like state.

02:36 A lot of the times you've got multiple IV infusions running at once, you have to adjust them.

02:42 So if you like attention to detail, this may be the place for you.

02:46 Monitoring is very frequent here.

02:49 You may take vital signs like every 5-10 minutes, whereas maybe Med Surg it may be only like every 4 or 8 hours.

02:57 Now a high stress environment, but nurse to patient ratio is usually 2:1 or 1:1 even.

03:05 And this is because the patient's really sick.

03:08 Now, one thing to note in the ICU is that you are required to have advanced certifications like what we call ACLs, advanced cardiac care, or PALS that's pediatric care.

03:19 Note that LPNs though typically are not working in this environment as frequently as RNs do.

03:26 A lot of the times because of those certifications.

03:29 I do know of a friend who was an LPN working in the ICU.

03:33 However, she had been working in that ICU as a nurse tech for years before she earned her LPN.

03:40 And she's going back to school now to get her RN.

03:44 In each state practice act is slightly different, but LPNs have to work under the supervision of an RN.

03:52 Now pediatrics is another area to discuss.

03:56 I feel this is kind of an either you love it or hate it sort of place.

04:00 Now, don't get me wrong.

04:01 I love kids and this type of nursing care, but it's an area I found out relatively quickly as a student.

04:09 I had a really hard time letting go of the sadness that can come with caring for sick kids.

04:16 Now, many who feel like Peds is their thing, man, they're really phenomenal at it.

04:22 Now, one thing to note, is Peds is really kind of a different skill set in my opinion than adults.

04:29 What I mean by this is medication dosing, for example.

04:33 It's very different and a little scary, to be honest.

04:36 And one slight miscalculation can be really detrimental to kids.

04:42 The other thing with Peds is therapeutic communication is a must, and you may think you're doing well at it but doesn't mean the kids going to receive it very well.

04:52 You've got to be really creative and building rapport with kids, even more so than an adult I feel like.

04:59 Just my opinion.

05:00 Now, good news is as an LPN, you do have options here if you like this type of population.

05:07 Now in a larger hospital setting, many times LPNs don't work in this area due to it being a specialty.

05:13 However, there are tons of pediatric clinics, family medicine clinics, home health care for peds specifically.

05:21 And these are really common area for LPNs to work to just name a few.

05:25 Labor and delivery, otherwise known as L&D.

05:29 Now, I fully believe this is a great area to work where babies are being born and delivered.

05:35 But there are pregnant patients that are monitored for complications here.

05:39 And where people typically recover a day or two till they go home after the delivery.

05:45 Now, many times things go as planned.

05:47 The patient delivers the baby, they go home, but when things go wrong here, they can really go wrong.

05:55 Many times the birthing parent and/or baby can be at high risk.

05:59 So not only are you responsible for the adult, but responsible for the child as well.

06:06 Now this area is considered high risk in a specialty area.

06:10 So many times LPNs don't work in this type in area, especially in an inpatient setting.

06:17 However, LPNs can look for this opportunity in family medicine clinics or OB clinics.

06:24 Now let's talk about the OR or the operating room.

06:27 I will say as a nursing student, I was super excited to go to the OR for clinical.

06:32 I'm kind of into the blood, the guts, and I don't consider myself to have a weak stomach.

06:38 I was thinking I would get to do something super cool like hold a clamp maybe during surgery, help suction, but no honestly, I was wrong.

06:46 OR nurses are not the ones that usually hold the clamps or assist with the procedure that is actually the scrub techs or the surgical assistants.

06:56 So many times as a nurse, you are prepping the patient in the OR, meaning you're shaving the operative site, you're performing surgical scrubs pre surgery.

07:06 Basically, you're gonna be the one responsible for maintaining IV fluids, sedation at times and monitoring the patient during the procedure.

07:14 Oh, and scribing meaning lots and lots of documentation and getting the room also prepped for the next surgery.

07:24 But again, just depending on your scope, and where you practice, not all LPS will be in this setting.

07:31 Last but not least.

07:32 This is for all you adrenaline junkies out there think random chaos, you may run into severe traumas like MVAs or otherwise known as motor vehicle accidents, to random embarrassing patient situations.

07:47 Now wind them up in the ER and now you are there as our nurse.

07:51 Now many of you guys out there love it.

07:54 However, if you are one who likes order, and perfection and everything going as planned, this is probably not the place for you.

08:03 The ER is completely unpredictable.

08:06 But one positive note.

08:09 A lot of the times in the ER there are many protocols in place to help assist you in common situations that guide you as a nurse, and your physicians are generally close if you need them to collaborate with.

08:22 Now there are more inpatient jobs, but these are going to be the most common.

08:26 But what if you don't imagine yourself in the hospital? You may want to consider a non-bedside job or a different type of setting.