What does a practical nurse do?
A practical nurse is responsible for providing the highest quality care services for the patients and assisting them with their needs and concerns. Practical nurses work within a health institution or private household to support the patients in their daily activities, monitor their conditions, administer medication, and inform the doctors of their health updates. They also coordinate with other medical professionals to develop nursing care plans and activities to suit the patients' lifestyle and keep their active wellbeing.
Practical nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real practical nurse resumes:
- Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
- Treat patients with dignity, respect, and compassion while maintaining there safety.
- Maintain safety and quality standards of care while facilitating early discharge of mother and baby.
- Maintain HIPPA and OSHA guidelines.
- Receive and implementing Dr orders.
- Train in lactation and NRP certify.
- Provide complete nursing care to a new born baby.
- Assess, initiate, and perform CPR in emergency situations.
- Perform new baby assessments and provide support to new mothers.
- Perform behavioral and emotional support and supervision for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's.
- Plan and implement the aide and mandatory in-services to meet Medicare guidelines and monthly CPR offerings.
- Start iv fluids, hang blood, administer medications orally, topically, and by injection.
- Render pre/ post operative care for hysterectomy, myomectomy, GU issues and other GYN procedures.
- Provide care to patients in a critical care environments to include: ICU, dialysis, and field hospitals.
- Perform ongoing physical assessments for symptoms of withdrawals and TB skin tests, as well as computer and paper charting.
Practical nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Practical Nurses are proficient in Patients, APN, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Patience, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Practical Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 27%
Partnered in managing patients requiring mechanical ventilation, extended IV antibiotic administration, cardiac drips, and other critical care treatments.
- APN, 7%
Worked on multiple committees including Product Value Analysis, Infection Control, Perinatal/Pediatric Steering Committee, and the APN Task Force.
- Home Health, 6%
Performed face to face encounters prior to certifying a patient s eligibility for the home health benefit.
- Acute Care, 5%
Solo practice provider in family practice managed and acute care
- Physical Examinations, 4%
Performed Health Maintenance Examinations including: medical histories, physical examinations, assess and determine differential diagnoses.
- Vital Signs, 4%
Monitor vital signs, performed tube feeding/irrigation/wound care/trachea/vent/GT/Immunization/Immuno-Therapy.
"patients," "apn," and "home health" are among the most common skills that practical nurses use at work. You can find even more practical nurse responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a practical nurse to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "lpns and lvns must be able to build a rapport to interact with patients and other healthcare providers." Practical nurses often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assist surgeon with equipment during surgery recover patients provided discharge instructions and planning skills used critical thinking skills interpersonal skills cpr"
Compassion. For certain practical nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "compassion." The day-to-day duties of a practical nurse rely on this skill, as "lpns and lvns must be empathetic and caring toward the people they serve." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what practical nurses do: "provide compassion, critical thinking, phone triage, walk-in triage, and phoned-in prescriptions. "
Detail oriented. Another common skill required for practical nurse responsibilities is "detail oriented." This skill comes up in the duties of practical nurses all the time, as "lpns and lvns need to pay attention to minutiae because they must ensure that patients get the correct care at the right time." An excerpt from a real practical nurse resume shows how this skill is central to what a practical nurse does: "authorized drug refills and provided detailed prescription information to pharmacies, and obtained prior- authorization for medications and specialized diagnostic testing. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to practical nurse responsibilities. Much of what a practical nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "lpns and lvns should be able to perform physical tasks, such as bending over patients for a long time." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of practical nurses: "monitored two assigned residents, performed physical assessments, medication administration"
The three companies that hire the most practical nurses are:
- Trusted Health Plans1,020 practical nurses jobs
- Lancaster General Health59 practical nurses jobs
- RWJBarnabas Health45 practical nurses jobs
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Compare different practical nurses
Practical nurse vs. Advanced registered nurse practitioner
An advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) is responsible for patient care. An ARNP may practice independently or work with other healthcare professionals such as physicians. Your duties typically include examining patients and determining diagnosis by physical examination, patient history, and other medical assessments, admitting, managing, and discharging patients to and from medical facilities, and managing health care by developing, implementing, and evaluating treatment and care plans for patients. You will also be responsible for referring patients to other health care service providers or facilities.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, practical nurse responsibilities require skills like "apn," "physical examinations," "vital signs," and "np." Meanwhile a typical advanced registered nurse practitioner has skills in areas such as "arnp," "diagnosis," "health problems," and "discharge summaries." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Advanced registered nurse practitioners really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $103,277. Comparatively, practical nurses tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $77,770.On average, advanced registered nurse practitioners reach higher levels of education than practical nurses. Advanced registered nurse practitioners are 29.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Practical nurse vs. Nurse coordinator
A nurse coordinator is primarily in charge of overseeing all nurses and their activities in a hospital or clinic. Their responsibilities include managing and rotating schedules, assessing nurse performance, organizing nursing programs, and developing strategies to optimize procedures. They may also assist patients and answer inquiries, studying their conditions to develop specific care plans to suit their needs. Furthermore, as a nurse coordinator, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals, all while implementing the facility's policies and regulations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real practical nurse resumes. While practical nurse responsibilities can utilize skills like "apn," "acute care," "physical examinations," and "diagnostic tests," nurse coordinators use skills like "customer service," "quality care," "critical care," and "community resources."
On average, nurse coordinators earn a higher salary than practical nurses. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nurse coordinators earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $80,569. Whereas practical nurses have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $77,770.nurse coordinators earn lower levels of education than practical nurses in general. They're 11.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for practical nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Practical nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from practical nurse resumes include skills like "apn," "home health," "physical examinations," and "np," whereas a registered nurse charge nurse is more likely to list skills in "bls," "acls," "resident care," and "quality patient care. "
Registered nurses charge nurses earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $68,929. Practical nurses earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $77,770.Most registered nurses charge nurses achieve a lower degree level compared to practical nurses. For example, they're 17.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Practical nurse vs. Nurse extern
The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.
Types of practical nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
