Duties of an LVN vs Rn

One of the first thing that trips people up when they start considering a nursing career is the duties of an LVN vs RN.  LVN stands for Licensed Vocational Nurse and RN stands for Registered Nurse.  While both degrees have many similarities, there are also some important differences you need to know about if you’re considering entering nursing as a career.  The RN is the more advanced degree, and it will take about four years to qualify for that title.  However, a person can be licensed to practice as an LPN in about a year or so.  This is one of the main things that attracts many people to becoming an LVN as opposed to an RN.

So what are the duties of an LVN vs RN, and how do they differ specifically?  Well, each state has their own standards, but many of these are pretty much the same.  In general, the biggest difference between an RN and an LPN is the level of independence and responsibility that each nurse has.  In many cases, an LPN and RN will often spend much of their shift doing many of the same jobs – taking blood pressure, dispensing medications, preparing and giving shots to patients, giving enemas, taking care of personal hygiene matters that patients can’t handle themselves, monitoring and recording changes in the patient’s condition, etc.

In most states, all of those duties can be performed by either a Licensed Vocational Nurse or a Registered Nurse.  However, there are some things only a Registered Nurse can do.  These include drawing up a care plan for a patient, handling certain medications, initiating IV drips, etc.  These kinds of things generally require more education to be able to make the critical decisions that are necessary.  For this reason, most LPN’s will be working under an RN.  So, for the most part, duties of an LVN vs RN will often overlap, but when it comes to making more important decisions, an RN degree is usually required.