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Licensed Practical Nurse pay and benefits
Federal rules require a nursing home to keep licensed nurse coverage around the clock, with a registered nurse on duty for 8 consecutive hours a day. Licensed practical nurses carry the other 16, and the responsibility comes with them.
Median Salaryof Licensed Practical Nurse
10%$21.10/hr
median$29.44/hr
90%$54.02/hr
Top Benefitsof Licensed Practical Nurse
- Dental insurance91%
- Health insurance91%
- Paid time off91%
- Vision insurance91%
- Wellness programs91%
The medication pass sets the shift
In long-term care the pass runs the shift, and a survey rule sets it. A surveyor counts a dose given 60 minutes or more from its scheduled time as a wrong-time error, where the delay could cause discomfort or harm, measured against the facility's own dosing policy. The rest of the shift fits around that: crushed doses, refusals, a resident still at breakfast, a cart that has to reach 20-odd rooms before the window closes.
Licensed Practical Nurse jobs by state
9More nursing roles
6Your questions about licensed practical nurse jobs, answered
- What can an LPN do that a CNA certificate doesn't cover?
Give medications, change sterile dressings, insert catheters, and collect the assessment data a registered nurse acts on. States don't draw that scope identically: a few train a second-tier aide who does some sterile work, and in most of them an aide with extra training passes medications in long-term care, oral doses plus drops, inhalers and patches, on a permit or a registry listing rather than a nursing license. What stays with the license is injections, anything that needs a dose calculated, and the assessment behind the order; intravenous work depends on the state, and the next answer is about that.
- Can an LPN start IVs or push IV medication?
That depends on the state, and IV therapy varies more by state than anything else an LPN does. Ohio lets an LPN infuse an antibiotic to an adult patient, reconstitute that additive, place a catheter no longer than 3 inches in the hand, forearm or antecubital space, and flush an intermittent device with heparin or saline, push included; blood, TPN, chemotherapy, central lines and every other intravenous medication stay off. California certifies the act on top of the license, in IV therapy, blood withdrawal or both, and the fluids half has to happen inside an organized health care system under its written standardized procedures. Texas requires a validation course, defines none, and leaves what an LVN may give to the employer's written policy; inserting or removing a PICC or midline is out of scope either way. Our LPN licensing guide has the route to the license itself.
- Where do LPNs work?
Nursing homes employ more licensed practical nurses than anywhere else, 188,210 of them against 105,790 across all hospitals in the May 2025 federal wage survey. Hospitals come next, then home health and clinics. Scope limits keep LPNs off the highest-acuity hospital units, so the long-term care side of the market is the deeper one.
- How long does an LPN-to-RN bridge take?
Commonly 2 to 4 semesters of nursing coursework, once the prerequisites are done. Advanced-placement tracks can drop you straight into the final semesters, part-time routes stretch closer to 2 years, and a BSN bridge runs longer than any of them. Programs are built for people already working, so evening and weekend cohorts are ordinary.
