Becoming an LVN is a Challenging and Fulfilling Career
Date: December 10, 2017
A car accident. He’s there in the emergency room and meets the ambulance. He takes your hand, tells you where you are, who he is, then explains that he will be starting an IV so that they can give you pain medication quickly. The operating room. She’s there, double-checks your name, the type of surgery you need, and explains that it will begin shortly.
She speaks with confidence. You feel a little less anxious. You watch her go over to the side of the surgeon. Not only that, but you wonder if she will be the one handing the surgeon the instruments. The medical/surgical floor. Someone else. She’s taking your blood pressure, adjusting the oxygen tube under your nose, and checking your bandage. She seems very confident about what she’s doing.
Furthermore, she explains that today will be hard because you have to get out of bed soon after the surgery. She teaches you how to splint/hold the incision, so it’s not so bad. It’s an uncomfortable night, and you’re scared. He comes in, smiles, checks your bandage, says that everything looks great, and then sits down and starts to talk. You feel more comfortable and smile back.
It’s 3 a.m., and someone cares. Two days later. She comes in holding papers. She explains the medicine you will be taking and then changes the dressing over your wound correctly found. You do it successfully and feel confident that you can take care of it yourself. She already made you a follow-up appointment with your doctor. All you have to do is go home and rest. You smile and thank her.
Being admitted to a hospital is a frightening experience for anyone. Doctors come and go; tests are done with little explanation. There are strange noises, beeping machines, and so many people. It is the well-trained nurse who helps the patient to cope and understand what’s happening. They are the ones who are with the patient for long periods, explain complicated occurrences, hold a hand, take vital signs, and take care of all kinds of wounds, tubes, and drains.
Becoming an LVN is a challenging and fulfilling career. No day is the same as the one before. No patient is the same. The LVN must use the knowledge and experience to make critical decisions for their patient’s care. They must be educators to instruct their patients about medications and self-care.
They must be delegators and correctly give appropriate assignments to nursing aides with whom they work. Furthermore, they must be collaborators and respectfully and tactfully work with other nurses, doctors, and therapists. And they must be caregivers, which is what distinguishes them as respected health care providers. They are the ones the patient will remember.
The LVN courses are structured so that new information is built on previously learned material. “Fundamentals of Nursing” is the foundation that the other courses are developed. Students begin their medical/surgical classes to learn about diseases and disorders’ pathophysiology and understand the concepts.
By the time the student reaches their final module of classes, they are conversing with the instructors as a “nurse.” They are suggesting nursing interventions to add to the care plan. They are capable of critical thinking at a new level that helps every person in their care.
The LVN nurse can work in various places, including hospitals, convalescent homes, rehabilitation clinics, home care, and prisons, to name a few. They can make a difference wherever they work.
