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Licensed Practical Nurses
What they do?
Licensed practical nurses perform some or all of the following duties:
A. Prepare patients for surgery by washing, shaving and sterilizing the patients' operative areas
B. Assist in surgery by laying out instruments, setting up equipment, assisting surgical teams with gowns and gloves and passing instruments to surgeons
C. Clean and sterilize the operating room and instruments.
D. Provide nursing services, within defined scope of practice, to patients based on patient assessment and care planning procedures
E. Perform nursing interventions such as taking vital signs, applying aseptic techniques including sterile dressing, ensuring infection control, monitoring nutritional intake and conducting specimen collection
F. Administer medication and observe and document therapeutic effects
G. Provide pre-operative and post-operative personal and comfort care
What education do I need?
1. To be a licensed practical nurse, you must finish a vocational college or other approved program for licensed practical nurses.
2. You need registration in all provinces and territories and must complete the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination in all provinces and territories (except Quebec).
3. To be an operating room technician, you need either additional academic training in operating room techniques, or on-the-job training.
4. Most recent entrants have a community college diploma.
High School Subject that will help:
1. English
2. Chemistry
3. Health
4. Biology
What can you expect to make:
The average hourly wages for Licensed Practical Nurses is $18.52/HR, which is close to the average for occupations in the health sector and close to the average for all technical, professional, and skilled occupations. These wages grew at an average rate from 2002 to 2004.
Average Wage
Expected Wage by Age
Unemployment:
1% of Licensed Practical Nurses are unemployed. This rate is below the average for technical, professional, and skilled occupations.
Unemployment
Trends in Unemployment
Current Job Outlook:
The job outlook for Licensed Practical Nurses is considered Average because:
1. Employment grew at an average rate.
2. Hourly wages ($18.52) are close to the average ($18.07), and the rate of the wage growth is close to the average.
3. The unemployment rate (1%) is below the 2004 average (7%).
Future Job Prospects:
Your job outlook will continue to be Average because:
1. The employment growth rate will likely be close to the average.
2. Although the retirement rate will likely be average, the number of retiring workers should contribute to job openings.
3. The number of job seekers will likely match the number of job openings.
Highest Concetration:
The highest concentrations (per 10,000 people) of Licensed Practical Nurses are found in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island while the lowest concentrations are in Ontario and Manitoba.
Unionization Rate:
The unionization rate (85%) is above the average (32%) for all occupations.
Useful Experience:
1. Business procedures
Part Time Workers
Part time workers:
30% of Licensed Practical Nurses are employed only on a part-time basis. There were 51,600 workers employed in these occupations in 2004, a decrease of 19% since 1997.
Age Demographics
Age Demographics:
The retirement rate to 2009 will likely be average influenced by a similar-to-average age of workers (40).
