Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) Job Description Template

Licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) provide essential care to residents and patients under the supervision of an RN, advanced practice provider (APP), or physician. They’re similar to LPNs, but California and Texas state boards refer to them as LVNs. These nurses work across multiple settings, including home health, nursing homes and residences, post-acute care facilities, clinics, and hospitals. A specific and well-executed LVN job description is essential to helping you find the right nurse for your team.

Enhance your talent search using the following tips and sample language to draft your search-optimized job postings. Once you’ve narrowed down your top LVN prospects, use carefully vetted interview questions to find the best candidate for the position. Sometimes LVN and RN roles need clarification due to overlapping responsibilities. It’s essential to understand the nuances between nursing roles as the LVN scope of practice differs from that of an RN.

Tip: If you’re hiring for multiple positions to build your nursing team, we also offer the following templates: CNA job description, RN job description, and DON job description for easy reference.

Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)

Tips:The job description for LVN postings begins with a one- to two-paragraph introduction, providing potential applicants with their first glimpse into your organization. Use an engaging and positive tone when describing your mission, values, and work culture, while highlighting any special accreditations or achievements. Grab the reader’s attention by demonstrating why you’re an employer of choice in this field.

Also, briefly describe the position and define your ideal candidate. Sustain their interest in your LVN job description by telling them about the facility’s work environment and surrounding community. Provide nearby areas of interest, restaurants, and available public transportation.

Benefits

Tips: Once your introduction has drawn in the potential applicant, they’ll want to know more about the benefits of working for you. Maintain their interest by sharing your facility’s perks without overselling them.

Template:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
• 8 paid holidays
• Generous PTO
• Matching 401k (or 403b for a nonprofit)
• Continuing education benefits
• LVN to RN career ladder program

Duties and Responsibilities

Tips: Now it’s time for your LVN job description to concentrate on the job particulars and outline the position’s details. Offer the LVN a bulleted list of the role’s daily and overall responsibilities. Begin each line with action verbs and prioritize the list by order of importance, with the most essential and frequent duties at the top.

Template:

• Providing all nursing care within scope of practice to assigned residents or patients under the supervision of an RN, APP, or physician
• Administering medication, managing IVs, and providing wound care according to facility and state regulations
• Reporting abnormal changes in residents’ or patients’ health and mental status to the clinical supervisor
• Assisting the healthcare team with tests or related medical procedures
• Updating and educating residents, patients, and their families
• Performing administrative tasks such as relaying messages and scheduling appointments, as needed
• Documenting resident or patient vital signs, responses to treatment, education, and nursing care

Compensation and Shifts

Tips: You’ll likely receive a better applicant response to your LVN job description by including a pay range in your posting. Potential applicants may assume your compensation is not competitive when this information is absent, prompting them to move on to the next posting. Use this section to include any travel stipends, shift differentials, or other incentive opportunities you offer.

In addition to pay, nurses rate work-life balance as one of the most influential factors in their job satisfaction. Scheduling flexibility and staffing strategies attract highly-qualified applicants and keep your new hires happy, promoting job retention. By providing shift rotations, staffing ratios, and other details, LVNs better understand their potential work environment at your facility.

Template:

• LVN pay range: $25 to $38 per hour
• Night shift options with differentials available Sunday to Saturday
• 2 weekend shifts required per month
• Daily, bi-weekly, or weekly pay periods
• Nurse-to-patient/resident ratios between 1:4 (day/evening) and 1:6 (night)
• Overtime, holiday pay, and bonuses are available

Qualifications and Skills

Tips: Dedicate a section of your LVN job description to the necessary background and experience needed. It’s best to be clear about your requirements as it will prompt the LVNs with the right qualifications and skills to apply. Be sure to note any optional requirements to avoid discouraging qualified LVNs who don’t meet them. Provide any license, education, or certification prerequisites.

Template:

• Graduation from a state-approved school of vocational nursing
• Passage of the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical (Vocational) Nursing (NCLEX-PN)
• Active and unrestricted LVN state license
• 2 years experience as a LVN in post-acute care
• American Heart Association (AHA) CPR certification
• IV certification (optional)
• Wound care certification (optional)
• Professional, empathic, with strong interpersonal skills
• Skilled at prioritizing tasks and receiving direction from others
• Ability to safely lift or carry 50 pounds

Call to Action

Tips: You’ve successfully engaged the potential applicant throughout the posting. Now it’s time to cross the finish line by making it easy for them to immediately apply with a direct website link or a button to your job application site. Before publishing your job description for LVN, have your human resources (HR) representative review and approve it.

Template:

Ready to join our team as a valued member of our nursing staff? Start today by clicking the “apply now” button and submitting your application with us.

Need Help Recruiting Nurses?

The busy demands of managing a nursing staff or facility doesn’t allow much time for writing an LVN job description, interviewing, or hiring.Learn how by partnering with IntelyCare. We can ease your burden by providing your facility with short and long-term staffing solutions.