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Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.

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A look at the work

  • Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
  • Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
  • Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
  • Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
  • Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
  • Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
  • Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
  • Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

4.6 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.7 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.1 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

5.5 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

2.1 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

4.6 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

2021-08

4.1 / 5

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2021-08

3.8 / 5

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

2021-08

3.8 / 5

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

2021-08

3.6 / 5

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

2021-08

3.6 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 3 of 5 · 2021-08. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Related study fields

Source crosswalk connections are research leads, not required qualifications.

Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training →

Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants, Other →

Explore all related study fields →

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 29-2061.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.