A licensed practical nurse in a small rural hospital cares mostly for inpatients and swing bed patients, with an RN directing the care. They pass medications, do wound and catheter care, check vital signs and skin, chart each step, and tell the RN right away when a patient changes.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
We're hiring a licensed practical nurse to care for inpatient and swing bed patients under the direction of an RN. Swing bed patients often stay for days or weeks of skilled care, such as rehab or wound care, so you'll get to know them well. You'll give medications, do treatments and wound care, collect patient data, chart in [your EHR], and report changes to the RN.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Give medications and treatments within your state's scope of practice for LPNs, including [IV therapy where your state allows].
Collect vital signs, intake and output, and other data that supports the RN's assessment and care plan.
Do wound care, dressing changes, catheter care and fingerstick glucose checks per orders.
Check skin, reposition patients and follow fall precautions for swing bed and med-surg patients.
Report changes in a patient's condition to the RN right away using SBAR.
Count controlled substances at shift change with another licensed nurse, per hospital policy.
Help swing bed patients practice the walking and self-care goals set by therapy.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Take handoff report and review each patient's orders and medication schedule.
Pass scheduled medications and chart them in [your EHR] with barcode scanning.
Round on patients [hourly] for pain, position, toileting and safety.
Help the RN with admissions, discharges and transfers.
Update therapy, dietary and case management on swing bed patients' progress.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Medications given on time: [your target].
Barcode scanning compliance: [your target].
Hourly rounding completed: [your target].
Charting complete by shift end: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Active [State] LPN license (LVN in California and Texas), or a multistate LPN license under the Nurse Licensure Compact if your state is a member.
Current BLS.
Graduate of an accredited practical nursing program.
IV therapy certification where your state requires it for LPNs.
Accurate medication math and careful charting.
6. Preferred Experience
[1+] years of experience in a hospital, nursing home or swing bed program.
Wound care training or certification.
Experience with [your EHR] and barcode medication administration.
7. Physical Requirements
Stand and walk for most of an [8 or 12]-hour shift.
Turn and transfer patients with lift equipment and a coworker, and push wheelchairs.
Bend, reach and kneel for wound care and bedside care.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
[8 or 12]-hour day, evening or night shifts, with weekends and holidays on a rotation.
Mostly inpatient and swing bed care, with ED support as your state's LPN scope and hospital policy allow.
Exposure to bloodborne pathogens and infectious disease, with PPE provided.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new licensed practical nurse gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A critical access hospital keeps patients who need skilled care, such as rehab or wound care, in swing beds instead of sending them to a nursing home. That is work LPNs know well, and it is most of the job here.
What an LPN may do depends on the state
BLS notes that LPN duties depend on the state where they work. In some states, LPNs with proper training may give medication or start IV drips, and some states let experienced LPNs oversee other LPNs or unlicensed staff. Write the duties from your state board's rules and your hospital's policy, not from what a nurse did in a job across the state line. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
Medications go under an RN's supervision
Federal rules for critical access hospitals say all drugs and IV medications are given by, or under the supervision of, an RN, a physician or, where state law allows, a physician assistant. So when an LPN passes medications, it happens under that supervision and within the state's LPN scope. The supervising RN needs to be reachable for questions, new orders and any dose that falls outside the LPN's scope. Source: 42 CFR 485.635: provision of services in critical access hospitals.
Swing bed patients stay long enough to know
A swing bed patient may stay for days or weeks of rehab or wound care, so the LPN sees the same people shift after shift. That means helping them practice the walking and self-care goals therapy sets, noticing slow changes such as a drop in appetite, and keeping therapy, dietary and case management up to date.
ER help has limits
Small hospitals may pull nurses to the ER when it fills, but LPN scope may not stretch that far. The Texas Board of Nursing, for one, says triage, including in an emergency room, is beyond the LVN scope, because LVNs are trained for patients with predictable needs. Check your own board's position before you put LPNs on the ER schedule. Source: Texas Board of Nursing: nursing practice FAQs (LVNs performing triage).
The medication pass sets the shift
Most of an LPN's day here follows the medication schedule. Each dose is scanned at the bedside, and controlled substances are counted with another licensed nurse at shift change under hospital policy. On a unit with few nurses, a count that doesn't match holds up both nurses, so careful charting through the shift saves time at the end of it.
How much hospital licensed practical nurses make
The closest BLS group for hospital licensed practical nurses is licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $29.13 an hour ($60,590 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $64,400 median for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in all industries. About 89,620 of the 648,410 licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in that survey work for general hospitals.
Hourly, with extra pay for evenings, nights and weekends. Some hospitals pay more once an LPN finishes IV training, or help pay for an LPN-to-RN program in return for a work commitment.
General hospitals
$60,590$60,590 median Middle half $51,210–$66,290 10th–90th $47,550–$77,680
All industries
$64,400$64,400 median Middle half $59,000–$76,030 10th–90th $49,740–$83,440
$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
General hospitals
$47,550
$51,210
$60,590
$66,290
$77,680
All industries
$49,740
$59,000
$64,400
$76,030
$83,440
These figures cover general medical and surgical hospitals of every size. Rural hospitals often pay less than city hospitals. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
On-time, careful medication passes and solid medication math
Wound care and dressing changes done exactly to the order
Notices small changes, such as new confusion or a skipped meal, and tells the RN
Clear SBAR reports and complete charting
Patience with people working slowly through rehab
Teach these on the job
Your EHR, barcode scanner and medication cabinet
IV therapy, where your state's rules let LPNs do it
Swing bed charting and therapy goals
Your controlled substance count steps
Your fall and skin protocols
LPNs document in the EHR, scan each dose before giving it, pull medications from an automated cabinet such as Pyxis or Omnicell, and use glucometers, vital sign machines, wound measuring tools and patient lifts. An LPN coming from a nursing home may know a different charting system, so plan time to learn yours.
The template leaves blanks for your targets. Run each LPN's numbers from the EHR and compare them with the unit's, so a heavy swing bed assignment isn't judged like a light one.
Medications given on time
Scheduled doses charted within your hospital's on-time window, from the medication administration report. Sort late doses by hour to find passes that are too crowded.
Barcode scanning compliance
Scanned doses out of all doses given, from the barcode report, broken out by shift. When a scan is skipped, ask why at the next huddle and fix the cause.
Hourly rounding completed
Rounds logged in the EHR or on room sheets against the hours of the shift. Ask a few patients each week whether staff checked on them, and compare.
Charting complete by shift end
Vital signs, wound care, fluids in and out, and nursing notes entered before handoff, from the EHR's late documentation report, checked weekly by the charge nurse.
It depends on the state. BLS says that in some states, LPNs with proper training may give medication or start IV drips. Texas shows how one board handles it: basic LVN programs there don't have to teach IV therapy, so the Board of Nursing says an LVN shouldn't do it until finishing a validation course. Ask for proof of the training your state expects, and check the skill yourself.
How much does a hospital licensed practical nurse make?
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $29.13 an hour ($60,590 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $51,210 and $66,290 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Is an LVN the same as an LPN?
Yes, in the work. BLS says the duties are nearly identical and the title depends on the state. California and Texas use LVN: California licenses them through its Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, and Texas through its Board of Nursing. Use the title your state uses in the posting so local nurses find it.
Does nursing home experience count for a hospital LPN job?
Yes, and for swing beds it can be the best fit. Long-term care LPNs know skilled care routines: wound care, rehab goals, fall precautions and families who visit every day. What they may need is hospital pace: admissions and discharges, more frequent orders, and acute patients who change fast. Build the orientation around those gaps.
Who does the admission assessment, the RN or the LPN?
Plan on the RN, and write it into the RN's duties in your policy. The Texas Board of Nursing, for one, says LVNs are trained in focused assessment, while comprehensive assessment is taught at the RN level. The LPN can still gather the vital signs, weight, home medication list and history that feed the RN's assessment, and help with the admission paperwork.
