Licensed Practical Nurses, or LPNs, are nurses that have attained the minimum training required to earn a nursing license. LPNs perform many basic health-care services such as assisting patients with eating, checking on patients, taking their blood pressure, and so on. In order to become an LPN, you must attend a nine to 18-month course of classes at a nursing school or community college. You must then pass state licensing exams.
An RN must complete at least two years of nursing school to be licensed. In addition, they must pass state licensing exams and a period of full time on-the-job training in a hospital setting. RNs' scope of practice varies by state, but in most states RNs can administer medications, assist physicians in surgery and emergency treatment, and supervise LPNs.
A BSN is a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree, and requires about four years of full-time training at a college or university. Once you have earned this degree and passed state licensing exams, you can work as an RN, but BSNs have more job opportunities than RNs with just two-year degrees, such as management positions. A BSN also is required to attend nursing graduate school.
A nurse may choose to earn a graduate degree to pursue more advanced nursing positions, which leads to higher pay and high-demand positions such as nurse anesthesiologists or nurse practitioners (who have the authority to prescribe medications). An MSN also may be required for management-level jobs or to teach in nursing schools.
A typical master's degree in nursing takes from two to three years to earn on top of a four-year BSN degree. Most candidates are required to complete at least a year of full-time work as an RN before applying to graduate school.
In addition to earning degrees and obtaining licenses to practice, many nurses also must complete specialized certifications to practice in certain health-care environments, such as emergency rooms, pediatric wards, or intensive-care units. Certain nursing specialties require nurses to have such certifications as a condition of employment. For example, a labor and delivery nurse may be required by hospital administrators to obtain credentialing as a Certified Lactation Consultant in order to demonstrate to mothers how to overcome any difficulties they may have when initially attempting to nurse a baby.