Free LPN Job Description Templates
Free LPN job description templates: clinic, long-term care, home health, and a short universal version. Licensing built in. Download as DOCX.
LPN Job Description Templates
4 free templates by care setting. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
Hiring an LPN is different from hiring almost any other role at a small business, because the posting carries legal weight before the first interview: the license must be active and verified, the duties must match your state's scope of practice, and the onboarding that follows is governed by HIPAA and OSHA rather than preference. Most LPN templates online are written for hospitals and staffing agencies. A 12-person clinic, a 40-bed assisted living community, or a home health agency hires differently, and the posting should sound like it.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses that hire without an HR department, and small healthcare employers, physician offices, senior care, home health, are exactly where the practice manager writes the posting personally. The four templates below cover the settings where small employers actually hire LPNs: clinic, long-term care, home health, and a short universal version. Each has the licensing requirements and scope-of-practice language built in. Fill in the bracketed fields, check the duties against your state board, and post. For the general principles behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is an LPN?
A licensed practical nurse (LPN) provides direct patient care under the direction of physicians and registered nurses: vital signs, medications and treatments within scope, monitoring, documentation, and patient education. The path into the role is the shortest in licensed nursing: a state-approved practical nursing program that typically takes about a year, followed by the NCLEX-PN licensing exam administered through the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. The same role is titled licensed vocational nurse (LVN) in California and Texas; the job and the exam are identical.
For an employer, the defining fact about LPNs is that the scope of practice is set by each state's board of nursing, not by the job posting. The O*NET profile for licensed practical and vocational nurses shows the full national range of tasks the role can include, from medication administration to wound care, but which of those your LPN may perform, and which require additional certification such as IV therapy, depends on your state. That is why every template on this page frames duties with within scope of practice language and an explicit reporting line to the physician or RN.
LPN Duties and Responsibilities
LPN duties and responsibilities center on direct patient care, medication and treatment administration, documentation and reporting to the supervising RN or physician, and coordination, including CNA supervision in facility settings and family education everywhere. The weight between them shifts by setting, which is what the four templates capture. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A good posting picks 6 to 10 setting-specific duties from these areas: room patients and document in the EHR for a clinic, run the medication pass per the MAR for long-term care, deliver skilled visits under the RN care plan for home health. Generic duty lists attract generic applications. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
LPN vs RN: What Goes in the Job Description
Posting the wrong nursing level is an expensive mistake in both directions: an RN posting for LPN-level work overpays and underfills, while an LPN posting that quietly contains RN duties violates scope rules. The distinction is set by education, licensure, and state scope.
| Factor | LPN / LVN | RN |
|---|---|---|
| Education | State-approved program, about 1 year | Associate or bachelor's degree, 2-4 years |
| Licensing exam | NCLEX-PN | NCLEX-RN |
| Scope | Direct care under RN/physician direction | Assessment, care planning, supervision |
| Median pay (BLS, May 2024) | About $62,340 per year | About $93,600 per year |
| Typical small-employer roles | Clinic nurse, med pass, home health visits | Case manager, DON, complex care |
The practical test for a small employer: if the role is hands-on care, medications, and documentation under a physician's or RN's direction, it is LPN work, and posting it that way hires faster and costs roughly thirty thousand dollars less per year at the median. If the role requires independent assessment, care planning, or supervising licensed nurses, it is RN work; the nurse job description templates cover that posting. And if the role is primarily assistance with daily living rather than licensed nursing tasks, the CNA templates fit better.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template that matches your care setting. The licensing core is identical across all four, but the duties, schedule language, and pay structure differ enough that the setting-specific version always reads more credibly to candidates. Use this guide to choose.
4 Free LPN Job Description Templates
Download all four as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each one follows the same structure: employer overview, job summary, key responsibilities, required and preferred qualifications, compensation, and how to apply, with license verification language built into the application instructions. Fill in the brackets and check duties against your state board before you post.
Template 1: Clinic / Physician Office LPN
For outpatient practices: rooming, vitals, injections, EHR documentation, and patient calls, with regular weekday hours stated as the advantage they are.
Template 2: Long-Term Care / Assisted Living LPN
For residential facilities: the medication pass, resident assessments, CNA supervision, survey-ready documentation, and shift differential fields.
Template 3: Home Health LPN
For agencies: skilled visits under an RN case manager's care plan, independent judgment on the road, driving and insurance requirements, and per-visit pay options.
Template 4: Generic / Short LPN (Any Setting)
The compact universal version with the licensing essentials built in, for when the position needs to be posted today.
LPN Licensing, Certifications, and Qualifications
LPN qualifications start with three non-negotiables: an active, unencumbered license in your state, graduation from a state-approved practical nursing program, and a passed NCLEX-PN, which the license itself attests. Nearly all employers add current BLS (CPR) certification. Everything beyond that is setting-specific, and the posting should say so precisely.
| Weak requirement | Strong requirement |
|---|---|
| Must be an LPN | Active, unencumbered LPN license in [state]; license number required, verified with the state board |
| Nursing education | Graduation from a state-approved practical nursing program (typically about 1 year) |
| CPR certified | Current BLS certification through an accredited provider |
| IV skills a plus | IV therapy certification preferred, where permitted by [state] scope of practice |
| Computer skills | Accurate, timely documentation in [your EHR/eMAR system] |
Two cautions for small employers. First, do not list duties or certifications outside your state's LPN scope; it creates liability and signals an employer who does not know the rules. Second, keep non-clinical requirements job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics; physical requirements like lifting and standing are legitimate when they reflect the genuine demands of patient care.
How to Write an LPN Job Description
A strong LPN posting takes about 20 minutes once you know the setting and the rate, because the structure is standard and the templates carry the compliance language. Here is the process. The SHRM job description tools describe a good job description as a plain-language summary of a position's tasks, duties, and responsibilities, and in licensed healthcare hiring, plain language has a second function: it shows careful nurses that your practice runs carefully. If this is one of your first hires, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
LPN Salary
Set your rate from federal data as a baseline, then adjust for setting, shift, and state. LPN pay clusters around $30 per hour nationally, with long-term care and home health typically paying above clinic rates, and differentials adding meaningfully for nights and weekends.
Fifty-four thousand openings a year means an experienced LPN reading your posting has alternatives, usually higher-paying ones at hospitals and agencies. A small practice competes by publishing the range honestly and pricing the non-salary side explicitly: clinic postings that state no nights, weekends, or holidays convert facility-weary LPNs at rates a dollar-an-hour bump never will, and long-term care postings win on named differentials and predictable rotations rather than vague competitive pay.
Hiring an LPN Without an HR Department
Hospital systems hire LPNs with credentialing departments, nurse recruiters, and compliance teams. A small practice has the office manager or the owner doing all three jobs at once, and the posting plus the process need to carry that weight. Here is how.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one, and in healthcare the steps after it are regulated. Once a candidate accepts, the onboarding sequence runs: license verification documented in the personnel file, HIPAA training before any patient contact, OSHA and infection control orientation, EHR access and training, and a supervised ramp on your protocols and medication workflows. Skipping a step is not a style choice; it is audit exposure, and small practices carry the same obligations as hospital systems with none of the staff.
The healthcare employee onboarding guide covers the compliance sequence for small practices in detail, and the healthcare onboarding best practices article covers the retention side. Once you have your offer ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and the employee onboarding template structures the first weeks. If you are staffing adjacent roles, the medical assistant templates follow the same structure as this set. FirstHR connects the offer, e-signature paperwork, credential document storage, training modules, and the onboarding workflow in one place, so a small practice can take an LPN from accepted offer to seeing patients without an HR department.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an LPN do?
A licensed practical nurse provides direct patient care under the direction of physicians and registered nurses: taking vital signs, administering medications and treatments within their state scope of practice, monitoring and documenting patient conditions, performing basic procedures like wound care, and educating patients and families. The setting shapes the day: in a clinic the LPN rooms patients, gives injections, and documents in the EHR; in long-term care they run the medication pass, assess residents, and supervise CNAs; in home health they deliver visits under a care plan set by an RN case manager. A job description should describe the setting-specific version, which is why this page offers four.
What are the main duties and responsibilities of an LPN?
LPN duties fall into four areas. Direct patient care: vital signs, monitoring, basic care, and assisting with procedures. Medications and treatments: administering medications as ordered, running the med pass against the MAR in facilities, and wound care within scope and certifications. Documentation and reporting: charting in the EHR or eMAR, reporting condition changes to the supervising RN or physician, and keeping records accurate. Coordination and education: supervising CNAs where assigned, teaching patients and family caregivers, and communicating with providers and families. The exact scope is set by each state's board of nursing, so a posting should list duties from your state's rules.
What is the difference between an LPN and an RN for hiring?
An RN completes a longer degree program, holds a broader scope of practice including assessments, care planning, and IV push medications in most states, and supervises LPNs and CNAs. An LPN completes a state-approved practical nursing program in about a year, passes the NCLEX-PN, and provides direct care under the direction of an RN or physician. The pay gap is large: federal data puts the RN median around $93,600 against about $62,340 for LPNs. For a small practice, the practical question is what the role actually requires; many clinic and facility positions are squarely LPN work, and posting it as such hires faster and costs less.
Is an LPN the same as an LVN?
Yes, the job is identical; only the title differs by state. California and Texas license the role as licensed vocational nurse (LVN), while every other state uses licensed practical nurse (LPN). Training, the NCLEX-PN exam, and the general scope of the role are the same, with state-by-state variation in specific permitted tasks set by each board of nursing. If your practice is in California or Texas, post the role as LVN so local candidates find it; everywhere else, LPN is the title applicants search. The templates on this page work for both: change the title line and verify scope details with your state board.
What qualifications should an LPN job description require?
Three items are non-negotiable: an active, unencumbered LPN license in your state, verified with the state board of nursing before hire; completion of a state-approved practical nursing program, which the federal handbook notes typically takes about one year; and passage of the NCLEX-PN, the national licensing exam, which the active license itself attests. Most employers also require current BLS (CPR) certification. Beyond that, keep requirements setting-specific: EHR experience for clinics, MAR accuracy and supervision ability for long-term care, a driver's license and insurance for home health, and certification-dependent skills like IV therapy listed as preferred where your state scope allows them.
How much does an LPN make?
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn a median of about $62,340 per year, roughly $30 per hour, as of May 2024 federal data, with the lowest 10 percent under $47,960 and the highest 10 percent over $80,510. Setting and state move the number substantially: long-term care and home health often pay above clinics, night and weekend shifts add differentials, and high-cost states run well above the median. With about 54,400 openings projected each year, experienced LPNs have options, so publish your range and lead with your non-salary advantages; for clinics, regular weekday hours are often worth more to candidates than a dollar on the rate.
How do I write an LPN job description for a small practice?
Pick the template for your setting, then make three things explicit. First, licensing: require an active unencumbered license, ask for the license number in the application, and state that you verify with the board. Second, scope: list duties consistent with your state's LPN scope of practice and mark certification-dependent tasks like IV therapy as such. Third, your advantages: small practices rarely win on rate against hospitals, but regular weekday hours, no holiday rotations, and a close team are real currency; put them in the posting plainly. Add an honest hourly range and the reporting line to the physician or RN, and you have a posting that competes.
What happens after I hire an LPN?
Once a candidate accepts, the job description becomes the basis for the offer letter and a compliance-heavy onboarding: license verification documented in the personnel file, HIPAA training before patient contact, OSHA and infection control orientation, EHR access and training, and a supervised ramp on your protocols and medication workflows. Healthcare onboarding carries more mandatory steps than almost any other small business hire, and missing one creates audit exposure. FirstHR handles the offer letter, e-signature paperwork, credential document storage, training modules, and the onboarding workflow in one place, so a small practice can take an LPN from accepted offer to seeing patients without an HR department.