Licensed practical nurse

A licensed practical nurse (LPN), in much of the United States and Canada, is a nurse who provides direct nursing care for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. In the United States, LPNs work under the direction of physicians, mid-level practitioners, and may work under the direction of registered nurses depending on their jurisdiction.

In Canada, LPNs' scope of practices autonomously similar to the registered nurse in providing direct nursing care and are responsible for their individual actions and practice.^[1]

Another title provided in the Canadian province of Ontario is "registered practical nurse" (RPN). In California and Texas, such a nurse is referred to as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN).

In the United States, LPN training programs are one to two years in duration. All U.S. state and territorial boards also require passage of the NCLEX-PN exam. In Canada (except for Québec^[2]), the education program is two years of full-time post-secondary and students must pass the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam (CPNRE),^[3] administered by the for-profit Yardstick Assessment Strategies.^[4] In 2022, Ontario and British Columbia plan to discontinue CPNRE in favour of the REx-PN, administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).^[5]