LPN and LVN Resume Example and Writing Guide

Below is a full LPN resume for Renee Okafor, a fictional licensed Practical Nurse, Long-Term Care and Subacute Rehab in Harrisburg, PA. Keep the section order, then replace each line with your own work and results.

3 LPN summaries, one each for new graduate LPN, experienced LPN (long-term care) and LVN (home health). Pick the closest and rewrite it with your own title, years and one real result.

Use an objective instead of a summary for new graduate and career changer situations: one or two sentences on what you bring and the LPN job you want.

Bullets grouped by medication administration and treatments, charge nurse and teamwork, documentation and compliance and clinic and home health. The numbers are illustrations; put in your own.

17 skills employers list in LPN postings. Include the ones the posting asks for and that your bullets prove.

It is the same job with two names. California and Texas license vocational nurses (LVNs), and the other states license practical nurses (LPNs). Put the exact title on your license after your name, for example "Renee Okafor, LPN" or "Carlos Mendez, LVN", and in your Licenses section write the state and that the license is active.

If you are applying in another state, use the posting's term once in your summary ("LPN/LVN with 5 years in skilled nursing") so the resume matches either search. If your license is multistate under the Nurse Licensure Compact, say so, because it tells the recruiter you can start without waiting for a new license.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the largest share of LPNs and LVNs work in nursing and residential care facilities, followed by hospitals, home healthcare services and physician offices. Each setting screens for different details, so describe your work in the terms that setting uses.

• Long-term care and rehab: residents per med pass, unit size, charge shifts, admissions, wound care, PointClickCare or MatrixCare charting, state survey readiness.
• Physician offices and clinics: patients roomed per day, injections and immunizations, point-of-care tests, refill and prior authorization work, the EHR you used.
• Home health: visits per day, medication reconciliation, wound vac and catheter care, reporting to the case manager RN, on-time visit notes.
• Hospitals and correctional facilities: unit type, team nursing with RNs, and sick call or medication line volume.

Each state board of nursing sets LPN scope. In most states the RN owns the comprehensive assessment and the care plan, while the LPN collects data, gives care, reports changes and contributes to the plan. Directors of nursing notice when an LPN resume claims RN-level work, so pick verbs that match what you did: "collected data," "reported changes in condition," "reinforced teaching," "contributed to care plan updates."

IV therapy works the same way. Some states let LPNs start IVs and hang fluids after added training, others limit IV tasks, and some employers ask for a separate IV certification. If you hold one, list it and describe the IV tasks you performed under facility policy.

Lead with your license, or your NCLEX-PN date if you are still waiting for results, then add a Clinical Rotations section. List each site, the type of unit and the skills you practiced: med passes, dressing changes, g-tube feedings, catheter care, vital signs and charting.

Put any CNA, medication aide, caregiver or patient care tech job right below it. Long-term care directors like new LPNs who already know how a resident hall runs, and that work proves you do. Keep the whole resume to one page.

One page fits new graduates and most nurses with one or two employers. Use two pages only if you have worked in several settings or held charge, MDS coordinator or unit manager roles, and keep your license, certifications and current job on page one.

Use a reverse-chronological format with plain headings: Summary, Licenses and Certifications, Experience, Education, Skills. Health systems and nursing home chains take applications through online systems that read text, so keep key details like your license out of tables, text boxes and images.

Terms that show up in LPN job postings. Mirror the exact wording of the posting you apply to, but only for work you have done.

• Licensed Practical Nurse
• LPN
• LVN
• medication administration
• med pass
• wound care
• long-term care
• skilled nursing
• care plan
• vital signs
• BLS
• IV therapy
• PointClickCare
• eMAR
• charge nurse
• infection control
• resident care
• HIPAA

• Claiming RN-level assessments. Words like "assessed and developed care plans" can read as outside LPN scope. Use the data collection and reporting language your state board uses.
• Leaving out the load. "Passed medications" says little; "passed medications for 26 residents per evening shift" shows you can handle the hall.
• Mismatched titles. Applying in Texas with only "LPN" on the page, or in Ohio with only "LVN," can miss a keyword search. Use your license title and mention the other once.
• Expired cards. Remove a lapsed BLS or IV certification, or list the renewal date if you are booked on a course.
• Resident details. Never include names, room numbers or anything that could identify a resident or patient.

• Nursing resume
• Registered Nurse Resume Example and Writing Guide
• CNA resume
• New Grad Nurse Resume Example and Writing Guide
• Registered Nurse (RN) Resume Keywords

We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (median pay, education, outlook, number of jobs, work settings, licensing and optional certifications)
2. O*NET OnLine: Certification: National Council Licensure Examination for Practical/Vocational Nurses (NCLEX-PN) (the NCLEX-PN and the NCSBN as its developer)
3. O*NET OnLine: Certification: Intravenous Therapy Certification (IVT) (the NAPNES IV therapy credential for LPNs and LVNs)