Short version: A strong LPN résumé proves three things fast — that you are licensed and current (LPN/LVN license number and state, IV certification if applicable, BLS/CPR), clinically fluent at LPN scope (assessment within scope, med pass, wound care, patient/family education, IV therapy where the state permits), and documentation-safe (EHR by name, patient-load, MDS/PPS knowledge for LTC, HEDIS/quality metrics for primary care). Keep it to one page for most LPNs, name the setting (LTC, SNF, sub-acute, home health, MD office, or corrections), and quantify patient-load and any HCAHPS or fall/pressure-injury metrics. Below is a complete example, then build yours free.
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What a Licensed Practical Nurse actually does
A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN, or LVN in California and Texas) is a licensed bedside nurse working under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or physician. BLS lists occupation code 29-2061 for LPN/LVN, with about 690,000 in the U.S. — a large workforce concentrated in long-term-care and skilled-nursing settings, sub-acute rehab, home health, physician offices, corrections, and school health. The role varies dramatically by setting; the résumé must lead with the setting.
On a typical shift an LPN will:
- Assessments within LPN scope — head-to-toe assessment, vital signs, wound checks, pain, functional status, and change-of-condition reporting to the charge RN.
- Med pass — the largest time block of a long-term-care shift. Oral, subcutaneous, IM, topical, and IV meds within scope; controlled-substance counts; MAR documentation.
- Wound care — measurement, cleansing, packing, dressing changes on Stage I–IV pressure injuries, surgical wounds, diabetic foot ulcers, and post-op incisions.
- Patient and family education — new-diagnosis teaching, discharge instructions, medication reconciliation, and self-monitoring coaching.
- IV therapy — initiate PIVs, maintain access, deliver IV fluids and IV push meds (where the state permits and where the LPN holds IV certification).
- Documentation — EHR (Epic, Cerner Millennium, PointClickCare, MatrixCare, Netsmart) charting, ADL/incident/skin/behavior documentation, and MDS support in LTC/SNF.
- Shift handoff — SBAR handoff to the oncoming nurse, focused on abnormal findings and open orders.
What nurse managers & ATS look for
Two readers screen your résumé — the ATS at large health systems, national LTC operators, and physician-office EMRs and the nurse manager (DON, ADON, charge RN) who owns the hire. Both want fast answers to three questions: (1) is your license active and in which state, (2) what setting have you worked (long-term care is very different from a busy MD office), and (3) do you carry the specialty credentials that shorten orientation — IV cert, wound care, dementia care, MDS familiarity.
- License line at the top. LPN or LVN + license number + state + expiration month/year. Compact-state privileges if applicable.
- Setting named. Long-term care, skilled nursing, sub-acute rehab, memory care, home health, MD office, urgent care, school health, corrections. Managers screen sharply on setting fit.
- Patient-load numbers. "28-resident LTC assignment on a 62-bed floor with two aides" tells a DON exactly the tempo you can hold.
- Specialty credentials. IV cert (state-specific), wound care certification (WCC, WOCN if you have it), IV push meds where state permits, tracheostomy and vent care in sub-acute, dementia (CDP) in memory care, MDS 3.0 familiarity in SNF.
- EHR by name. Epic (SlicerDicer or Rover for mobile), Cerner, PointClickCare, MatrixCare, Netsmart, Athenahealth, eClinicalWorks.
- Regulatory literacy. LTC surveys (F-tags, deficiency-free scoreboards), OASIS in home health, HEDIS in primary care, corrections security-and-med-pass protocols.
Full LPN résumé example
Here is a realistic one-page example for a mid-career LPN transitioning from long-term care to sub-acute rehab.
Professional Summary
Licensed Practical Nurse (FL #PN-1493288) with 6 years across 62-bed sub-acute rehab, 120-bed LTC, and home health. Carries a 28-resident assignment on a sub-acute floor; IV-certified with PIV insertion and IV push within Florida LPN scope; wound care lead trusted with Stage III–IV pressure-injury dressings on referral from the wound RN. Maintains 91% MAR compliance and zero medication errors of consequence across the last 12 months. PointClickCare, MatrixCare, and Epic charting. BLS/CPR (AHA, current); CDP (Certified Dementia Practitioner) 2024. Bilingual English/Haitian Creole.
Licenses & Certifications
Specialty: IV Certified — Florida Board of Nursing IV Therapy course (2022) · Wound Care Coursework (WCEI Skin & Wound Management, 2023) · Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) — NCCDP, 2024
Emergency response: BLS/CPR (American Heart Association, current) · First Aid
Regulatory: HIPAA · OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen · Mandated reporter · Elder abuse reporter
Clinical & EHR Skills
Care programs: MDS 3.0 familiarity · CAA support · Restorative nursing programs · Fall-prevention rounds · Skin-integrity rounds · Behavioral rounds
Populations: Post-hip/knee arthroplasty, CVA recovery, CHF exacerbation, dementia (CDP), palliative and hospice, wound-care overflow
EHR: PointClickCare · MatrixCare · Epic (Beacon module) · Netsmart · Athena (physician-office rotation)
Professional Experience
- Maintained 91% MAR (medication administration record) compliance across the last 12 months against unit target of 88%; zero medication errors of consequence.
- Delivered Stage III/IV wound-care dressings to 18 residents on ongoing referral from the wound RN; documented healing progress in PointClickCare with photo attach.
- Executed IV push and PIV maintenance within Florida LPN scope; supported the RN team on 4-shift orientation cycles for two new LPNs.
- Held a zero fall-with-injury record for 9 consecutive months on the assigned hall through structured fall-prevention rounds.
- Passed two F-tag surveys in FY24 with no deficiency findings attributed to my hall.
- Ran daily med pass on 34 residents across an 8-hour shift; three-year MAR compliance 89% versus unit target 85%.
- Reduced hall pressure-injury incidence by 24% across FY22 through structured weekly skin-integrity rounds with the wound RN.
- Earned Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) in 2024; supported behavioral-rounds and RN/family conferences for 6 memory-care residents.
- Trained 2 new-graduate LPNs on PointClickCare charting and MDS support workflows.
- Completed 6–8 home-health visits per shift across post-discharge follow-up, wound care, and med reconciliation.
- Supported RN case managers on 32 OASIS-C2 assessments across the year.
Education
Practical Nursing Diploma — Hillsborough Community College · 2018 (NCLEX-PN passed on first attempt)
High School Diploma — Blake HS · 2016
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| Hard skills (must show) | Soft skills (must signal) |
|---|---|
| Licensure — LPN/LVN + license number + state + expiration | Composure under a 28-resident load and a code |
| Med pass discipline — MAR compliance, controlled counts | Empathy with residents, families, and staff aides |
| Wound care — measurement, cleansing, packing, documentation | Communication with charge RN, MD, and family |
| IV therapy where scope permits — PIV, IV push, IV fluids | Situational awareness — noticing change of condition |
| EHR — PointClickCare, MatrixCare, Epic, Netsmart | Documentation discipline under time pressure |
| Regulatory — F-tag, OASIS, HEDIS, HIPAA | Team fit — nurse-aide coordination without hierarchy |
A realistic pay range
LPN pay varies widely by state, setting, and shift. Nationally, BLS OES data for occupation code 29-2061 puts the median hourly wage near $28.50 ($59,000 annually) with a range of $43,000–$78,000. States with LPN shortages and higher cost of living — California (LVN), New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, DC, Washington — commonly pay $32–$44 an hour. Sub-acute rehab and hospital LPN roles often pay $2–$5 above LTC pay. Home health per-visit compensation for experienced LPNs can push effective hourly to $40–$55. Shift differentials for evenings, nights, and weekends add another 8–15%.
- What pushes you up: IV certification, wound care coursework, CDP or hospice-and-palliative, sub-acute rather than LTC, night/weekend differential, and a compact-state license that expands geographic hiring.
- What anchors: LTC-only experience in a low-differential rural market, no IV cert, and no specialty certification.
Common LPN résumé mistakes
Frequently asked questions
A one-page, single-column résumé with your name and title (LPN or LVN), contact line with license number and state, a summary that names your setting and one patient-load number, a Licenses & Certifications block (IV cert, BLS/CPR, CDP, wound-care coursework), a Clinical & EHR Skills grid, two to three roles with quantified bullets (patient-load, MAR compliance, wound-care referrals, F-tag survey results), and an education line ending with your NCLEX-PN pass. If you are bilingual, put it in the contact line and the summary.
One page for almost every LPN, including senior LPNs with fifteen-plus years. Nurse managers and health-system HR scan the top third first, so lead with license, IV cert, setting, and one patient-load or MAR number. Only LPNs moving into MDS Coordinator, Wound-Care Nurse, LPN Charge Nurse, or Nurse Educator roles should consider a second page, and then only to show cohort or program-level outcomes.
On the contact line under your name and title — 'LPN #PN-1493288 (FL, active 06/2027) · IV-certified · BLS/CPR.' That passes an ATS filter that many health-system boards use, and it signals a manager instantly. Also list Nurse Licensure Compact eligibility if applicable and any second-state licenses (in progress or endorsement pending).
Every bullet should carry a number a nurse manager already tracks: patient-load or resident-load, MAR (medication administration record) compliance, medication error rate, fall-with-injury months, pressure-injury incidence or reduction, F-tag survey deficiencies, OASIS/CMI support volume, and orientation cycles trained. Compare to unit target when you can — 'MAR compliance 91% versus unit target of 88%.'
A four-to-six-line summary, never an objective. Name your license and state, years of experience, primary setting (LTC, sub-acute, SNF, home health, MD office, corrections, school), your standout metric (MAR compliance, patient-load, wound-care referrals), and one specialty signal (IV certified, CDP, wound-care coursework, bilingual). It should read like the first sixty seconds of a nurse-manager conversation.
Lead with 'LPN — New Graduate (NCLEX-PN passed [month/year])' as your title. Name your practical-nursing school, graduation date, and NCLEX-PN pass on the first attempt if applicable. Under Clinical Experience, list your clinical rotations by setting (med-surg, LTC, pediatric, psychiatric) with the setting size, EHR used, and one representative task per rotation. Add BLS/CPR, HIPAA, OSHA-BBP, and any language coverage. Nurse managers hire new grads for teachability and attitude; that's what the résumé should signal.
Single-column, reverse-chronological, standard section headings, and a .pdf. Avoid two-column layouts, headshots, icons, and text boxes — health-system ATS scramble multi-column nursing résumés and often miss license numbers inside colored side panels. Use section words the ATS expects: Summary, Licenses & Certifications, Clinical & EHR Skills, Experience, Education. Mirror the posting's setting language (sub-acute, SNF, memory care, hospice) verbatim.
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