Licenced Practical Nurse (NOC 3233)

Description of the profession

Licenced practical nurses provide nursing care to patients, usually under the supervision of physicians, registered nurses or other members of the healthcare team. They are employed by hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centres, doctors’ offices, clinics, businesses, community health centres, and by individuals. This occupation also includes operating room (OR) technicians.

Licenced practical and OR technicians perform some or all of the following duties:

• Provide nursing services, within the scope of professional practice, to patients according to their assessment and procedures of the nursing care plan.
• Perform nursing procedures, such as monitoring patients’ vital signs, applying aseptic techniques, which include sterile dressings, infection-control, feeding patients as well as specimen collection.
• Administer medications, observe their therapeutic effects and record these observations;
• Provide personal pre-and post-surgical care and comfort to patients;
• Monitor ongoing respiratory and intravenous therapy 
• Monitor patients’ progress, evaluate effectiveness of nursing interventions, and consult with other members of the medical team;
• Inform patients and their families about certain aspects of health and safety.

In addition, OR technicians perform the following duties:

• Prepare patients for surgery by washing, shaving and sanitizing surgical areas.
• Prepare instruments and equipment required for the operation, assist the surgical team in donning operating gowns and gloves and provide surgeons with the required instruments during the operation.
• Clean and sterilize the operating room and instruments.