LPN Hiring Guide: How to Recruit Licensed Practical Nurses

Why LPN Recruitment Requires a Different Approach

The licensed practical nurse hiring guide you need looks different from an RN recruitment playbook. LPNs (called LVNs in Texas and California) work under a different scope of practice, pursue different career paths, and respond to different recruitment messaging than registered nurses. Recruiters who treat LPN hiring as a scaled-down version of RN recruiting miss qualified candidates and fill positions more slowly than necessary.

There are approximately 730,000 licensed practical nurses working in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS projects LPN employment to grow 5% through 2032, which is about average for all occupations. But the demand picture varies dramatically by setting: LPN demand is shrinking in acute care hospitals (where scope limitations reduce their utility) while growing rapidly in long-term care, home health, outpatient clinics, and physician offices.

Understanding LPN Scope of Practice

Before recruiting LPNs, you need to understand what they can and cannot do, because scope of practice varies by state and directly affects which positions you can fill with LPNs.

LPNs generally can:

• Perform basic patient assessments and report findings to the RN or physician
• Administer oral and injectable medications (including some IV medications in certain states)
• Perform wound care, dressing changes, and catheter care
• Monitor vital signs and document patient status
• Provide direct patient care including bathing, feeding, and repositioning
• Collect specimens and perform point-of-care testing

LPNs generally cannot (varies by state):

• Perform initial patient assessments (this is an RN function in most states)
• Develop or modify nursing care plans
• Administer IV push medications (restricted in many states)
• Manage blood product transfusions
• Perform triage in emergency departments
• Supervise RNs (though they may supervise CNAs and other LPNs)

Check your state’s Board of Nursing website for specific scope of practice regulations. States like Texas, Florida, and Georgia tend to have broader LPN scopes, while states like California have more restrictive scopes that limit LPN roles in acute care.

Where LPNs Work and Where to Find Them

The employment distribution for LPNs is heavily skewed toward non-hospital settings:

• Nursing and residential care facilities: 29% of all LPNs
• Home health services: 13%
• Physician offices: 12%
• Hospitals: 15%
• Government facilities (VA, state facilities): 8%
• Other outpatient settings: 23%

This distribution tells you where to source. If you’re recruiting LPNs, your candidate pool is concentrated in long-term care and outpatient settings, not hospitals. Tailor your sourcing accordingly:

Practical nursing program partnerships: LPN programs are typically 12-18 months, offered at community colleges, vocational schools, and technical institutes. Build relationships with program directors. Offer clinical rotation sites at your facility, attend their pinning ceremonies, and host on-campus recruiting events. These programs produce graduates year-round, unlike BSN programs that graduate primarily in May and December.

Long-term care and SNF nurses: Many LPNs in skilled nursing facilities are looking for opportunities with better pay, better hours, or less physically demanding work. Clinic and outpatient positions are particularly attractive to this population.

Professional associations: The National Association for Licensed Practical Nurses (NALPN) and state LPN associations maintain member directories and offer job boards targeted specifically to LPNs.

Direct outreach through contact databases: LPNs are less active on LinkedIn than RNs, making direct email and phone outreach even more important for this population.

LPN Compensation Benchmarks

Getting your compensation right is critical for LPN recruitment. The BLS reports a median annual salary of $59,730 for LPNs nationally, but this varies widely by geography, setting, and experience:

• Long-term care: $24-$30/hour
• Home health: $25-$32/hour
• Physician offices: $22-$28/hour
• Hospitals: $26-$34/hour
• Government facilities: $28-$36/hour

Geographic variation is significant. LPNs in Massachusetts, California, and Alaska earn 30-50% more than those in southern and rural states. Always benchmark against your specific market, not national averages.

Benefits matter disproportionately for LPNs. Because LPN base salaries are lower than RN salaries, the value of benefits (particularly health insurance, PTO, and tuition reimbursement) represents a larger percentage of total compensation. Offering tuition assistance for LPN-to-RN bridge programs is one of the most effective retention and recruitment tools available.

LPN-to-RN Bridge Programs as a Recruitment Tool

Many LPNs aspire to become RNs, and facilities that support this transition through tuition reimbursement and flexible scheduling attract the most ambitious candidates.

Structure your LPN-to-RN support program to include:

• Tuition reimbursement of $3,000-$8,000/year toward an accredited LPN-to-RN bridge program
• Flexible scheduling that accommodates class and clinical rotation schedules
• A guaranteed RN position upon program completion and NCLEX passage
• A service commitment (typically 2 years post-graduation) in exchange for the tuition support

This approach creates a pipeline of loyal, internally developed RNs who already know your facility, your EHR system, and your patient population. The retention rate for nurses who completed education through employer-sponsored programs exceeds 90% during the service commitment period.

Writing LPN Job Postings That Convert

LPN job postings should emphasize different factors than RN postings:

• Lead with hourly rate. LPN candidates are more rate-sensitive than RN candidates. Include the actual pay range in your posting: “$28-$34/hour + shift differentials” is more effective than “competitive compensation.”
• Highlight schedule. Many LPNs are attracted to Monday-Friday, no-weekend, no-holiday schedules found in clinic and outpatient settings. If your position offers these hours, put it in the headline.
• Mention team structure. LPNs want to know who they’ll be working with. “You’ll work alongside 2 RNs and 3 MAs in a busy family practice” gives context that a generic job description doesn’t.
• Include growth opportunities. Mention your tuition reimbursement, LPN-to-RN bridge program support, and any clinical ladder that applies to LPNs.
• Don’t require a BSN. This sounds obvious, but some healthcare organizations accidentally include BSN-preferred language in LPN postings when copying templates. Review every posting for accuracy.

Finding qualified LPNs requires reaching beyond traditional job boards, especially since this population is less active on professional networking platforms. NurseContacts includes LPNs in its database of 964,000+ verified nurse profiles, with contact information that enables direct outreach to candidates who might not see your job posting otherwise.