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How to Screen Licensed Practical Nurse Resumes
Licensed practical nurse resumes screen against licensure first: a passed NCLEX-PN and an active state LPN (or LVN) license are the gate. The trap unique to this role is scope — LPN practice is narrower than RN practice, and resumes sometimes describe RN-level duties an LPN can't legally perform in your state. The screen that matters confirms the license, reads the listed duties against actual LPN scope, and then matches the care setting to the role you're filling.
Rank your candidate pool →What to screen for
Core qualifications
- Passed NCLEX-PN and an active, unencumbered state LPN/LVN license valid for the role's location
- Duties that fit LPN scope of practice in your state, not RN-level tasks the license doesn't cover
- Care-setting fit — long-term care, skilled nursing, clinic, home health, corrections — to your facility
- Current BLS/CPR and any setting-specific certifications (IV therapy certification where the state requires it)
- Patient-load and acuity context that matches your unit's pace, plus EHR familiarity for day-one flow
Red flags
What to watch for in licensed practical nurse resumes
- License state or status missing, expired, or mismatched to the role's location
- Duties described that exceed LPN scope (independent assessments, IV push) without state-permitted context
- NCLEX-PN or IV-therapy certification listed without status or a current date
- "Nurse" used ambiguously, blurring whether the experience is LPN or RN-level work
- Nursing-school clinical hours presented as full independent LPN experience
Worth verifying
Claims that are easy to write, hard to back up
- "Licensed LPN/LVN" — in which state, active and unencumbered today?
- "Administered IV therapy" — IV-certified, and permitted under your state's LPN scope?
- "Performed patient assessments" — within LPN scope, or RN-level work described loosely?
- "Long-term care experience" — what patient load per shift, and at what acuity?
The fast way
Screen licensed practical nurses faster
For LPN reqs, confirm the NCLEX-PN and state license gate first, then read the duties against actual LPN scope in your state — the most common error is a resume describing RN-level work the license doesn't authorize. Once the gate clears, rank the qualified pool on care-setting fit and patient-load context, because a skilled-nursing LPN and a clinic LPN run very different days. The strongest resumes state the license, the certifications by status, and the per-shift patient load by number.
Resume Autopsy ranks your whole licensed practical nurse applicant pool against the job description in minutes — a 0–100 fit score and a MATCH / PARTIAL / MISS checklist with evidence quotes for every candidate, so you know who to interview first and can defend the call.
Try it on your next req →Screen other roles
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