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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. A sharp first-pass screen 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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