Their responsibilities include monitoring patient health, administering basic patient care, making patients comfortable, and keeping patient records. These top, accredited schools offer a variety of online graduate degree programs. Figuring out where to apply? LPNs complete a state-approved nursing program that culminates in a diploma in practical nursing.
It takes roughly one year to become an LPN. Aspiring LPNs complete a vocational program in practical nursing and pass a licensing exam. LPNs provide basic nursing care and maximize comfort for patients. RNs administer treatments, medications, and offer health advice to patients. A typical nursing degree can take years to complete. Each level of nursing has its own timeline, and that timeline can vary depending upon factors like part-time vs.
Below is an overview of the typical amount of time it takes to complete a nursing degree, keep in mind that the length provided is for the amount of time it takes to complete that segment of the degree, not the entire academic path overall:. Programs cover topics such as anatomy and physiology, nutrition, emergency care, pediatric nursing, and long-term care. Students also take courses in the psychosocial impact of disease, nursing administration, and cultural differences in medical care.
Students also gain hands-on experience through completing supervised clinical hours at a hospital, nursing home, or other healthcare environment. Applicants need a high school or GED diploma. Some schools and programs require students to meet specific GPA or standardized test score minimums.
The exact amount of clinical experience required varies depending on the state and specific program. Professional organizations provide students and practicing nurses with opportunities to network with colleagues in their field, access to continuing education and certification, educational and research resources, and career services.
These agencies should provide a list approved LVN schools on their websites. If the school you wish to attend is not on your state's approved list, you will not be able to take the NCLEX-PN exam in your state and therefore you will not qualify to receive a license.
If at some point, you plan to relocate and sit for the NCLEX-PN in another state, it's important to note what is considered "approved" in one state might not be in another.
Many schools that offer online LVN programs promote themselves as credible institutions because they are accredited. It is true that accreditation should be a key consideration when choosing an LVN program, especially if you have long-term goals of advancing to a registered nurse.
However, accredited does not mean approved. In some cases these fees will include all of your materials such as books, scrubs, stethoscope, nursing materials, computers or other technology and NCLEX testing fees. Most online LVN programs require 12 months of full-time attendance, although longer part-time study options may be available. These programs were selected based on several factors including accreditation, study flexibility and convenience, strong student support services, high NCLEX-PN exam pass rates, and affordability.
Both of these programs are fully approved by the Texas Board of Nursing. If you live near one of these schools, the online LVN program they offer may be perfect for you. Blinn College District, located approximately halfway between Austin and Houston, offers an online-blended vocational nursing certificate program that prepares graduates to become highly-competent LVNs capable of working in a range of nursing settings.
The curriculum consists of online coursework, on-campus labs, and in-person clinical experiences completed at program-affiliated facilities located throughout the La Grange and Brenham areas.
This month, credit program begins with the fall term and continues through the spring and summer terms. Blinn online LVN students have access to the same support services as on-campus students, including admissions, academic and career counseling, and job search services. Admission into the online program is competitive, with only 10 positions open each term. Students accepted into the program must additionally complete a drug screening and pass a criminal background check.
Clinical experiences are carried out at program-assigned hospitals, clinics, physician offices, long-term care facilities, and home health settings in the surrounding Gainesville area. The credit curriculum is completed over three semesters in the spring, summer, and fall.
Like every other state, Texas has specific requirements for obtaining vocational nurse licensure and practicing nursing within its borders. It is essential that you familiarize yourself with those requirements before starting any LVN certificate program. Take a look at the major requirements that must be met to obtain your LVN license in Texas.
Education and Training. The education requirement may also be met by applicants trained internationally through the submission of a credential evaluation service course report. Some young people take the LVN route because it lets them try their hand at the nursing profession without spending tens of thousands of dollars on a degree-level education. Some older adults opt for an online LVN so that they can continue working in their current job while they get the education they need for a career change.
For those people, an online nursing program makes a lot of sense and allows them to pursue opportunities they might otherwise be excluded from. There are practical elements to qualifying as an LVN, so even if someone were to choose to study an online program, they would need to gain some clinical experience hours.
This means committing to some practical sessions at a local health care facility or potentially attending a summer school at the teaching institution where they can gain some supervised practice hours.
These practical sessions are an important part of studying for the LVN, but being able to study the theoretical parts in your own time means you have more time and freedom to work, look after your family, or structure your studies around other things. An online LVN program makes sense if you are interested in starting a career as a nurse and are eager to start work in a health care setting.
You might be a good candidate for an online LVN if:. The most common settings in which LVNs work are care homes and hospitals. These nurses usually work a 40 hour week, but because the patients they care for require support hours a day nurses may be expected to work a rota that includes some night shifts, weekends, or public holidays.
The role of the LVN is a very hands-on and demanding one. They may be expected to provide assistance with the activities of daily living such as bathing and grooming, have to turn immobile patients, take vitals, provide wound care, insert catheters and keep detailed medical records. Vocational nurses do not diagnose patients or devise care plans, but they may be the person who is responsible for administering the care plan. LVNs must be patient, compassionate, good communicators, and pay attention to detail.
Studying to become a licensed practical nurse or vocational nurse requires completing a number of science courses, learning about nursing best-practices, and also completing extensive practical training. Entry into LVN courses is slightly easier and less competitive than the nursing degree programs required to hold the title of registered nurse, but you will still need to show a positive academic history. Depending on the institution, a would-be student may need a C or above some institutions require higher grades for these science courses.
If a student is missing some of these prerequisites, they may be able to complete them while studying for their LVN, however, any nursing-focused courses that are a part of the LVN cannot be started until all of the pre-requisites are met.
Students should make an effort to complete the pre-requisites and fully understand the concepts taught in science and math courses before enrolling in an online nursing program, because online study can be demanding and the material is academically rigorous. Others have GPA requirements specific to math and science classes.
Online programs may have more flexible requirements than some of the more traditional brick-and-mortar universities. In some cases, a program may allow a student to enroll in an LVN program while also doing remedial classes if they are missing certain prerequisites, as long as they make a commitment to completing the prerequisites before the relevant module of the LVN starts.
The LVN curriculum covers everything a person needs to know to engage in nursing practice at the vocational level and prepares would-be nurses for more advanced study should they decide to pursue a nursing degree program at a later date. The exact content of a program will vary depending on the institution that offers it, but in general LVN programs include:.
The academic elements of an LVN course can be studied online, but there will always be some in-classroom or clinic elements required because of the heavy practical weighting of the course. Online LVN programs allow students to learn the theoretical parts of their course in their own time, remotely.
Students can attend online lectures, write essays, and complete their coursework from home.
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