Licensed Practical or Vocational Nursing Schools
How to Select the Best One Near Fountain Valley California

Now that you have chosen a rewarding career in the field of nursing, it's important that you select a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program near Fountain Valley CA that will deliver the proper instruction. Texas or California students will alternatively enroll in an LVN school to learn to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse. Apart from the titles, there is no difference between an LVN and an LPN. They both practice in health care facilities supervised by Registered Nurses (RN) or Doctors and fulfill the same job duties. But their duties do vary depending on the state they practice in, which we will address in the following segment. When initiating their search for schools, many potential nursing students start with those that are the nearest to their homes or that are the least costly. Although tuition and location are relevant factors, they are not the only criteria that you should base your selection on. For example are the schools accredited or do they have high pass rates on the licensing exam, which are both very important too. There are additional questions that you should ask potential schools before enrolling in a LPN or LVN program that we will discuss later in this article. But to start with, let's look at the job of an LPN and what is involved in the instruction and licensing process.

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LPN and LVN Job Description

Licensed Practical Nurses have a number of functions that they accomplish in the Fountain Valley CA health care facilities where they work. As their titles imply, they are required to be licensed in all states, including California. While they may be accountable for managing Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves usually work under the oversight of either an RN or a doctor. The medical care facilities where they work are numerous and diverse, including hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Virtually any place that you can encounter patients seeking medical attention is their dominion. Every state not only regulates their licensing, but also what functions an LPN can and can't perform. So based on the state, their everyday work activities can include:

• • Measuring vital signs
  • Administering medicines
  • Initiating IV drips
  • Observing patients
  • Collecting blood or urine samples
  • Managing patient records
  • Assisting physicians or RNs with procedures

Along with their job functions being controlled by each state, the health care facilities or other Fountain Valley CA healthcare providers where LPNs work can further limit their job roles within those parameters. Additionally, they can practice in numerous specialties of nursing, such as long-term care, critical care, oncology and cardiology.

LPN and LVN Training

There are essentially two academic credentials offered that provide education to become an LPN near Fountain Valley CA. The one that can be completed in the shortest time frame, generally about 1 year, is the certificate or diploma course. The second option is to earn a Practical Nursing Associate Degree. These LPN programs are broader in nature than the diploma alternative and typically require 2 years to complete. The benefit of Associate Degrees, in addition to supplying a higher credential and more in-depth instruction, are that they furnish more transferable credit toward a Bachelor's Degree in nursing. No matter the type of credential you seek, it should be state approved and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or any other national accrediting organization. The NLNAC guarantees that the course of study properly prepares students to become Practical Nurses, and that the majority of graduates pass the 50 state required NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

LPN and LVN Online Programs

Enrolling in LPN or LVN schools online is growing into a more in demand way to receive training and attain a nursing certificate or degree in Fountain Valley CA. Certain schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and virtually all programs call for a certain amount of clinical rotation hours carried out in a local healthcare center. But since the remainder of the training can be accessed online, this option may be a more convenient approach to finding the time to attend college for some students. Pertaining to tuition, some online degree programs are less costly than other on campus options. Even supplementary expenses such as for commuting and study materials can be lessened, helping to make education more easily affordable. And numerous online programs are accredited by U.S. Department of Education recognized organizations. Therefore if your job and family commitments have left you with very little time to work toward your academic goals, maybe an online LPN training program will make it easier to fit a degree into your hectic schedule.

Questions to Ask LPN and LVN Schools

Once you have decided on obtaining your LPN or LVN certificate or degree, and if you will attend classes on campus or on the internet, you can use the following checklist to start narrowing down your options. As you undoubtedly realize, there are many nursing schools and colleges near Fountain Valley CA as well as within California and throughout the United States. So it is necessary to reduce the number of schools to select from in order that you will have a workable list. As we earlier mentioned, the site of the school along with the expense of tuition are undoubtedly going to be the initial two factors that you will take into consideration. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your only qualifiers. So before making your ultimate selection, use the following questions to evaluate how your pick measures up to the field.

• Accreditation. It's a good idea to make sure that the certificate or degree program along with the school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization. In addition to helping ensure that you get an excellent education, it may help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are oftentimes not available for non-accredited schools near Fountain Valley CA.
• Licensing Preparation. Licensing prerequisites for LPNs and LVNs differ from state to state. In all states, a passing score is required on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) together with graduation from an accredited school. Some states require a specified number of clinical hours be performed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It's essential that the school you are enrolled in not only delivers an outstanding education, but also readies you to satisfy the minimum licensing requirements for California or the state where you will be working.
• Reputation. Visit online rating companies to see what the evaluations are for each of the LPN or LVN schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Also, contact the California school licensing authority to find out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can contact some nearby Fountain Valley CA healthcare organizations you're interested in working for after graduation and ask what their opinions are of the schools as well.
• Graduation and Job Placement Rates. Find out from the LPN or LVN programs you are looking at what their graduation rates are as well as how long on average it takes students to finish their programs. A low graduation rate may be an indication that students were dissatisfied with the program and dropped out. It's also imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only verify that the school has a favorable reputation within the Fountain Valley CA medical community, but that it also has the network of relationships to assist students gain employment.
• Internship Programs. The best way to acquire experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical setting. Almost all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. Many states have minimum clinical hour mandates for licensing as well. Ask if the schools have associations with nearby Fountain Valley CA community hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the placement of students in internships.

Learn More About Training to Be an LPN or LVN in Fountain Valley

Enroll in the Best Fountain Valley LPN or LVN School

Picking the ideal Licensed Practical Nurse school is probably the most important phase to beginning a new career in the health care field. There are various factors that you must consider when deciding on a nursing school. These factors will be prioritized differently contingent on your current career objectives, obligations, and economic situation. As we have stressed within this article, it is important that you select an LPN school and a certificate or degree program that are each accredited and have outstanding reputations within the medical community. By utilizing our list of qualifying questions, you will be able to develop a short list of schools to pick from so that you can make your ultimate selection. And with the right degree and training, combined with your hard work and ambition to succeed, you can become an LPN or LVN in Fountain Valley California.

 

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