Licensed Practical or Vocational Nursing Schools
How to Find the Best One Near Fort Pierce Florida

Now that you have chosen a fulfilling vocation in the field of nursing, it's essential that you select a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) college near Fort Pierce FL that will provide the necessary instruction. California or Texas students will alternatively enroll in an LVN school to train to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse. There is no difference, except for the names, between an LPN and LVN. Both practice in health care facilities supervised by Physicians and Registered Nurses and fulfill identical job duties. Although, as we will discuss in this article, their routine job functions can vary based on the state where they are employed. Most nursing candidates begin by searching for schools that are close to their homes and of those lean towards the one that is least expensive. But there are other credentials that a school must have and a decision should not be made based on cost and location alone. Such as do the schools offer job placement assistance and do they have high placement rates, which are both extremely important as well. There are even more questions that you should ask potential schools before enrolling in a LPN or LVN course that we will cover later in this article. But to start with, let's have a look at the role of an LPN and what is involved in the education and licensing process.

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What is an LPN or LVN?

Licensed Practical Nurses have many tasks that they complete in the Fort Pierce FL health facilities where they work. As their titles signify, they are required to be licensed in all states, including Florida. Even though they may be responsible for overseeing Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves generally work under the supervision of either an RN or a doctor. The healthcare facilities where they work are numerous and varied, for example hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Anywhere that you can find patients requiring medical assistance is their domain. Each state not only controls their licensing, but also what work activities an LPN can and can't perform. So depending on the state, their routine work functions may include:

• • Checking vital signs
  • Administering medicines
  • Starting IV drips
  • Monitoring patients
  • Collecting blood or urine samples
  • Taking care of patient records
  • Helping doctors or RNs with procedures

Along with their job responsibilities being regulated by each state, the health facilities or other Fort Pierce FL healthcare providers where LPNs work can further limit their job duties within those parameters. In addition, they can practice in different specialties of nursing, for instance long-term care, critical care, oncology and cardiology.

LVN and LPN Training Programs

There are essentially two academic credentials available that provide training to become an LPN near Fort Pierce FL. The one that can be concluded in the shortest time frame, normally about 1 year, is the certificate or diploma program. The other choice is to earn a Practical Nursing Associate Degree. These LPN programs are more comprehensive in nature than the diploma alternative and usually require 2 years to finish. The benefit of Associate Degrees, in addition to providing a higher credential and more in-depth instruction, are that they provide more transferable credit toward a Bachelor's Degree in nursing. Regardless of the type of credential you seek, it needs to 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 adequately 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 programs online is becoming a more preferred way to obtain training and attain a nursing certificate or degree in Fort Pierce FL. Certain schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and almost all programs call for a certain amount of clinical rotation hours carried out in a local healthcare facility. But since the rest of the training may be accessed online, this alternative may be a more convenient solution to finding the time to attend college for some students. Regarding 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 minimized, helping to make education more economical. And a large number of online programs are accredited by U.S. Department of Education recognized organizations. And so if your work and family obligations have left you with limited time to pursue your academic goals, maybe an online LPN school will make it easier to fit a degree into your hectic schedule.

Things to Ask LPN and LVN Schools

Once you have decided on obtaining your LPN or LVN certificate or degree, as well as if you will attend classes on campus or online, you can utilize the following checklist to begin narrowing down your options. As you probably are aware, there are a large number of nursing schools and colleges near Fort Pierce FL as well as within Florida 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 previously pointed out, the site of the school and the price of tuition are most likely going to be the initial two factors that you will take into consideration. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your sole qualifiers. So before making your ultimate decision, use the following questions to see how your selection compares to the field.

• Accreditation. It's a good idea to make sure that the certificate or degree program as well as the school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization. Besides helping make sure that you receive an excellent education, it may assist in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are oftentimes not provided for non-accredited schools near Fort Pierce FL.
• Licensing Preparation. Licensing criteria for LPNs and LVNs differ from state to state. In all states, a passing score is needed on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) together with graduation from an accredited school. Certain states require a specified number of clinical hours be completed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It's important that the school you are attending not only delivers an excellent education, but also preps you to comply with the minimum licensing requirements for Florida or the state where you will be working.
• Reputation. Look at online rating services to see what the assessments are for all of the LPN or LVN schools you are considering. Ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews also. Additionally, get in touch with the Florida school licensing authority to check out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can contact some local Fort Pierce FL healthcare organizations you're interested in working for after graduation and ask what their assessments are of the schools as well.
• Graduation and Job Placement Rates. Find out from the LPN or LVN schools 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 superb reputation within the Fort Pierce FL healthcare community, but that it also has the network of contacts to assist students gain employment.
• Internship Programs. The best way to acquire experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical environment. Essentially all nursing degree programs require a specified number of clinical hours be completed. Various states have minimum clinical hour prerequisites for licensing also. Find out if the schools have associations with local Fort Pierce FL community hospitals, clinics or labs and assist with the placing of students in internships.

Find Out More About Training to Be an LPN or LVN in Fort Pierce

Choose the Right Fort Pierce LPN or LVN Program

Selecting the right Licensed Practical Nurse program is perhaps the most important step to launching a new career in the healthcare field. There are various factors that you need to think about when choosing a nursing school. These aspects will be prioritized differently depending on your current career objectives, lifestyle, and economic situation. As we have highlighted within this article, it is important that you pick an LPN school and a certificate or degree program that are both accredited and have outstanding reputations within the health care community. By using our list of qualifying questions, you will be able to create a shortlist of schools to select from so that you can make your ultimate selection. And with the appropriate degree and training, combined with your hard work and desire to succeed, you can become an LPN or LVN in Fort Pierce Florida.

 

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