Licensed Practical or Vocational Nursing Schools
How to Select the Right One Near Granite City Illinois

Now that you have decided on a rewarding vocation in the field of nursing, it's essential that you select a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) school near Granite City IL that will provide the proper training. Texas or California students will instead enroll in an LVN school to learn to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse. There is no difference, apart from the names, between an LPN and LVN. Both work in health care facilities supervised by Physicians and Registered Nurses and perform identical job duties. But their duties do fluctuate depending on the state they practice in, which we will talk about in the next section. When beginning their search for schools, many prospective nursing students start with the ones that are the closest to their homes or that are the least costly. While price and location are significant considerations, they are not the only qualifications that you should base your selection on. 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 program that we will cover later in this article. But to start with, let's take a look at the job of an LPN and what is involved in the education and licensing process.

It Takes Just a Few Minutes to Start Your LPN or LVN Career Below

What does an LPN or LVN Do?

Licensed Practical Nurses have many tasks that they perform in the Granite City IL medical facilities where they practice. As their titles signify, they are mandated to be licensed in all states, including Illinois. Although they may be responsible for monitoring Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves generally work under the oversight of either an RN or a doctor. The health care facilities where they work are numerous and diverse, including hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Anyplace that you can find patients seeking medical attention is their dominion. Each state not only regulates their licensing, but also what work activities an LPN can and can't perform. So based on the state, their daily job functions might include:

• • Checking vital signs
  • Giving medications
  • Starting IV drips
  • Monitoring patients
  • Taking blood or urine samples
  • Keeping patient records
  • Helping doctors or RNs with procedures

Along with their occupational duties being controlled by each state, the healthcare facilities or other Granite City IL healthcare providers where LPNs work can additionally limit their job duties within those parameters. In addition, they can work in different specialties of nursing, for instance long-term care, critical care, oncology and cardiology.

LPN and LVN Training

There are generally two scholastic credentials available that provide training to become an LPN near Granite City IL. The one that may be concluded in the shortest time frame, normally about twelve months, is the certificate or diploma course. The other option is to obtain a Practical Nursing Associate Degree. These LPN programs are more comprehensive in nature than the diploma alternative and commonly require 2 years to complete. The benefit of Associate Degrees, aside from providing a higher credential and more comprehensive training, are that they furnish more transferable credit toward a Bachelor's Degree in nursing. No matter the kind 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 syllabus effectively prepares students to become Practical Nurses, and that most graduates pass the 50 state required NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

LPN and LVN Programs Online

Attending LPN or LVN schools online is becoming a more favored way to receive training and acquire a nursing certificate or degree in Granite City IL. Many schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and almost all programs require a certain amount of clinical rotation hours carried out in a local healthcare center. But since the balance of the training may be accessed online, this alternative may be a more convenient solution to finding the free time to attend classes for some students. Pertaining to tuition, some online degree programs are less costly than other on campus choices. Even additional expenses such as for commuting and study materials may be lessened, helping to make education more affordable. And a large number of online programs are accredited by U.S. Department of Education recognized organizations. And so if your work and household commitments 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 busy schedule.

Questions 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 guidelines to start narrowing down your options. As you probably realize, there are numerous nursing schools and colleges near Granite City IL as well as within Illinois and throughout the United States. So it is important to decrease the number of schools to select from to ensure that you will have a manageable list. As we previously mentioned, the location of the school and the expense of tuition are probably going to be the first two factors that you will consider. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your only qualifiers. So prior to making your final decision, use the following questions to see how your pick measures up 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 agency. In addition to helping confirm that you receive a premium education, it may help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are often not available for non-accredited schools near Granite City IL.
• Licensing Preparation. Licensing requirements 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. 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 enrolled in not only delivers a top-notch education, but also readies you to satisfy the minimum licensing requirements for Illinois or the state where you will be practicing.
• Reputation. Visit online rating services to see what the assessments are for all of the LPN or LVN schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews also. Also, contact the Illinois school licensing authority to determine if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can call some local Granite City IL 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 unhappy with the program and dropped out. It's also important that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only verify that the school has a superb reputation within the Granite City IL medical community, but that it also has the network of relationships to assist students gain a position.
• Internship Programs. The most ideal way to obtain experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical environment. Almost all nursing degree programs require a specified number of clinical hours be completed. Various states have minimum clinical hour mandates for licensing as well. Find out if the schools have a working relationship with local Granite City IL community hospitals, clinics or labs and assist with the positioning of students in internships.

Learn More About Becoming an LPN or LVN in Granite City

Choose the Right Granite City LPN or LVN Program

Selecting the ideal Licensed Practical Nurse school is arguably the most critical step to launching a new career in the healthcare field. There are numerous variables that you must take into account when deciding on a nursing school. These aspects will be prioritized differently contingent on your current career goals, lifestyle, and financial situation. As we have highlighted in this content, it is important that you enroll in an LPN college and a certificate or degree program that are both accredited and have outstanding reputations within the healthcare community. By using our list of qualifying questions, you will be able to develop a shortlist of schools to choose 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 Granite City Illinois.

 

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