Licensed Practical or Vocational Nursing Schools
How to Find the Best One Near Chattanooga Tennessee

A first step that you need to take after deciding to become a Licensed Practical Nurse is to find and enroll in the right LPN school near Chattanooga TN that will help you enter the rewarding vocation of nursing. Texas or California residents will alternatively enroll in an LVN school to learn to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse. There is no distinction, other than the names, between an LVN and an LPN. Both work in health care facilities supervised by Physicians and Registered Nurses and perform the same job duties. However their functions do fluctuate depending on the state they practice in, which we will cover in the next segment. Many nursing candidates begin by looking for schools that are close to their homes and of those lean towards the one that has the lowest tuition. While tuition and location are important points to consider, they are not the only qualifications that you should base your decision 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 address later in this article. But first, let's take a look at the function of an LPN and what is involved in the training and licensing process.

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LPN and LVN Job Description

Licensed Practical Nurses have numerous functions that they accomplish in the Chattanooga TN health care facilities where they work. As their titles indicate, they are required to be licensed in all states, including Tennessee. Although they may be responsible for monitoring Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves generally work under the supervision of either an RN or a doctor. The medical care facilities where they work are numerous and assorted, for example hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Virtually any place that you can encounter patients requiring medical attention is their domain. Every state not only oversees their licensing, but also what work activities an LPN can and can't perform. So depending on the state, their day-to-day job activities might include:

• • Measuring vital signs
  • Giving medicines
  • Starting IV drips
  • Observing patients
  • Taking blood or urine samples
  • Taking care of patient records
  • Assisting physicians or Registered nurses with procedures

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

LPN and LVN Certificates and Degrees

There are principally two scholastic credentials available that provide education to become an LPN near Chattanooga TN. The one that can be finished in the shortest period of time, usually about one year, is the certificate or diploma course. The second alternative is to earn 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 advantage of Associate Degrees, along with 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 needs to be state approved and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or another national accrediting organization. The NLNAC warrants that the course of study adequately prepares students to become Practical Nurses, and that most graduates pass the 50 state required NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

Online LPN and LVN Programs

Attending LPN or LVN schools online is growing into a more in demand way to get instruction and acquire a nursing certificate or degree in Chattanooga TN. Many schools will require attending on campus for part of the training, and virtually all programs call for a specified number of clinical rotation hours completed in a local healthcare facility. But since the rest of the training can be accessed online, this method may be a more convenient approach to finding the free time to attend school for some students. Concerning tuition, many online degree programs are cheaper than other on campus choices. Even additional 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. So if your job and household responsibilities have left you with limited time to work toward your academic goals, perhaps an online LPN school will make it more convenient to fit a degree into your active 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 on the web, you can use the following checklist to begin narrowing down your options. As you undoubtedly are aware, there are many nursing schools and colleges near Chattanooga TN as well as within Tennessee and throughout the United States. So it is important to decrease the number of schools to select from in order that you will have a manageable list. As we previously discussed, the site of the school along with the expense of tuition are probably going to be the initial two factors that you will consider. But as we also emphasized, they should not be your only qualifiers. So before making your final selection, 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 in addition to the school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a quality education, it may help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered for non-accredited schools near Chattanooga TN.
• Licensing Preparation. Licensing prerequisites for LPNs and LVNs vary from state to state. In all states, a passing score is required on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) in addition to graduation from an accredited school. Certain states require a specific number of clinical hours be performed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It's important that the school you are enrolled in not only provides an exceptional education, but also prepares you to satisfy the minimum licensing standards for Tennessee or the state where you will be working.
• Reputation. Look at internet rating services to see what the assessments are for each of the LPN or LVN schools you are considering. Ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews too. Additionally, contact the Tennessee school licensing authority to check out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can contact some local Chattanooga TN 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 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 displeased 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 good reputation within the Chattanooga TN healthcare community, but that it also has the network of relationships to assist students gain a position.
• Internship Programs. The most ideal way to get experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical environment. Essentially all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. Many states have minimum clinical hour mandates for licensing too. Ask if the schools have associations with nearby Chattanooga TN community hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the placing of students in internships.

Find Out More About Becoming an LVN or LPN in Chattanooga

Choose the Best Chattanooga LPN or LVN School

Choosing the ideal Licensed Practical Nurse program is arguably the most important step to launching a new career in the health care field. There are a number of factors that you must think about when picking a nursing school. These factors will be prioritized differently contingent on your current career goals, lifestyle, and economic situation. As we have stressed within this post, it is critical that you pick an LPN school and a certificate or degree program that are each accredited and have outstanding reputations within the medical community. By using our list of qualifying questions, you will be able to produce a shortlist of schools to select from so that you can make your final selection. And with the proper degree and training, combined with your dedication and drive to succeed, you can become a Licensed Practical or Vocational Nurse in Chattanooga Tennessee.

 

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