Licensed Practical or Vocational Nursing Colleges
How to Choose the Right One Near Virginia Beach Virginia

One of the first things that you need to do after deciding to become a Licensed Practical Nurse is to find and enroll in the right LPN college near Virginia Beach VA that will help you enter the gratifying profession of nursing. If you reside in California or Texas, then you will be searching for a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) school instead. There is no distinction, aside from the names, between an LVN and an LPN. They both work in health care facilities supervised by Registered Nurses (RN) or Doctors and perform the same job duties. But their duties do fluctuate depending on the state they practice in, which we will look at in the following section. Most new students start looking for schools that are within driving distance of their homes and of those lean towards the one that is least expensive. Although cost and location are important factors, 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 various other questions that you should ask potential schools before enrolling in a LPN or LVN training program that we will talk about later in this article. But first, let's have a look at the function of an LPN and what is involved in the education and licensing process.

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What does an LPN or LVN Do?

Licensed Practical Nurses have many duties that they accomplish in the Virginia Beach VA healthcare facilities where they work. As their titles signify, they are required to be licensed in all states, including Virginia. While they may be accountable for monitoring Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves typically work under the oversight of either an RN or a doctor. The medical care facilities where they work are numerous and assorted, including hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Anyplace that you can encounter patients seeking medical care is their domain. Every state not only oversees their licensing, but also what functions an LPN can and can't perform. So depending on the state, their day-to-day work functions may include:

• • Measuring vital signs
  • Giving medicines
  • Initiating IV drips
  • Overseeing patients
  • Collecting blood or urine samples
  • Maintaining patient records
  • Helping doctors or RNs with procedures

In addition to their job duties being controlled by each state, the healthcare facilities or other Virginia Beach VA 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.

LVN and LPN Degree and Certificate Programs

There are principally two academic credentials available that provide training to become an LPN near Virginia Beach VA. The one that can be finished in the shortest period of time, normally about 12 months, is the certificate or diploma course. The second alternative is to earn a Practical Nursing Associate Degree. These LPN programs are broader in nature than the diploma option and normally require 2 years to complete. The benefit of Associate Degrees, besides providing a higher credential and more extensive training, are that they provide more transferable credit toward a Bachelor's Degree in nursing. Regardless of the kind of credential you pursue, it needs to be state approved and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or some other national accrediting organization. The NLNAC attests that the course of study effectively prepares students to become Practical Nurses, and that the majority of graduates pass the 50 state required NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

Online LPN and LVN Programs

Enrolling in LPN or LVN schools online is emerging as a more preferred way to get training and acquire a nursing certificate or degree in Virginia Beach VA. Many schools will require attendance on campus for a component of the training, and virtually all programs call for a specific amount of clinical rotation hours conducted in a local healthcare center. But since the remainder of the training can be accessed online, this method may be a more accommodating approach to finding the time to attend college for some students. Concerning tuition, a number of online degree programs are less expensive than other on campus options. Even other 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. And so if your job and household obligations have left you with little time to pursue your academic goals, maybe an online LPN training program will make it more convenient 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 online, you can utilize the following checklist to start narrowing down your options. As you probably realize, there are a large number of nursing schools and colleges near Virginia Beach VA as well as within Virginia and throughout the United States. So it is important to reduce the number of schools to choose from in order that you will have a manageable list. As we already mentioned, the location of the school as well as the expense of tuition are most likely going to be the primary two points that you will take into consideration. But as we also stressed, they should not be your sole qualifiers. So prior to making your ultimate selection, use the following questions to see how your selection compares to the other schools.

• 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 organization. In addition to helping make sure that you obtain a quality education, it may assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered for non-accredited schools near Virginia Beach VA.
• Licensing Preparation. Licensing criteria for LPNs and LVNs are different from state to state. In all states, a passing score is required on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) as well as graduation from an accredited school. Many states require a certain 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 delivers an excellent education, but also preps you to meet the minimum licensing requirements for Virginia or the state where you will be practicing.
• Reputation. Visit internet 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 Virginia school licensing authority to find out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can call some nearby Virginia Beach VA 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 dissatisfied with the program and dropped out. It's also important that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only substantiate that the school has a good reputation within the Virginia Beach VA healthcare community, but that it also has the network of relationships to help students obtain a position.
• Internship Programs. The most ideal way to obtain experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical setting. Essentially all nursing degree programs require a specific number of clinical hours be completed. A number of states have minimum clinical hour requirements for licensing also. Ask if the schools have associations with local Virginia Beach VA community hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the positioning of students in internships.

Learn More About Becoming an LPN or LVN in Virginia Beach

Choose the Right Virginia Beach LPN or LVN School

Deciding on the right Licensed Practical Nurse school is potentially the most critical first step to launching a new career in the medical care field. There are numerous variables that you need to consider when choosing a nursing school. These factors will be prioritized differently depending on your existing career goals, obligations, and economic status. As we have stressed within this post, it is essential that you choose an LPN college and a certificate or degree program that are each accredited and have outstanding reputations within the health care community. By utilizing our checklist of qualifying questions, you will be able to produce a short list of schools to pick 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 a Licensed Practical or Vocational Nurse in Virginia Beach Virginia.

 

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