Licensed Practical Nurse Training

The role of a Licensed Practical Nurse is an important one within the many healthcare facilities. A LPN is responsible for looking after patients while they are under the care of a hospital or clinic, or at facilities that care for elderly or disabled people. This generally includes carrying out tasks such as dressing wounds and changing bandages, preparing injections taking and monitoring blood pressure, as well as helping with personal hygiene and other duties. But being a successful LPN is not just about professional duties. LPNs are often the members of staff who interact most with the patients, so it is very important in this job to have great people skills to be able to put patients at ease and to make them feel comfortable in their surroundings.

In order to become an LPN, there is a specific training program to follow. The training required is not as extensive as with Registered Nursing, and so careers as Licensed Practical Nursing are becoming increasingly popular.

What does training involve?

The first basic requirement to undertake LPN training is a high school diploma or General Education Diploma. Most accredited LPN programs will not accept new candidates who don’t have a basic level of schooling.

The next step is to find a school that provides an accredited or state-approved LPN training program.

This can either be in-house at a hospital or clinic that caters for the program course, or carried out at a community college or technical training center. There are also several courses available online.

On the program you will complete either 12 or 24 months training in practical nursing. This entails a very hands-on approach, carrying out a lot of the practical duties mentioned earlier in the article. Initially duties will be performed under the supervision of a practicing RN or LPN, but gradually you will undertake many responsibilities on your own.
After the training is complete, you will then take an exam given by the National Council Licensure Examination for practical nurses (NCLEX-PN) to be eligible to be employed as an LPN.

Tuition and examination fees

Generally tuition costs for Licensed Practical Nursing programs start in the region of around $2,000 although this can vary depending on the school you choose and what state you decide to train in. The NCLEX-PN exam fee is around $200, and each re-take of the exam if you fail will cost the same.

Some schools offer financial aid to help LPN students with their nursing education funds. There are also many scholarships and grant opportunities, work-study and loan forgiveness programs available to encourage more people in choosing nursing as their career. There is a shortfall of medical professionals and so there is help available for those who are serious about pursuing a nursing career. Just a little research will open up a whole host of possibilities to enter a Licensed Practical Nurse Training program with the financial help you need.
Useful financial aid resources include FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) and Student Aid (http://studentaid.ed.gov).