LPN Courses and Study Curriculum

To become a licensed practical nurse (LPN) you must seek an accredited program to cover all the concepts of nursing you need to learn. Generally, the average time period to complete an LPN program is 12-18 months. Once you enroll in an LPN course you have to go through the entire syllabus devised for an LPN student. The exact core curriculum may differ from one institution to another in which you are pursuing the LPN course. Whatever is the case, there exists a basic outline you can figure out from what you need to do in the entire curriculum as a whole. Focusing on the fundamentals of the following courses increases your success rate in the NCLEX-PN (National Council Licensure Examination- Practical Nurse). You must pass this examination to start your career as a professional LPN.

This article will give you an overview of the programs available for an aspiring LPN to enroll in. Since there are many such courses, it is legitimate to get confused regarding what to choose and what to avoid. Therefore, to clear the air we have listed some of the prominent courses so that you can grab the essential information regarding courses for LPN program leading to the position of LPN. Also, get information about the licensure examination and what refresher courses you can consider for preparing at your best.

LPN Course Requirements-

Before you enroll in any LPN program, there are a few prerequisites that you are required to fulfill, only after which; you will be deemed eligible to take the course.

Academic Prerequisites

  • High school diploma
  • CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Certification.
  • Proficiency in English (only for non-native English speakers)

Pre-Clinical Prerequisites

  • A report of your immunity status against certain diseases
  • A report of your vaccination for Hepatitis and Tuberculosis
  • A detailed report of your medical checkup.

Things You Will Need for Pursuing LPN Course

Once you are enrolled in any LPN program, there are certain things you will need throughout the course. While some of them are compulsory, others are highly recommended to ensure you make most out of your course.

Laptop-Though not compulsory, since you can access computers at college and library, having one for your own will certainly save a lot of time. It is the most useful gadget you will need to complete your assignments.

Stethoscope- Besides the obvious usage, having a stethoscope with you is one of the identities of a medical professional. They come in a variety of price range and can easily be found at local stores or can be ordered online. Though a cheap one will meet the purpose, investing in a good one will serve you for a long time.

Penlight- This is another small gadget which is used to observe pupils. They come really cheap and can be found at the local stores.

Uniform- Every school prescribes its own uniform which you can purchase from the locations specified by the institution.

Shoes and Shocks- Nurses are generally expected to wear white shoes and socks with no distinguished designs or accessories. If you are not already having one, buy a pair from the local store.

Bandage Scissors- These are specifically designed scissors used by the nurses to cut the bandages without hurting the skin, and can be found in local stores at a relatively lower price.

Textbooks- These are possibly the most important supplements for your course. There will be several books required by you each semester, which you can buy or rent depending on your finances. Also, there are many stores both online and offline, where you can find pre-used books to save some money.

Stationary- Purchase binders and spiral paper notebooks for each theoretical class. Also, purchase a pocket spiral notebook for clinical sessions. Practical nurses use only black pens, so be sure to buy one.

What are You Expected to Know?

Since you have completed your high school and are going to pursue a professional course, there are certain things you are expected to know. An in-depth knowledge is not expected, but beginners concept is deemed necessary.

Biology- You are required to know at least high school level biology.

Physiology- It is the study of the relationship between different parts of the human body, something that every nurse should know.

Anatomy- It is the study of the structure of the human body.

Microbiology A basic knowledge of microbiology is also expected to ensure that you don't lag behind while doing the course that features many advanced concepts related to it.

LPN Core Curriculum

The basic structure of the entire curriculum has a pattern that you get subjected to after enrolling in any institution. The following section will introduce you with what you will be doing in the span of the course.

First Semester-

The syllabus for the first semester covers the introductory courses of the discipline you have chosen. The purpose of exposing yourself to the basic nursing courses is to plant the seed of LPN courses in your mind so that you can better understand the subjects in the next semesters. The classes include the catalog of subjects such as Nursing 101, Nursing 102, Nursing 103, Nursing 104 and Mathematics. Apart from it, you are taught in the nursing classes about pharmacology, how a human body works, assessment of health and introduction to nursing.

Second Semester-

The knowledge you acquire in the courses you learn in the first semester is further expanded when you step in the second semester. The classes of the subjects such as English, Nursing 105, Nursing 106 and human anatomy and physiology are organized. Here the role of English subject is to improve your written communication skills that an LPN is supposed to be good at. In the nursing courses, you learn the basics about adult care, infant, and maternal nursing.

Third Semester-

The third semester is that time frame of the LPN course when the classes approach the end. This is the time when you will be wrapping up your preparation for the NCLEX-PN exam leading to the beginning of your career as a professional LPN. Completing the course requires to give you exposure to the remaining subjects like Nursing 107, Nursing 108 and Nursing 109. These nursing courses aim to cover the psychosocial phase of nursing and everything you will need in your daily life as an LPN.

It is the basic outline that you can expect from an LPN course which varies according to the institution you enroll in. However, the purpose of the course is always same helping you prepare best for appearing in NCLEX-PN exam.

LPN Program Curriculum

The curriculum of the LPN program consists of both classroom education and clinical experience. We have listed specifically what you learn in the span of the course. The following description will enhance your understanding about the training courses that an aspiring LPN has to go through.

Introduction to Nursing And Role of an LPN-

It is basically about providing the information regarding nursing, the important duties and contribution of the LPN in a health-care team, the elements of the nursing process, how to think critically, effective communication with the health care team, patient and family members. Emphasizing on nursing, the program covers how the evolution in this field has brought changes from the earlier time to the current day. Besides, the scope of practice of an LPN, the program covers the process of nursing involves assessing, diagnosing, planning and implementing and evaluating.

The Aspects of Nursing: Legal, Cultural and Ethical

The profession of an LPN is highly responsible one because the life of a patient is subjected to risk while implementing any procedure. So there has to be some legal system which decides the norms according to a standard. It is essentially required for an LPN to honestly follow the code of conduct regarding laws, practices and ethical principles. The curriculum makes you familiar with the standards related to nursing care, nurse practice acts in the states, what does the state board of nursing do. Besides you get to know what malpractice and confidentiality of patient are all about and how do abuse and neglect affect children, spouses, and elders.

Anatomy And Physiology:

It is an essential medical knowledge you get about the human body and how it works in order to provide quality care to your patients. This course covers the matter devised for medical terminology as well as make you familiar with the anatomical and physiological terms. Besides, you will be developing a good understanding of the structure of the cells, membranes, tissues, and organs and how do they function in the human body. This coursework also covers the types of tissue and membranes.

Assessments: The Medical History and Taking Physical Examination

Starting from the first stage of the process of nursing you will learn to determine the healthcare demands of the patient while assisting the registered nurse. The best nursing care is brought about through an accurate assessment of the patient which is mandatory for the planning and implementation of the nursing procedure. The medical history of the patient allows to prevent the risks and make an accurate treatment plan. The physical examination may be about any part of the body.

Documentation:

According to the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the patient care needs to be essentially documented. Documenting the information about the patient is kind of a written communication is a skill which every member of the medical staff must master. The course covers the medical terminology helping to serve in daily tasks, using abbreviations, the laws related to documentation, different kinds of documentation and how does it affect in the short term and long term care.

Growth and Development of the Human Body:

An LPN is responsible to provide the medical help to patients of all age groups. Therefore, it is evident for an LPN to be knowledgeable about the psychological, spiritual, social, cognitive needs of the patients of all ages. So the curriculum focuses on imparting the knowledge about various phases of the growth and development of the human body. It essentially covers a great deal of matter related to the characteristics of all age groups from infant to elder age. The course covers theories of well-known theorists such as Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud to give exposure to psychosocial and cognitive development.

Safety of Patient:

It is the basic right of patients to feel safe and it is the essential duty of nurses to ensure the well being of the patient in all aspects. Since there are many risk factors including the error a nurse might make, it is solely required from an LPN to maintain the safety standards. The possible errors as a result of negligence can be wet floor and prescription of incorrect medication. It also covers the essential information regarding body mechanics in order to avoid the injuries a nurse might incorporate while moving or transferring patients.

The course covers knowledge about how to manage the external disasters such as cyclones, earthquakes, hurricanes, terrorism and major accidents while transporting a patient. The course makes an LPN student familiar with various psychological crises and risk of suicide. The problems related to oxygen and other gases, poor lighting, suffocation, radiation etcetera are most common environmental hazards.

Control and Prevention of Infection:

The problems related to infection are easily attracted to the human body affecting the immune system. Seeing the ill condition of the patient it becomes tough to cope up with this situation. Therefore, the course provides you with relevant information about risk factors pertaining to infection. It essentially covers the standard techniques for identification and improvement. For instance, the knowledge about sterilization, disinfection, cleaning, standard precautions is prominent to learn in this course. Some of the following instructions are supposed to be included in the course.

  • The purpose and techniques of disinfection, sterilization, and cleaning.
  • The purpose and procedures of medical and surgical asepsis.
  • The standard precautions.
  • The knowledge about microbiology which includes protozoa, fungi, viruses, and bacteria.
  • The management of biohazards waste and methods of disposing of them.
  • Implementing the nursing process for taking control of infection.

Administration of Medication:

An LPN school teaches the prospective students the administration of medications of all age groups. Since accurate prescription has a lot to do with the medical condition of the patient, a good understanding of this part is also very much important. Learning of the following information is paramount to success in the daily routine.

  • The consideration regarding various age groups while prescribing medication.
  • The possible side effects of prescribing a certain type of medication in certain condition leading to life threatening situation.
  • The classification and benefits of certain medications.
  • The mathematical principles include key factors such as ratio, proportion, decimals, and fractions.
  • The course also covers measurement systems such as the household measurement, metric and apothecary systems.

Basic Needs of the Patient:

This course will make you familiar with the insights into pain management, sleep cycle and methods to improve the quality of sleep. Also, this course dwells on other factors of patient needs such as hygiene, mobility, fluids, and electrolytes. Get specific understanding of each part of the course in the next words-

Hygiene: The following factors are related to hygiene such as bathing, oral care, hair fall, skin infections, shaving and cleaning of the nose, ears, and eyes. The same you will learn in this course.

  • The clean environment promotes the comfort level of the patient.
  • The methods to take into consideration while preparing the bed for the patient.
  • Taking care of the extra needs of the patients suffering from diabetes.
  • The medically accurate bath is given to the patients.
  • Oral care includes the right procedure for cleaning of teeth.
  • Skin care includes the assessment and cleansing.
  • Of all consideration of head to toe, care of hand, foot, and nail is also of importance.

Mobility: The impact that chronic disorders shade on a person has a lot to do with the inability to move independently. The following list of the elements of mobility is included in the course.

  • The prevention of shear and friction arising due to the wrong movement of body parts.
  • There are some technical terms linked to devices used for helping patients move. You will learn how to use such devices like continuous passive motion equipment and ambulation assistive devices.
  • In the course you are trained to transferring the patients from and to the bed, making them rest on the bed in addition to learning the motion exercises.
  • During this course, you will also learn about what changes a patient may go through in immobility which ultimately impacts metabolic, urinary, circulatory, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, integumentary and respiratory systems.

Fluids And Electrolytes: The course will introduce you with the working of fluids and electrolytes deemed responsible for the normal function of the body. It is essentially about the whole fluid system of the human body including the acid-base balance and mechanisms for the transportation of fluid. You will be learning to apply the principles of fluids and electrolytes in the nursing process to satisfy the needs of the patients.

Nursing Care In Emergency:

In an emergency department, you will need to apply skills related to a lot of conditions the patients suffer from. For example, as an LPN you must be able to help patients with trauma, shock, hemorrhage, cardiopulmonary arrest et cetera. The details about assessing various types of fractures, burns and other medical crisis and techniques of the treatment are taught. Also, you will learn as per the following illustration-

  • The management and control of every type of a critical situation in the emergency can be implied by the nursing process that you are supposed to learn in the course.
  • Many cases of emergency result into the injuries linked to the spinal cord. You will learn to handle such cases with utmost accuracy for which you are taught the assessment and care.

Pediatric Nursing:

Pediatric nursing is one of the specialty care areas of nursing practice which is a subject for developing a sound knowledge of the specific age group. The needs of patients from a new born child to an adolescent is addressed in pediatric nursing. Although in an LPN school you will graduate with a proper understanding of a human life span, some students develop a keen interest to work in this area of nursing only. The course covers extensive knowledge about nutrition needs, issues with growth, safety, fear, and death. In this way, you will start recognizing the vital signs that work as the physical assessment from head to toe of a patient until he or she is an adolescent.

Gerontology Nursing-

Gerontology nursing covers the assessment and treatment of diseases of the elderly population. The course aims at training you to acknowledge the special needs of the older patients who have different health-care needs. The most common problems old age people face results due to aging. Thus, you will learn the process of aging and the changes that a human body goes through. In the course, you are taught to apply the nursing process to take care of the gerontological patients. For that matter, you are supposed to know about various medical terms and incorporating empathy in your nature. For instance, depression, loss of a family member, grief, economic problems cause harm to a person emotionally.

IV Therapy Course For LPN-

When it comes to practicing certain medical techniques the state laws come in the spotlight due to which a restriction is put on LPNs. These laws of the state board decide that what an LPN can do and can not do in a health care setting. This line which is drawn for not letting an LPN cross may include replacements of intravenous fluid, intravenous medications, parenteral nutrition and intravenous catheters. It is essential for you to check with the state board to find out what is not allowed for an LPN to do. It also depends on whether you have studied the relevant course material in an LPN school or not.

Additionally, the practice of intravenous fluid and medication is permitted in some states given you attend a course for continuing education also after graduation. This course is essential to learn how to perform venipuncture and give skills to help with nutrition, medications, electrolytes, and fluids through the intravenous pathway.

  • In this course, an LPN student learns about intravenous therapy which starts from learning the terms and terminology such as central line IV, isotonic, peripheral IV therapy et cetera.
  • There are advantages and disadvantages linked to intravenous therapy. So it is of importance that you pay close attention to the coursework because a mistake is highly undesired.
  • The factors that could control the complications arose from the intravenous therapy are taught as signs, symptoms, and prevention as well as treatment methods. Also, the theories for safety and controlling infection is covered in the content of the course.
  • You will be studying some chapters about veins to get considerable and recommendable knowledge about anatomy and physiology of the veins.
  • You will study about hypertonic, isotonic and hypotonic as the types of intravenous solutions.
  • You should also be compassionate about learning process for making changes in the intravenous therapy ordained for the population whose part is the pediatric and elder people.

Apart from the elements of IV therapy listed above, the applications and characteristics of the intravenous catheters are taught in the LPN classes. Also, intravenous flow rates, intravenous tubings and how to administer blood is covered in the course.

Maternal and Neonatal Nursing:

It depends on your interest to choose a specialty area of nursing practice. You may like to provide health care services for taking care of pregnant women and their newly born child. The course will cover everything you need to perform in this sub field of health care. During the course, you will come across the information regarding the process of delivery, postpartum as well as identifying the needs of the newborn post delivery. The following list of elements you will need to cover in the course to become eligible to do what is required of an LPN in this area.

Rehabilitation Care Nursing:

From learning about roles and responsibilities to understanding the mental health will help in the nursing process you will need to implement. You will get skilled to tackle the mental problems of specific age group such as pediatric, gerontological and adult. The disorders that cover the major portion of this area are spinal cord injury, post traumatic stress disorder, cardiovascular accidents, traumatic brain injury et cetera.

For making it easy for you to find the schools that match your needs we have listed some of the most recommended schools.

LPN Courses-

Many schools of the NYC area offer LPN programs. To make a successful decision what you need to know is admission information regarding requirements, syllabus, duration, and cost of the program. The courses for studying the curriculum can be online or traditional. The following courses provide an overview of the traditional courses.

LPN courses in NYC-

CUNY Hostos Community College, CUNY LaGuardia Community College, and CUNY Medgar Evers College offer a practical nursing certificate program.

CUNY Hostos Community College- Apart from health care courses, students in this college study critical psychology, mathematics, and writing. The course takes four semesters to complete. In the first two semesters lifespan behavior development, anatomy, critical writing et cetera is covered. From the third semester, the clinical component of the course begins. The criteria for admission to this course is competitive. So the applicants have to pass the skill test and score enough marks in the National League for Nursing (NLN) Pre-Nursing exam. This school additionally offers a course to take the career to next level by becoming an RN.

Tuition Fee: $5,208 in-state and $8,088 out-state

CUNY LaGuardia Community College- The coursework includes pharmacology and nutrition, medical dosage mathematics, mental health nursing, human biology, psychology, medical surgical nursing and much more. English composition, mathematics, psychology and two biology courses serve as the prerequisite courses. Apart from the classroom instructions in the college campus, hands on clinical experience are provided in hospitals or nursing homes. The course for transitioning to RN position is also offered.

Tuition Fee: $5,218 in-state and $8,098 out-state

CUNY Medgar Evers College- The prerequisite courses in English composition, biology and other courses of nursing. This program is 18 months longer in duration which takes three semesters to complete. To fulfill the admission requirements you will need to pass NLN pre-nursing exam and skills test. The course dwells into the subjects like pharmacology, nutrition et cetera and the clinical component is provided at health care facilities around the city area.

Tuition Fee: $6,680 in-state and $13,790 out-state

The following section takes you to learn about best LPN courses in Florida. You have to decide which school is right for you according to the admission requirements, the course offered, duration and cost. The schools listed here are not much far from downtown Orlando.

LPN Schools in Orlando, Florida

Orlando Tech: This college gives a choice of attending the classes either in day or evening. It also gives the opportunity to advance the career towards the post of RN by earning an associate degree in nursing. The subjects such as surgical nursing, practical nursing, dental assisting, medical laboratory assisting are offered in the program. Each class accompanies only 25 students. To go through the entire course it takes a duration of 12-18 months. The evening program is slightly longer in duration than that of the day one. In the theory component of the course, the student learns about nursing fundamentals, pharmacology, anatomy, and physiology. The specific areas of nursing such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and geriatrics are also covered in the curriculum. In addition to being above 18 years older, you have to take the TABE (Test for Adult Basic Education) and TEAS (Test for Essential Academic Skills) to take admission in this program.

Tuition Fee- $3,930

Technical Education Center- Osceola- This college provides students with the opportunity of taking classes on either full time or part time basis. This program lasts for 11 months that graduate you with practical nursing training which includes daytime classes and clinical component. The students who are interested in attending evening classes have to spend 18 months to complete this course. The contents of the program cover family health concepts, mental health concepts, body structure and legal concepts of this field.

To enroll yourself in the course you are required to take TABE and HESI (Health Education System, Inc.) in addition to having a drug screening, physical examination and submitting an essay. The submission of the official documents is a condition which is followed almost everywhere.

Tuition Fee- $4,745

LPN Courses In Georgia-

Atlanta Technical College- The program offered is diploma program in practical nursing and associate's degree program in nursing. The criteria to satisfy for taking admission in this college is to pass the Kaplan test in addition to submitting the SAT/CAT or ASSET/COMPASS test scores. The curriculum includes the topics like anatomy and physiology, surgical nursing, pharmacology, and microbiology.

Tuition Fee: $2,746 in-state and $4,882 out-state

Georgia State University- Georgia State University is situated in the heart of the downtown. The program being offered here is Bachelor of Science in Nursing for aspiring LPN students which take three years to complete.

Tution Fee: $8,974 in-state and $23,542 out-state

LPN Courses Online-

Don't worry If you can't attend the campus classes because with aid of high-speed Internet you can easily avail online classes. It is generally for fulfilling the requirement of completing continuing education as being a working health care professional it is not feasible to attend offline classes. You can cover the important subjects asked in the licensing examination and utilize these programs for getting the college credit. While there are some programs which lead to an entry level LPN. As opposed to the traditional courses, these online programs are cost effective and can be accessed with personalized pace. The program includes video lessons, assessments, lesson transcripts and quizzes for practicing.

So, as a consequence of registering into an online program, it takes less time and fewer expenses to complete the program than it would generally take. Refer to the following list of free online LPN courses that will provide you with the adequate material.

College of Southern Maryland: A free online course known as fundamentals of nursing teaches various basic concepts and includes 19 video lectures that you can watch on YouTube. For instance, dressing change, tube insertion, sterile gloving and parental medication are some of the courses.

Des Moines University: Medical terminology is the course which covers human anatomy terminology. It teaches the medical names for a number of systems such as reproductive, urinary, musculoskeletal, nervous, digestive etc. Also, the course goes over telling you the terms linked to cancer. If you want a certificate it is essential to pay upon the end of the course.

Johns Hopkins University: The course offered is known as principles of human nutrition which covers how the role of nutrition on human health, diseases, and physiology. For instance, homeostasis, obesity, amino acids, antioxidants, malnutrition, lipids and dietary supplements include in the common topics of the course. As a part of the course, presentation slides and video lessons are made available while it is recommended to buy textbooks.

Lincoln Land Community College: The course known as Nursing Skills is accessed by the students on YouTube. It includes 8 video lectures about various issues related to the nursing profession. Some of the topics taught in this course are central line dressing, injecting insulin, sterile gloving, intramuscular injection etcetera.

Nurse.com: The course is designated as Improving Critical Thinking and Clinical Thinking in which you can expect to improve your skills regarding thinking critically and clinically. It also offers a multiple choice quiz for practice.

University of Michigan: There are two courses namely Advanced Emergency Trauma and Patient Communication Skills. The former course is made to help health care professionals improve the method of emergency care. It consists of 20 lectures which you can download as ZIP files and study via Microsoft Power Point and Adobe Reader. While the later one helps the health care professionals to improve their communication skills which are needed for dealing with patients. The didactic education material includes topics such as listening skills, telephone skills, cross-cultural patient communication etcetera. The material of this course is free of cost.

Villanova University: The course known as Nursing contains 19 video lectures including the strategies to implement for improving the health of older patients and how to take care of new borns and women properly. The length of video ranges anywhere between 6 minutes to 90 minutes.

Pearson Vue: As part of the course Online Tutorial for NCLEX examination offers the tutorial in the form of PDF file through which students can know what the test is all about and what should be expected while taking the test.

NCLEX-PN Exam Overview

NCLEX-PN is an adaptive exam designed to test the overall competence of the candidates. Having completed the LPN course you will be facing this exam. Due to the adaptive nature, the difficulty level and duration of the exam varies on an individual basis, but the overall questions follow a fixed test plan. Also, the exam awards no scores but a binary pass/fail result. The exam basically focuses on these 4 sections of practical nursing to test your knowledge and temperament:

Safe and Effective Care Environment- Covering a wide range of topics, this section is one of the most important segments in the examination. Approximately 21-33% questions are asked from this section. Other important topics are pediatric patients, isolation procedures, etc. Also, the legal and ethical issues in nursing, laboratory tests, and the result et cetera are some domains which must not be overlooked.

Health Promotion and Maintenance- With topics related to public health and their preventive measures, this section roughly carries around 12% of the total number of questions asked.

Psychosocial Integrity- This section covers the psychological phase of treatment which along with a large number of theoretical aspects like crisis intervention, substance abuse, etc., also covers many practical topics like schizophrenia, personality disorders, etc., to make up about 12% of the total number of questions asked.

Physiological Integrity- This is perhaps the most important section of the test which covers 43-67% of the total number of questions asked. The section in itself is very diverse in nature with further division into a number of sub-sections. Some of the highlights of this section include:

  • Elderly care, along with common medication and aging process.
  • Adult and surgical care with medical and surgical conditions, assessment, treatment, etc.
  • Child care, along with birth anomalies, common childhood injuries, diseases, Infectious diseases, etc.
  • All the sections/questions asked in the examination are taken from the topics studied by the examinees in their LPN course.

LPN Refresher Course-

A refresher course is not an alternative to actual LPN courses but an opportunity to get a re-certification. The state board of nursing provides the approval to ensure that the course requirements are met. You must ascertain that whether the program is approved or not by the state board of nursing.

A refresher course has high priority for inactive LPN's seeking to update their knowledge and skills leading to the profession again with a boost of confidence. Generally, this course completes in one year but the course length may vary depending on the program you select which follows the code of the state board of nursing. Basically, a refresher course is divided into two components that cover the portion of both theory and clinical practice under supervision.

In the modules you will be given to study includes some of the topics such as nursing roles and responsibilities, legal and ethical issues, community health, infection control, disease transmission, nursing process, body mechanic principles, charting and reporting, nutrition, data collection, skin care, life span, death and dying, classification of medications et cetera.

You need to meet following requirements to enroll in the course-

  • You are a former licensed LPN who is willing to reactivate the license.
  • You had to skip practice for some time but currently working as an LPN who wants to refresh the knowledge and skills in order to start the profession again.
  • If you failed the NCLEX exam and looking forward to updating your knowledge in order to prepare for the test at your best. According to the terms and conditions, you will need to first pass the test before beginning the clinical component.

To meet your educational needs you get the following conveniences-

  • You can enhance your understanding of recent economic, social and philosophical trends in nursing.
  • You can look forward to updating your previously acquired nursing skills.
  • You will learn the process of personalized care to assesses the need of the hour of the patients.
  • You will upgrade your knowledge about some selective conditions related to surgery, therapy, and procedures in accordance with current ways of diagnosing and treating diseases.

It is good for you that you can get the theory part of this course entirely online but you need to complete the clinical element of the course in a health care setting. It is a sure thing that you can complete the online component at your own pace keeping in mind the entire time frame of the course.

In a refresher course devised for an LPN provides you with a certificate of completion in addition to fulfilling the educational needs. For instance, you will get the opportunity to consult with the other participants of the course as well as supervision and coordination to help you out at every stage.

Depending upon the requirement in your state, for practicing at a clinical site you are bound to get a limited license from the state board of nursing. This limited license is acceptable only for a certain period of time. In that time frame, you will be practicing under the supervision of a licensed registered nurse and won't be able to fetch financial benefit out of this experience. Apart from it, the program you are applying for will ask you to complete some paper work. So keep the time of at least two weeks in your hands before beginning the clinical experience. For example, if there is any paper work you need to go through includes criminal background check, TB skin test, drug screening, limited license et cetera.

The evaluation of your clinical experience is done on the basis of a summary you need to write in 400 words or more to explain what you learned. Also, the clinical preceptor evaluates your performance and if on any given day your performance is not up to the mark then that day may not be counted. If the overall performance lacks the standard then either you are given extra time to complete the course or you are dismissed from the program. So it is necessary for you to maintain discipline and professionalism while working in a clinic as a trainee.

Successful completion of both the theory and clinical portions of the course marks the end of the refresher course. You will receive a certificate in your email. If it not the case, then you will be held responsible for the failure in this course. The opportunity to take the course again is provided according to the reason you were unable to pass the exams.

If you are unable to complete the course within one year then you may have to pay an additional fee for extending the course. This extension may be for just three months which can be made possible in a time frame of thirty days from the end date of the course. If you miss this time period you will have to pay the full tuition fee along with a background check.

LPN Supervisory Course-

This requirement of completing a supervisory course is a compulsion for only those candidates who became LPN after October 6, 1982. The need of an LPN supervisory course arises when you are appointed to a supervisory position to handle the nursing facility under a registered nurse. In such a condition to be able to do the tasks efficiently a supervisory course is designed which prepares an LPN for the supervisory role. This course must be completed within the first six months of employment. The course is required to have an approval of the state board of nursing. The program you select can be a continuing education provider with an approval of the board. This course can be taken entirely online, with the personalized pace according to your needs.

In case, if you are unable to complete the course in first six months of employment after getting hired in the supervisory role you must complete the process with LPN supervisory Waiver Form and note down the reason for not fully completing the course. The LPN who is enrolled in an RN program on a full-time basis is not exempted from the course but if the completion of graduation will take around one year then you can request the board for exemption by completing the LPN supervisory waiver form. The individuals who do not get success in the NCLEX-RN and aren't graduated from the RN program as per the schedule need to take the supervisory course.

In the course, you can expect to master the leadership and supervisory skills. The modules you will be given are well organized that features exercises, learning activities, video lessons and case studies. The supervisory concepts are ingrained from the course which provides key information about the essential stuff you need to study. The topics you are exposed to include principles of delegation, assignment development, interpersonal relationship skills, team building, conflict resolution et cetera. Besides, you will be learning how to communicate effectively, how to make strategies to direct the duties of others in the health care team.

The requirement for completing the course follow some guidelines.

  • The completion of each module marks the end only if you are able to complete the test set for each and earn a score of 75% or above.
  • During the span of the course discussing with other participants, doing exercise for practicing may also need.

LPN Refresher Course for NCLEX –

A refresher course becomes your need if you graduated almost a year ago and you weren't able to pass the NCLEX test. This program can be attended online. The length of the course may vary according to the program you undertake. Now keeping in mind the recent trends in technology you even can get user-friendly experience with access of the course in both mobile and desktop. This course offers theory component of the nursing process which is most often needed to implement on patients.

A refresher course makes you adapt to new technologies and procedures. You can mention in your resume that you have attended an additional course which reflects your professional growth. Taking such a course has a lot to do with increasing self-esteem, confidence and knowledge. So it does uplift your chances of getting employment. In the course, the nurse educators teach the major topics of the syllabus. You have to complete weekly assignments and tests.

LPN NCLEX Review Course –

A refresher course is a self-paced online course available for nursing candidates to wind up preparation for NCLEX. Once you become graduated from an LPN school you can seek this course to practice hard to excel in the licensure examination. You can fetch maximum benefit out of this course if you begin it three months before the NCLEX exam. It is strongly advised that on this course you have to solve at least 75 questions per day and evaluate yourself so that you don't repeat the mistakes on the exam day.

The good thing about it is that you will become familiar with the type of questions that are generally asked in the examination. The pattern of the course material is arranged in a way that you will get a demo of the real experience. With solving quizzes, multi response questions, hot spot and fill in the blank type questions you can boost your confidence. In this course, you are taught clinical reasoning skills that lead to mastering the type of questions you will face on the NCLEX test day.

LPN to RN Online Courses –

Many LPNs after practicing in a health care settings think of going to the next level which is the post of registered nurse (RN). An RN has to spend more time in medical school than an LPN. An LPN can always upgrade the knowledge, skills, and abilities to become an RN. Since an LPN works under an LPN, this increment in position gives an LPN the chance to uplift the status, salary, and responsibilities. The duties of an RN include interacting with patients, nurses, physicians and others. Doing the assessment of the patient and making a plan of care comes under the role of an RN. While an LPN follows the guidelines that an RN asks to follow.

Therefore, there are some programs that give access to such a possibility of becoming an RN from an LPN. Since it is not feasible to go back to medical school again while giving health care services and managing home for the entire day, the online course gives this opportunity to advance the practical skills. It is quite beneficial that you already have work experience that makes you comfortable and you learn the course even with great confidence.

In such an education you are taught the more complex concepts of nursing that only an RN is allowed to do. For example, IV insertions and central line care is the part of the clinical component in this course which focuses on nurse autonomy. The concepts in the theory component cover advanced pharmacology, advanced pathology, advanced physiology et cetera. A class for advanced cardiopulmonary life support (ACLS) is also provided in some schools prior to graduation.

In LPN to RN classes, you will basically learn about reproductive, nervous, skeletal, urinary, respiratory, lymphatic system. From defense mechanism of body and importance of exercise to human physiology and evolutionary process is covered along with much more deeper concepts.

The online course is flexible which means that you can complete the course according to your own pace. This is a cost effective course which you can manage with your work routine and also get prepared for appearing in NCLEX-RN exam which is a licensure examination for RN students.