I need a little guidance!!

Congrats on deciding you want to go into nursing. I'm in nursing school in the Cincinnati area, and think it's going to be a great career for me. I'm actually in Northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River, but still in the Cincinnati area, so I don't know all the laws in Ohio. However, I'm almost positive that you can get your LPN without doing a STNA program first. There are so many tech schools out there that just try to get your money, and make you believe that you have to go through 2 of their programs. Don't believe a word they say. You can go to a community college and get your LPN degree without getting your STNA first (again, as far as I know...at least that's how it is here in N. KY). I know a girl here who is getting her STNA first, and then doing the LPN program. She said it was a "State requirement" to get the STNA first before getting a LPN or an RN degree. I told her that her school has been lying to her because I'm in an RN program at my local university, and I never had a STNA certificate. She checked into it, then wrote me back and basically said that the school had been lying to everyone. So, definately check into it before giving a school money for something you don't need. A lot of "for profit" technical schools will tell you lots of lies. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I dont believe that it is a requirement up here in Cleveland,but i would recommend it for the experience.Good luck!

It is NOT required by the state of Ohio for an LPN student to first have STNA certification. However, many schools do require this status, for example, Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio does for their RN program. Even if STNA isn't required, it is always a good idea to have some experience as a nursing assistant prior to and/or while going through a nursing program, whether it be an LPN or RN program. One, you learn basic nursing skills. Two, you get to see what real nursing is like, so you won't be shell shocked when you get your license.

There are quite a few LPN programs out there, in the Dayton area there is MVCTC, RETS, Miami Jacobs, Clark State, just to name a few. I am sure there is a website that lists all the nursing programs in Ohio, but I can't recall what it is. I am sure you could Google it though. If I were you, I'd start calling LPN programs that you are interested in and inquire about what their specific prerequisites are before you go spending time and money on an STNA course.