Do you feel that the LPN program should be more than one year?

CHATSDALE · Mar 15, 2005

lpn programs are rough because you have to retain so much info in such a short span of time...unlike an rn program you cannot drop one subject and concentrate on something else intending to pick up first subject later

hang in there you are , maybe going through the roughest year of your life, but you will come out the other end of the tunnel a better person

Nurse Hatchett · Mar 15, 2005

I think LPN school is rough, and you learn a lot more in the first year you work. When I was in school, we had all kinds of speakers come and talk to us, Many of them told us going for your LPN was the hardest thing you will do. I'm currently going back for my ADN, and I think they are nuts!!!! When I went to LPN school, all I did was go to school. Now I'm trying to work 40 hrs a week and go to school(don't want to be broke like I was that year ever again :rotfl: ) Plus I feel like I should know more because I'm already an LPN, therfore nothing less than A is acceptable It is rough, but hang in there. I think everyone who graduates feels like they don't know squat, but with a little experience you start to build some confidence and realise you actually did learn something. Or the first time someone asks you a question and you can actually answer, you think by god I did learn somethig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck

Sirena922 · Mar 15, 2005

i live in michigan also. do you mind if i ask you what school your attending? right now i'm taking my prereq's at davenport, trying to get into their lpn program. i should have my # this fall.

this is soooo not meant to spark an lpn vs rn battle, but to help lpns cope with our respective programs. no one is better or worse than the other, and if you feel argumentative, i kindly ask you to hold your tongue.
on that happy note... i just took my second med-surg exam in my lpn program. it was over 5 chapters. each chapter has roughly 30 disorders/diseases we are expected to know. the entire course covers like 12-14 chapters. do you feel as lpns we are expected to know as much about diseases as rns are, in 1/2 to 1/4 of the time? i also feel like we are at a disadvantage because, in our program at least, we are not required to take patho. i think that would make a huge difference in understanding and information retention, imho.
any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
~hishands

nurseatbedside · Mar 15, 2005

this is soooo not meant to spark an lpn vs rn battle, but to help lpns cope with our respective programs. no one is better or worse than the other, and if you feel argumentative, i kindly ask you to hold your tongue.
on that happy note... i just took my second med-surg exam in my lpn program. it was over 5 chapters. each chapter has roughly 30 disorders/diseases we are expected to know. the entire course covers like 12-14 chapters. do you feel as lpns we are expected to know as much about diseases as rns are, in 1/2 to 1/4 of the time? i also feel like we are at a disadvantage because, in our program at least, we are not required to take patho. i think that would make a huge difference in understanding and information retention, imho.
any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
~hishands

i am an lpn, and i feel that the course does ask a lot of those of us who take it. but, i am now in my bsn program and have finished taking the patho class and thought that the patho class was a waste of my time, i already knew the material that we were covering. i really enjoyed the lpn program that i took. i took a program that was in the evenings only and lasted from 15 to 24 months. i finished my lpn within 16 months. i have found that the one major difference between one of my friends who is an rn and my lpn is that we, as lpn's took about 700 clinical hours whereas the rn's had about 400 clinical hours. i have never had a problem with underknowledge from the length of the program that i was in compared to an rn. thanks.

AdobeRN · Mar 15, 2005

In our school I don't think we need to know as much detail as the RN students. My buddies occasionally will meet to study and we run into the same RN students studying. It seems as if our LVN program just skims the surface of many diseases and concentrates on the nursing care we should do and the RN students go into great detail about everything.

Fiona59 · Mar 15, 2005

My course was four semesters completed over 13 months, which if broken down into standard academic semesters IS two years. We only had two weeks off between semesters and then right back to the grindstone.

One LPN I knew that did public speaking on the profession said that when she started explaining it as a FOUR semester COLLEGE course, people seemed to understand what we were (professional nurses) and not just "trade school types".

Working while going to school full time is hard in most careers that require hands on time.

HisHands, ASN, RN · Mar 15, 2005

Four semesters over 13 months is exactly the way our program is set up as well. My question is, is there too much info condensed into such a short amount of time? I feel like if I had one more semester... maybe have MedSurg broken up into two semesters... I would be much more on top of things. It just seems overwhelming, but I know I'll be happy in the end.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 15, 2005

Mine was set up as 4 semesters over a total of 20 months (3 months off in between the two years.

Melody007_FNP-C, APRN · Mar 26, 2005

In our school I don't think we need to know as much detail as the RN students. My buddies occasionally will meet to study and we run into the same RN students studying. It seems as if our LVN program just skims the surface of many diseases and concentrates on the nursing care we should do and the RN students go into great detail about everything.

I have been an LPn for 8 yrs. I am currently in RN school, much different!

LPN school "skimmed" the topic. The RN studying is more indepth.

payday · Mar 26, 2005

I met an ultrasound student the other day. Requirements for her program are a four year degree now.

I never thought this before, but I think entry level for RNs should be a bachelor's degree and LPN should go at least twenty months as Marie said. The bar is being raised everywhere.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Mar 26, 2005

I met an ultrasound student the other day. Requirements for her program are a four year degree now.
I never thought this before, but I think entry level for RNs should be a bachelor's degree and LPN should go at least twenty months as Marie said. The bar is being raised everywhere.

(for clarification!) I did not say that LPN programs should be 20 months.

I completely disagree that entry level for RNs should be a bachelor's degree.