Lpn Syllabus!

DA314 · Oct 24, 2008

LPN programs gerneally aren't a "course". They are an academic program consisting of several courses for 2 or 3 semesters of college. Some programs take 12 months, some take 18 months. The one I am enrolled in takes 3 semesters (18 months).

Tuition assistance is done on a school-by-school basis, and is usually based on your financial need. You should meet with the financial aid office at your school for more information, and visit www.fafsa.ed.gov to get started with financial aid.

Nursing programs are intense. There is a lot of information you have to retain in a short amount of time. They are fast paced and require a large time commitment. My program is 16 credit hours/ semester. Between going to class and studying, I won't have much time to work (maybe 15 hrs/week). And the program does include math courses. nurses have to know drug calculations.

Job availability depends on the local market. Where I live, LPN jobs are available in a variety of health care settings. Other areas of the country are more competitive.

I think you should meet with an admissions officer at your local college to discuss it further. They will have more information that is specific to your situation.

I also think that if you are on the fence about it, you should become a CNA, that way you would get some experience in a medical setting to see if you like it. The courses are typically short (maybe 1 month), and the licensing exam is much less difficult than the NCLEX-PN.

Good Luck!:rckn:

Fiona59 · Oct 24, 2008

The PN course of study is based upon the concept that new students have NO background in healthcare. I went in with no previous experience other than looking after my children when they were ill.

In my province, the course of study is two years (four semesters) and you graduate with university transfer courses. Math is required but my outlook has always been if you can manage to balance your chequebook you will do fine. The formulas for drug preparation are explained in class and you do exercises on the drug calculations in your pharmacology course. You must pass these classes before you are turned loose on the patients.

Roughly half of my time in college was spent working in hospitals. So if a semester was 15 weeks, we worked in the field for 7 weeks and attended class for 8. By the final semester, we were in the work setting approximately 12 out of the 15 weeks.

If you finished high school, you should, in all honesty have very little difficulty in passing through the college content.

The "L" in LPN is only obtained after graduation from college and successful writing of your national exam. Until then you work either as a SPN (student practical nurse) or GPN (graduate practical nurse).