Palm Beach State LPN Program

Published

hello all!

i am looking for any information that anyone can give me in regards to the lpn program at palm beach state college. is it hard to get into the program? how many people are admitted each term? will volunteering at a hospital increase your chances of getting in?

i currently work in the accounting field and i hate it! i can't stand sitting at a desk all day! i will be graduating with my as in business in december and have pondered going into the medical field for a little over a year now. i have no medical experience and i've heard that it is very hard to get into the rn programs around so i decided that i would work on obtaining an lpn certificate and then go from there, perhaps one day working on an rn degree.

any info would be helpful! thanks in advance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi there you are my first post!!!! I just graduated from Lake Tech in Lake County as an LPN and take Nclex tomorrow. First of even getting into LPN school is very competitive. I was out of school for about twenty years and no medical background what so ever. I remember my first first blood pressure I blew the cuff up to 300 and believe me my partner wasn't happy. Anyway I could go on about the stupid stuff I've done in school but that won't help you. First off you need to know what the selection process is. TABE score, TEAS score, CNA certification, interview and so on. I live in a very small county compared to you and we had 159 ppl try to get 24 slots. I got in because I had outstanding test scores, and good interview. i accomplished this by studying my butt off. Those test scores are the most important then everything else is icing on the cake. Sorry I did not mention this but I'm a guy and I hope to think this didn't help me any but when I did get in I produced results. I would suggest that you take a CNA quick course or challenge the exam because a lot of my class mates were cna's or ma's. and I believe they got extra points. Most important Florida requires 1350 hrs of study half clinical and half theory which might not seem like a lot but its h@!ll. Get a good TABE book and you can get a good TEAS book from ATI Testing - Home

Good Luck!!!!!!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

hello! thank you for your post. you are my first reply as my thread was my first! good luck on your test tomorrow!

thank you for the information. here is what i know about pbsc.

first, they require you to take the pro-calc test with a passing score of 80%. i've already began studying for it.

first, they go off of a point system. i believe you can get a total of 19pts.

the teas test can give you a total of up to 8pts.

palm beach county residency is 1pt

health care experience is 2pts

education - aa or as degree is 2pts, bachelors is 3pts and masters is 4pts

health program completion - 2pts

strategies for college success completion - 2pts

i have residency and will be graduating with my as degree in december. i'm going to take the strategies for college success class (even though it will be a complete waste of time, but i want my chances of getting in to be better) in the fall and hopefully i will get a really good score on the teas (i think i will. i've looked at some sample tests and the questions seemed pretty easy.) since i will have my as, i will be exempt from the tabe test. also, one of the lpn classes can be waived if you have taken a&p 1 and i will be taking it in the fall. i don't know if volunteer work at a hospital will count as health care experience but i am going to try it. i've contacted one of the local hospitals; i'm just waiting for a reply. i can't really take the cna class that is offered because it starts at 4pm and i don't get off of work until 4 or 4:30, depending on the day. i also need to keep my current job until i start lpn school so i can save up money until then.

there is a technical school about 45 minutes from where i live that doesn't have a waiting list. it's first come first served. that could be an option although i would rather go to pbsc because i've heard that their program is pretty good.

do you like working as a nurse now? what type of work do you do? i've heard that many lpn's work in ltc facilities now a days. that is ok with me because obtaining lpn certification is just a stepping stone for me! did you take the cna course before you applied to the program?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for replying back to me. I can't sleep so I'm still up biting my nails. I can't believe all the requirements that you have to go through just to get into that school????? I went to a tech. school and the steps I described in last post is what I went through. I am 40 yrs old and never stepped foot in a hospital or any other medical office as a worker until my clinicals started. We don't have a College level LPN in my area so I went vocational route. ( I'm not saying LPN's are better than RN's all I'm saying is in my area all RN students wanted to do was push meds) What I have seen was that traditional college students that we worked with had little hands on training and nurses at the 3 hospitals and 2 LTC we worked at prefered to work with us because we were more hands on. The most important thing you need to look at is what is the passing rate on the NCLEX after graduation. You can find this on the Florida Board of Nursing page. My school has a passing rate of about 98% were our to colleges are somewhere in their 80% range. So whats more important going to a school with good name or being able to pass actual NCLEX. AS far as CNA goes you can challenge test. It's 2 parts theory which you seem pretty smart you should have no problems passing then their is the skills part wich you have to show you can make a bed, wash your hands properly, dom a blood pressure, use a scale to weigh someone. Pretty basic stuff. You can apply for that at board of nursing website i do believe. Now just because you have licensce doesn't mean you no anything that comes with exeperince and years of it. I have an issue with spelling so please bear with on that front any how i need to lay back down and try and get some rest. Later

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yes, they do require a lot of you to get into their school. I'm thinking that part of it is due to the amount of people that apply to the programs!

I did some research on the tech school that I mentioned and a lot of people that went to it said that it was a good school. I will check the NCLEX passing rates; thanks for the tip!

I've never worked in a hospital or doctors office so I have no idea what the skills part of the CNA job would involve although I did some reading last night and it seems pretty simple. Perhaps I can talk with some people that I know that are in the medical field. I looked at a few sample written tests and they seemed pretty easy, the questions that I did go over I got correct so I think I could pass the written test, I'm just not so sure about the skills test. I guess I can give it a try, if I pass, I pass; If I don't, well I can always try again.

Well, good luck to you on your NCLEX today! And thank you so much for the information. :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Just got back from my NCLEX and got 85 questions so did pearson vue trick and says I passed. Now waiting on FL BON.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Awesome! Congrats! :yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

julzann,

i just got accepted into the pbsc lpn program on august 23, 2010. i am in my 1st class right now, so i am a newbie. pbsc accepts 20 students for lpn. first of all, dont' let people scare you that it's "hard or impossible" to get in.

pillam is right, you do have to work hard, but it's not impossible. you must prepare now. i got all psyched up when i applied because i listened to people. i finally ignored them and prepared, and got in.

so, take it from the "expert" who just got in, lol...

see my replies below to your questions.

first, they require you to take the pro-calc test with a passing score of 80%. i've already began studying for it. this math test is not hard. it is basic conversions. make sure you go to the lpn website, download the practice worksheets, do it 5 times, dont look at your previous answers, time yourself, and you will be fine. i spent 1 week doing that, and passed with a 100 on the first try (and i am not a math wiz). just practice the sheets, and you will pass the pro-calc. the ones that dont pass are those that didn't een bother to do the practice sheets. and the worse case if you didn't pass? you can retake it again, and again. so no sweat.

first, they go off of a point system. i believe you can get a total of 19pts. that is correct. i got 13 points. if you have 11+ you are looking very good. no one gets 19pts. if they do, they ususally go for rn ;-)

the teas test can give you a total of up to 8pts. i got the full 8 points. i spent 4 weeks reading and doing all the practice test in the teas book. you must do this if you want to do well on teas. this is where you will set yourself apart from others. do 1 subject per week, space it out, nothing to stress over abt it. just like pillam said, this is the "icing" on the cake. do well on teas, and that is a guarantee you're getting in.

palm beach county residency is 1pt. i got 0 point, bc i am not from pb county.

health care experience is 2pts. i am a pca in the hospital for exactly 6 months when i applied in june 2010. that was my first healthcare job. thank god i got that job, so i got the 2 points. and the only reason i even got that job, was because i was a volunteer at the hospital. you need to volunteer (4 or 8 hrs a week) so you can look good. every hospital is desperate for volunteers, it is very rewarding.

education - aa or as degree is 2pts, bachelors is 3pts and masters is 4pts. i earned 3 points for bachelors. my class of 20 that just started in aug 2010, there are 4 people with bachelors, a couple with associate. (the rest are high school diploma, or ged, or foreign students with neither).

health program completion - 2pts. that would be like a cna certificate, which i dont have. nothing much you can do about this, unless you want to start attending night school to get your cna certificate. 1 girl in my class did that, and she got in. this was her 2nd try. her first try, she did not have cna and missed 2 points. dont stress over this. just do well on teas and procalc.

strategies for college success completion - 2pts. i did not get any points for this. i decided in may 2010 that i want to do lpn in august 2010. so obviously, i had no time to take scs class over the summer. you have time, take it. it will be an easy a, and you get the 2 freebie points (to make up for the lack of experience you have or whatever).

i hope that answers all of your questions, and helped you in a direction to the lpn. yes, rn is "harder" to get in, and there is no shame in starting with lpn. i know a lot of great lpn's out there (my 3 aunts), and they are perfectly fine with lpn (never went for rn). lpn is just as honorable as rn. later on down the road, you can always do rn. for now, put 100% energy into getting accepted in lpn.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you so much for the information! :)

Good luck in the program!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hows the program going???? im hoping to start in Jan.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

hello i am new to this site and new to the palm beach area i just finished a cna training course and will be taking my state test soon i was wondering what the starting pay for new cnas with no experience is in this area? also im interested in pbsc lpn program and was wondering what the cost of the program is? and what books i can get to prepare for the teas and pro calc test? any info will be greatly appreciated

Up Vote Up Vote ×
hello i am new to this site welcome you allnurses!!

and new to the palm beach area i just finished a cna training course and will be taking my state test soon i was wondering what the starting pay for new cnas with no experience is in this area?

according to salary, 22,428-32-240

also im interested in pbsc lpn program and was wondering what the cost of the program is?

tuition (in-state residents) $ 3, 469.50

textbooks (approximte) $ 1, 200.00

miscelleaneous $ 700.00

total approximately $5, 369.50

and what books i can get to prepare for the teas and pro calc test? any info will be greatly appreciated

pro calc link:palm beach state - pro calc

teas test: all students must take the test of essential

academic skills (teas), prior to application to the

lpn program. the four areas (english,

reading, math, and science) must average to 55 or above

in order to be considered for selection into the program.

unsure of the study guide used.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion