Program outline

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 23, 2006

What should I expect going into the LVN program. Is there alot of term papers to be written, experiments, documentations, will we really work with resident/client/patients???????? Give me the in's & outs!

I had only written 1 term paper for my LVN program at Casa Loma College. There were absolutely no experiments. There was a bunch of tests, quizzes, and care plans. At Casa Loma we attended 3 days of clinical rotations per week. During these clinical rotations we would spend 8 hours per day at a healthcare facility and care for the patients. Therefore, we did acquire plenty of hands-on experiences.

Some of our clinical rotation sites included Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Mountain View Sanitarium, West Hills Hospital, Encino Hospital, United Cerebral Palsy, All Saints Healthcare, Northeast Valley Health Center, and other facilities.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 23, 2006

itmustbeme. . .i see from a couple of your other posts that you are in california. i was just looking at the lvn fact sheet on the california board of vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians website a few minutes ago to find an answer about something else for another poster and ran across this:

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/factvn.htm

if you look at #3 on this fact sheet, you will see that it lists the coursework that is required in the lvn programs in the state of california. i don't think that other states have requirements that differ significantly from this. when i have looked at information about the difference between the nclex and nclex-pn licensing exams i have seen that they both test basic nursing. what is different is that rns are given more in-depth knowledge in leadership, delegation, prioritizing and critical thinking skills. as for what your instructors are going to require you to actually do, well, teachers all have their own ideas about what kinds of learning exercises are best for students. your guess is as good as mine as to what you might be asked to do! while most state laws do not permit lpns to write care plans, a lot of practical nursing programs do require lpn students to write them. i have seen posts on the nursing student forums where lpn students have requested help with care plan writing. you will also see under #2 on the fact sheet that in california 954 hours must be spent in clinical time. so, yes, that means you will be working directly with patients/residents/clients, and that would usually be in a hospital or nursing home under the supervision of a clinical instructor.

if you have not already explored the nursing student forums, you should. you will get the answers to a lot of your questions about what students are experiencing in nursing school. here is a list of the nursing student forums:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f196/

have you been accepted into an lvn program? i wasn't clear on that. if so, best of luck. hope i'll see you on the student forums!

pagandeva2000, LPN · Dec 24, 2006

What should I expect going into the LVN program. Is there alot of term papers to be written, experiments, documentations, will we really work with resident/client/patients???????? Give me the in's & outs!

I had many term papers, case studies, care plans, documentations, and group projects. Had many exams, and of course, you will be dealing with patients. It is a fast paced program that can leave no room to breathe, so, time management is the most important skill to obtain. Try not to do assignments and study at the last minute...you'll regret that. Study at a certain time of the day and stick to it. They usually give a syllabus of what is expected regarding exams and assignments, so, when there were papers that were due, I used to first focus on obtaining websites and would outline that stuff within the first week so that I can do a bit at a time, review the papers and then submit a well written document. Group projects, the same thing...I made it a habit to obtain all of the information as soon as I can, submit it to the group so that I can concentrate on the other things. I noticed that most of the members of my group submitted things late, but I never let that be an issue for me...they were submitted early so that I can make ammends as I saw necessary. Best wishes!