Sending yourself to an LPN school is a great idea if you are interested in the medical field, have limited funds for putting yourself in school and want to work within a 2-3 year period. Before starting off with the advantages of going to LPN school, what exactly is an LPN?
An LPN or LVN (both names can be interchanged but some states only recognize one of the abbreviations) stands for Licensed Practical Nurse or Licensed Vocation Nurse which is a form of Accelerated Nursing Program. An LPN/LVN under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) and can perform simply procedures and tasks to stable patients. They can provide basic care to patients in the hospital such as the following:
- Recording vital signs (blood pressure reading, pulse rate, respiratory rate and temperature) for stable patients
- Giving medications through the oral route, intramuscular route and subcutaneous route (for stable patients)
- Collecting urine and stool samples for testing
- Procedures that are done routinely for patients that are stable such as suctioning, sterile dressing wounds and NGT (nasogastric tube) feedings
In studying to being an LPN/LVN the basic subjects that a person must take are:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Basic Nursing skills / procedures
- Nutrition
- Medical-surgical Nursing
- Pediatric Nursing
- Obstetric Nursing
- Emergency Care
Going to LPN school takes an average of 12 to 18 months to finish. Since the educational time frame is much shorter than that of an RN, being an LPN is ideal for people who want to work as soon as possible in a hospital setting plus after LPN Programs you can enroll in LPN to RN programs.
There are many advantages of sending yourself to LPN school. These are the following:
- People who want to work immediately have a better chance of this if they study to be a LPN because of the shorter educational time frame in a LPN school
- Basic nursing skills are provided, so if ever the person chooses to advance to becoming an RN, there won’t be too much trouble because the foundations have already been taught in LPN school
- LPN programs are easy to apply in because there are online schools that are accredited for a LPN degree
- LPNs are currently in demand because of the never ending search for medical professionals all over the world
- LPN school or programs are affordable compared to other medical professions
- Financial assistance is available for students having trouble with paying off tuition
- There are many LPN programs that allow the student to work while they study
- Most LPN school offer flexible times for students with hectic schedules
Studying in a LPN school could do wonders for any person interested in the medical profession and wanting to start work soon. There are numerous advantages in being an LPN/LVN that a person could think about. This is ideal for individuals that might want to advance in becoming an RN sometime in their future but are still on a tight budget at the moment. It doesn’t take years of schooling in becoming a LPN/LVN. A smart choice to consider for anybody looking for a career!