Accredited LPN Online Programs Jacksonville FL - LPN and LVN Schools Near You

How to Select the Right LPN School near Jacksonville Florida

Jacksonville FL LPN pediatric nurse holding infant There are principally two scholastic credentials available that provide education to become an LPN near Jacksonville FL. The one that may be completed in the shortest time period, normally about 1 year, is the certificate or diploma program. The second choice is to obtain a Practical Nursing Associate Degree. These LPN programs are more comprehensive in nature than the diploma option and normally require 2 years to finish. The advantage of Associate Degrees, along with offering a higher credential and more extensive instruction, are that they provide more transferable credit toward a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing. Regardless of the type of credential you pursue, it needs to be state approved and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or another national accrediting organization. The NLNAC guarantees that the core curriculum adequately prepares students to become Practical Nurses, and that the majority of graduates pass the 50 state required NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

What is an LPN?

Jacksonville FL Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Licensed Practical Nurses have many duties that they carry out in the Jacksonville FL health care facilities where they work. As their titles imply, they are mandated to be licensed in all states, including Florida. Even though they may be accountable for supervising Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves normally work under the oversight of either an RN or a doctor. The medical care facilities where they work are numerous and diverse, including hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Anywhere that you can find patients seeking medical attention is their domain. Every state not only regulates their licensing, but also what work activities an LPN can and can’t perform. So depending on the state, their routine job activities might include:

Checking vital signs
Providing medications
Setting up IV drips
Monitoring patients
Collecting blood or urine samples
Managing patient records
Supporting physicians or RNs with procedures

Along with their work duties being controlled by each state, the health facilities or other Jacksonville FL healthcare providers where LPNs work can additionally limit their job roles within those parameters. Also, they can work in different specialties of nursing, for example long-term care, critical care, oncology and cardiology.

LPN Programs Online

female student attending LPN school online in Jacksonville FL Attending LPN programs online is emerging as a more in demand way to obtain training and acquire a nursing certificate or degree in Jacksonville FL. Certain schools will require attending on campus for a component of the training, and virtually all programs call for a certain number of clinical rotation hours performed in a local healthcare center. But since the rest of the training can be accessed online, this alternative may be a more practical answer to finding the time to attend college for many students. Pertaining to tuition, many online degree programs are cheaper than other on campus alternatives. Even supplementary expenses such as for commuting and study materials can be minimized, helping to make education more easily affordable. And a large number of online programs are accredited by U.S. Department of Education recognized organizations. So if your work and family obligations have left you with very little time to pursue your academic goals, perhaps an online LPN program will make it more convenient to fit a degree into your active schedule.

LPN Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) was $45,030 in May 2017. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,970, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $61,030. Most licensed practical nurses near Jacksonville FL work full time, although about 1 in 5 worked part time in 2016. Many work nights, weekends, and holidays, because medical care takes place at all hours. They may be required to work shifts of longer than 8 hours. Employment of LPNs is projected to grow 12 percent from 2016 to 2026. Job prospects should be favorable for LPNs who are willing to work in rural and medically under served areas.

Things to Ask LPN Schools

Questions to ask Jacksonville FL LPN programs Now that you have decided on obtaining your LPN certificate, and if you will attend classes on campus or online, you can utilize the following checklist to start narrowing down your choices. As you undoubtedly realize, there are many nursing schools and colleges near Jacksonville FL as well as within Florida and throughout the United States. So it is important to reduce the number of schools to choose from to ensure that you will have a manageable list. As we earlier pointed out, the site of the school and the expense of tuition are probably going to be the first two factors that you will look at. But as we also stressed, they should not be your sole qualifiers. So prior to making your ultimate choice, use the following questions to evaluate how your selection compares to the field.

Accreditation. It’s a good idea to make sure that the certificate program in addition to the school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency. Besides helping verify that you get a premium education, it may help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered for non-accredited schools near Jacksonville FL.
Licensing Preparation. Licensing criteria for LPNs are different from state to state. In all states, a passing score is needed on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) together with graduation from an accredited school. Many states require a specific number of clinical hours be performed, as well as the passing of additional tests. It’s important that the school you are attending not only delivers a top-notch education, but also preps you to comply with the minimum licensing standards for Florida or the state where you will be working.
Reputation. Check online rating services to see what the assessments are for each of the LPN schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews also. In addition, check with the Florida school licensing authority to find out if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can call some local Jacksonville FL healthcare organizations you’re interested in working for after graduation and ask what their judgements are of the schools as well.
Graduation and Job Placement Rates. Find out from the LPN schools you are considering what their graduation rates are as well as how long on average it takes students to complete their programs. A low graduation rate may be an indication that students were unhappy with the program and dropped out. It’s also important that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only verify that the school has a superb reputation within the Jacksonville FL medical community, but that it also has the network of contacts to help students obtain employment.
Internship Programs. The best way to get experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical setting. Essentially all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. Many states have minimum clinical hour requirements for licensing too. Check if the schools have associations with local Jacksonville FL community hospitals, clinics or labs and assist with the placement of students in internships.

Enrolling in an LPN Program near Jacksonville FL?

If you are considering enrolling in and attending an LPN school near Jacksonville FL, you may find the following information both interesting and useful when making your final decision.

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Florida and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States.[10][11] It is the seat of Duval County,[12] with which the city government consolidated in 1968. Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits. With an estimated population of 892,062 as of 2017, Jacksonville is also the most populous city in the southeastern United States.[13] The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1,631,488 and is the fourth largest in Florida.[14]

Jacksonville is centered on the banks of the St. Johns River in the First Coast region of northeast Florida, about 25 miles (40 km) south of the Georgia state line and 340 miles (550 km) north of Miami. The Jacksonville Beaches communities are along the adjacent Atlantic coast. The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua people, and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline, one of the earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United States. Under British rule, settlement grew at the narrow point in the river where cattle crossed, known as Wacca Pilatka to the Seminole and the Cow Ford to the British. A platted town was established there in 1822, a year after the United States gained Florida from Spain; it was named after Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States.

Harbor improvements since the late 19th century have made Jacksonville a major military and civilian deep-water port. Its riverine location facilitates Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Command, and the Port of Jacksonville, Florida's third largest seaport.[15] Jacksonville's military bases and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay form the third largest military presence in the United States.[16] Significant factors in the local economy include services such as banking, insurance, healthcare and logistics. As with much of Florida, tourism is important to the Jacksonville area, particularly tourism related to golf.[17][18] People from Jacksonville may be called "Jacksonvillians" or "Jaxsons" (also spelled "Jaxons").[7][8]

Select the Right LPN Program near Jacksonville FL

Jacksonville FL LPN geriatric nurse with patient Deciding on the right Licensed Practical Nurse school is potentially the most crucial step to launching a new career in the medical care industry. There are numerous factors that you need to think about when deciding on a nursing school. These variables will be prioritized differently depending on your current career goals, lifestyle, and economic situation. As we have stressed within this content, it is critical that you select an LPN school and a certificate or degree program that are both accredited and have outstanding reputations within the healthcare community. You originally decided to visit this website because of an interest in Accredited LPN Online Programs. However, by using our checklist of qualifying questions, you will be able to produce a shortlist of schools to choose from so that you can make your final selection. And with the appropriate degree and training, combined with your hard work and desire to succeed, you can become an LPN in Jacksonville FL.