Licensed Practical Nursing Schools Lake Station IN

How to Pick the Right LPN Program near Lake Station Indiana

Lake Station IN LPN pediatric nurse holding infant There are principally two scholastic credentials available that provide instruction to become an LPN near Lake Station IN. The one that may be completed in the shortest amount of time, generally about 1 year, is the certificate or diploma program. The next alternative is to attain a Practical Nursing Associate Degree. These LPN programs are broader in nature than the diploma alternative and usually require 2 years to complete. The benefit of Associate Degrees, besides providing a higher credential and more extensive training, are that they provide more transferable credit toward a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing. Regardless of the kind of credential you seek, it needs to be state approved and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or any other national accrediting organization. The NLNAC guarantees that the course of study adequately prepares students to become Practical Nurses, and that most graduates pass the 50 state required NCLEX-PN licensing exam.

What is an LPN?

Lake Station IN Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Licensed Practical Nurses have a number of functions that they perform in the Lake Station IN healthcare facilities where they are employed. As their titles imply, they are mandated to be licensed in all states, including Indiana. While they may be responsible for supervising Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they themselves usually work under the supervision of either an RN or a doctor. The healthcare facilities where they work are numerous and varied, for example hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and long-term care facilities. Anywhere that you can encounter patients requiring medical attention is their dominion. Each state not only regulates their licensing, but also what functions an LPN can and can’t perform. So depending on the state, their daily work functions may include:

Checking vital signs
Administering medicines
Setting up IV drips
Observing patients
Taking blood or urine samples
Keeping patient records
Supporting doctors or RNs with procedures

In addition to their occupational duties being mandated by each state, the medical facilities or other Lake Station IN healthcare providers where LPNs work can further limit their job duties within those parameters. Also, they can work in numerous specialties of nursing, for instance long-term care, critical care, oncology and cardiology.

LPN Programs Online

female student attending LPN school online in Lake Station IN Attending LPN schools online is growing into a more preferred way to receive instruction and earn a nursing certificate or degree in Lake Station IN. Some schools will require attendance on campus for a component of the training, and almost all programs require a certain number of clinical rotation hours completed in a local healthcare center. But since the balance of the training can be accessed online, this method may be a more accommodating approach to finding the time to attend college for some students. Regarding tuition, some online degree programs are cheaper than other on campus alternatives. Even additional expenses such as for commuting and study materials can be minimized, helping to make education more economical. And many online programs are accredited by U.S. Department of Education recognized organizations. And so if your work and household responsibilities have left you with little time to pursue your academic goals, perhaps an online LPN training program will make it easier to fit a degree into your busy 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 Lake Station IN 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 Programs

Questions to ask Lake Station IN LPN programs Now that you have decided on obtaining your LPN certificate, and if you will attend classes on campus or on the web, you can utilize the following checklist to start narrowing down your options. As you probably are aware, there are numerous nursing schools and colleges near Lake Station IN as well as within Indiana and throughout the United States. So it is essential to decrease the number of schools to select from in order that you will have a workable list. As we already mentioned, the site of the school and the price of tuition are most likely going to be the primary two things that you will look at. But as we also stressed, they should not be your sole qualifiers. So before making your ultimate choice, use the following questions to evaluate how your selection measures up to the other schools.

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 an excellent education, it may help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are oftentimes not provided for non-accredited schools near Lake Station IN.
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) in addition to 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 enrolled in not only provides an exceptional education, but also preps you to satisfy the minimum licensing requirements for Indiana or the state where you will be practicing.
Reputation. Look at internet rating companies to see what the evaluations are for all of the LPN schools you are looking into. Ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews as well. Also, contact the Indiana school licensing authority to determine if there are any complaints or compliance issues. Finally, you can contact some nearby Lake Station IN 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 finish their programs. A low graduation rate may be an indication that students were dissatisfied with the program and dropped out. It’s also essential that the schools have high job placement rates. A high rate will not only verify that the school has a superb reputation within the Lake Station IN medical community, but that it also has the network of contacts to help students gain employment.
Internship Programs. The most effective way to get experience as a Licensed Practical Nurse is to work in a clinical environment. Essentially all nursing degree programs require a certain number of clinical hours be completed. A number of states have minimum clinical hour requirements for licensing as well. Find out if the schools have associations with local Lake Station IN community hospitals, clinics or labs and help with the placement of students in internships.

Enrolling in an LPN Program near Lake Station IN?

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

Lake Station, Indiana

Initially, the site of modern Lake Station was the starting point of two Amerind trails leading to Fort Dearborn.[7] Later it became an early stagecoach depot stop, as the Fort Dearborn-Detroit Stagecoach Route passed through the site during the wet season.[7] The location became known as Lake Station as far back as 1851 when it began to serve as a depot, the western terminus of the Michigan Central Railroad[7] (on what would later become its Detroit to Chicago line). This was the first train station in Lake County.[7] The Michigan Central Railroad built a park and railroad shops around its two-story depot.[7] A year later, in April 1852, George Earle mapped out and platted a town[7] of about 6,500 acres (26 km2) on the site, continuing its name of Lake Station.

Being a bedroom community, Lake Station welcomed Abraham Lincoln to its Audubon Hotel, perhaps on more than one occasion, according to oral history. But George Pullman, who tried to negotiate for land in Lake Station for his proposed railcar company, never struck a deal and set up shop on the south side of Chicago instead. Prior to its current location in Crown Point, Indiana, the county seat was located on what is now the west end of Lake Station in a section called Liverpool, although it was a separate settlement at the time.

The name of Lake Station was officially changed to East Gary in 1908 in an attempt to lure executives from the nearby US Steel plant in Gary, Indiana into creating a suburban community. With another name change in 1977, primarily to disassociate itself from the urban decay and crime of Gary, the city reverted to its historical designation of Lake Station.

Enroll in the Right LPN School near Lake Station IN

Lake Station IN LPN geriatric nurse with patient Selecting the ideal Licensed Practical Nurse school is probably the most crucial phase to launching a new career in the healthcare field. There are a number of aspects that you need to take into account when selecting a nursing school. These factors will be prioritized differently contingent on your current career objectives, lifestyle, and economic status. As we have pointed out in this content, it is critical that you enroll in an LPN college and a certificate or degree program that are each accredited and have exceptional reputations within the medical community. You originally decided to visit this website because of an interest in Licensed Practical Nursing Schools. However, by using our checklist of qualifying questions, you will be able to create a short list of schools to pick from so that you can make your final selection. And with the right degree and training, combined with your hard work and ambition to succeed, you can become a Licensed Practical Nurse in Lake Station IN.