There are many benefits to becoming a licensed practical nurse, especially if you enjoy helping others and doing an honest day’s work. Fortunately there are many excellent options available for individuals to earn their credentials these days, and one of the most popular is LPN training online.
The following will take an in-depth look at the many different options at your disposal so you will hopefully have a better chance of finding the best route for you.
Options for Receiving the Training Necessary to Become a Licensed Practical Nurse
One of the first decisions you will have to make on your road to becoming a licensed practical nurse is whether you will choose LPN training online or in a more traditional brick and mortar institution. In some instances it is even possible to take a combination of the two in order to receive the necessary hands-on training as well as distance education over the Net. Regardless of which method you choose, these programs do not take that long to complete, usually lasting no longer than a single year. This will provide you with the ability to enter the workforce as soon as possible.
Because the healthcare field is in constant need of nurses and other healthcare professionals, it is an excellent opportunity with very little risk involved. Of course, this is not reason enough alone to choose this as your profession. You must also have a strong desire to help others and be willing to work long hours when necessary. While it does not offer very high monetary compensation to begin with, there is plenty of room for promotion if you are able to continue your education. Not to mention that you will also be rewarded each day by the satisfaction received by helping others.
Accredited LPN Training Online Opposed to Unaccredited
When you are looking at the different online LPN programs, it is important that you put in enough research so you are certain you have chosen the right institution for you. Keep in mind that not all of these programs are accredited so you will have to verify that the program you choose is accredited by your state’s Nursing Board before signing up. There are quite a few courses out there that promise to provide you with the necessary training to become a licensed practical nurse, but because they are not accredited they will not be recognized and you will eventually have to take a course that is.
You have a much better chance of receiving a quality education with sufficient training for your chosen field if you take a course from an accredited institution. You can expect the nursing colleges that offer accredited programs to have up to date rules and equipment in addition to being recognized by your state. This is the best way to supply yourself with the appropriate rules and laws of nursing so you will be prepared when you eventually enter the workforce.
Criteria Offered by Quality LPN Training Online
When you take part in an online LPN training program, you can expect to receive all the training necessary to become a qualified licensed practical nurse. You will be fully prepared to perform the following tasks as part of your daily scope of practice:
- Taking vital signs and blood pressure
- Collect important information regarding the patient’s status
- Administering injections
- Collecting samples for the lab and performing certain tests
- Caring for infants
- Teaching good health and nutrition habits
- Supervising subordinates when applicable
What You Can Expect From the Typical Course
While all LPN training online programs will be different, if they are accredited then they all will offer the same basic material. You should be able to participate in onsite training as well as in the virtual classroom, so clinical practice is typically arranged for you. Once this training has been completed, you will then be required to sit for the exam offered by the State Council Licensure. The fee you will be required to pay in order to take this test differs depending on the state where you reside, so you will have to look this up on your state’s official web site.
The cost for an LPN training online course also varies, but you can expect to pay around $2,000. Financial Aid may be available if you come from a low income family.
Benefits of LPN Training Online
The benefits of LPN Training online are huge A licensed practitioner nurse is an integral part of a health care team. Many people would like to study for this position but cannot do so because they do not have the money. Now that the courses are offered online it makes it much easier. The pros/benefits of LPN Training online are:
- The curriculum is not different to that used in LPN Schools.
- LPN online courses that are done with accredited online programmes are recognised for continued education.
- Some courses are done entirely online therefore save on travel time and expenses.
- Some modules include hands-on supervised work which improves cognitive knowledge.
- Online study is available 24/7 so you can work within your own schedule.
- Online courses allow you to spend as much or little time on one aspect as YOU need.
One of the major reasons that anyone studies online is for the pros/benefits of LPN Training online. In years past many people could not study further due to lack of funding. This type of training allows far more people to study as they can study whilst they are still working to pay for the course. This is a very good thing, because LPNs are in dire shortage and much needed.
Some of the other advantages to the students of LPN online studies are:
- The students have good instant access to fellow students online via blogs, message boards and forums.
- Students can study with and discuss the course with other students the world over and from different institutions.
- One is not limited by where you can study, so can study with the institution of choice online.
- Online studying means one does not have to pay for accommodation, expensive registration fees and very expensive books.
- It is easier to communicate with instructors via e-mail, instant messages and private messages.
One of the great things about LPN online is that any presentations such as PowerPoint presentations of study material are saved online and can be retrieved at any time. This means that if you are not sure about anything and would like a more visual demonstration you can access the presentation and look at it again at your leisure. Many people are more visual in their learning and this is of great help to them especially.
One of the biggest pros/benefits of LPN Training online is that it affords mother of small children time to learn a new skill while they are at home so that when the child goes to school or is old enough, they are immediately ready to resume their career. This means they do not have to struggle to find a job or feel that they are not up to date with modern medicine or technology.
Disadvantages of LPN Training Online
As with anything in life, there are disadvantages of LPN training online as one could imagine. What one has to do is to look at all the cons and the pros and decide which one outweighs the other.
Some of the disadvantages of LPN training online are:
- Online studying means that you have to be very disciplined – if you are not a disciplined person this could pose a problem for you.
- Online study is not for everyone as there is none of the interaction and highly-charged discussions that there are sometimes in class.
- There is a lack of face-to-face interaction with the lecturer/trainer although they are available by electronic means.
- They is a delay if you are faced with a problem as you cannot just put up your hand and ask a question, it needs to be done online via messages or e-mails.
- The one thing that is very important in a Licensed Practical Nurse is communication, and this is lacking with online courses.
- If there is an internet or power failure for one or other reason it may cause problems.
- Some of the hands-on experience of nursing training is lost.
Whether you decide to do your LPN Training online or offline is up to you of course, but you need to take heed of the cons/disadvantages of LPN training online before you make your decision. Do some online research into various courses that are offered and see exactly what is expected and what they offer in the way of learning materials and help.
Some courses offered online do require that some hands-on clinic time is done in order to complete all of the modules. Check whether the institution with which you want to study requires this or not and whether they organise it or you have to organise it yourself. If you have to organise a clinic or hospital at which to do hands-on work it may be difficult for you to find one that will help a private individual.
One of the huge cons/disadvantages of LPN training online is that there are many unscrupulous people in the world that use any means possible to fleece others of their hard-earned money and this is also quite true regarding sites offering online training of various sorts. Before you sign up and pay over any monies, ensure that the institution is accredited with the proper authority. Even though the institution may be accredited, and your qualification may be genuine, you may still find that there are some employers who will not hire staff who have online qualifications. Do you research and take your time to decide where to study.
