Being a licensed practical nurse (LPN/LVN/VN/PN) is a rewarding career that may generate an average salary of $30,000-$40,000 annually. An LPN works under the supervision of a physician or a charge nurse, providing skilled bedside care to patients in hospitals and medical facilities.
Training to become an LPN is mostly completed through enrollment in traditional schools such as technical colleges, community colleges and adult education. However, because of technological advancements, there is an increasing number of students who choose to obtain their LPN education through online LPN programs.
LPN online programs offer a lot of benefits to students especially to those who hold regular jobs, are travelling constantly or are stay-at-home moms. Online LPN programs allow flexibility of hours as students get to set their own hours of study and attendance of classes when it is suitable to them. Scheduling is very convenient as commuting hours are eliminated to accommodate more time to complete assignments, papers, reports, and reviews.
Online LPN classes are very accessible to students who are interested in attending an LPN program of their choice that is outside or far from their area. Students are also in-tuned to the latest nursing information as they are able to interact with students from different schools, states, and countries through online chat rooms, message boards, blogs and articles.
It is no question that getting an education nowadays can be very costly. However, enrollment in an online program may cut costs such as dorm expenses, additional tuition and registration fees and expensive books. Cost for commute can also be cut down as students will be taking classes online through teleconferences, video conferences, forums and message boards, documented lectures, instant messages and online chat rooms.
Instructor availability is also an advantage for students as there are different means of communicating with professors and instructors. E-mails, private messaging and instant messages are just some of the several ways to communicate with the teachers. Likewise, their discussions, educational materials, and Powerpoint presentations are all saved and may be retrieved when necessary.
Online programs also offer hands on approach that let prospective students interact with patients to help them learn the fundamental principles of the profession. Ties to local hospitals, medical facilities and clinics that are accessible to the students provide the experience needed to sit for state licensure through internships and practicums. Likewise, students enrolled in online LPN programs that have professional medical backgrounds such as medical assistants and certified nursing assistants can also take advantage of training while on the job and at the same time, taking online courses towards an LPN degree.
There are a lot of possibilities and advantages when training for LPN through online programs. Most of all, students taking online classes study the same course materials and have the same curriculum as their counterparts in traditional schools. Students enrolled in online programs read the same textbooks, submit nursing assignments, experience hands on training and complete essential paper works. Basic LPN courses are also studied thoroughly to make the students as equally competitive in the nursing field.