A nurse -- that is, someone who has undergone LPN training -- is what the hospitals refer to as a 'primary actor'; someone who is regular contact with the patients and handles their immediate and everyday needs. Because LPN classes teach a variety of skills, licensed practical nurses are the generalists of the medical establishment, able to deal with the basics of almost any situation. LPN school teaches physiology, obstetrics, CPR, anatomy, geriatrics, pharmacology, cardiac support, gynecology, mental health, social health, emergency medicine, and surgical support -- among other subjects!
The typical LPN program in place at a hospital selects applicants from the community as well as taking any nursing assistants that qualify and are interested. Once selected, these folks stay in the LPN training system for four or five years as they master all of the various aspects of medical ability necessary to become a nurse. For more scholastic types, there are several community and state colleges that offer LPN classes in a non-work environment (though generally there are still plenty of opportunities for hands-on work.)
Finally, recently there has been a surge of LPN schools opening up online. These classes don't offer much by way of hands-on training, but they do offer something that you can't find at an institution: your-pace classes. So if you need to hold down a full-time job and can only study for a few hours each week, the online school will be able to slow things down for you until you recover.
Similarly, if you're hyper-ambitious and you want to get your LPN training accomplished in months rather than years, an online LPN program can do that for you, too. It takes great sacrifice to get your nursing certification that quickly, but the benefits are huge, too -- not the least of which is a three or four year jumpstart on a higher salary and opportunities for further advancement. (You'll also have significantly less to pay back in terms of school loans!)
Of course, you can't take any LPN classes whatsoever until you're at least 18 years old, no matter how early you graduated high school or how high your SAT scores are. You also must have a high school diploma (almost all states allow a GED as well) -- they don't take dropouts at the hospital unless they're their as patients.
No matter what kind of LPN school you choose to take to get your certification, it's always part of your responsibility to make sure that the courses you're taking are accredited and appropriate for you. Many a nurse has taken classes that shunted them toward a certain specialty (like anesthesiology) when they didn't really want to be in that area. Keep alert and don't let yourself become one of them, and you should be ready to become a nurse!
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