Sunday, March 02, 2008

Online LPN Degree - Truth or Scam?

Nursing school programs all over the country are turning away qualified students because of the nursing teacher shortage.

As a result, these days, more and more people are searching for an online LPN degree to get past those nursing school waiting lists.

Well, there's good news and there's bad news for those folks.

The fact is, there is no way to get your LPN degree online.

That is because during the Licensed Practical Nursing program, a lot of the learning is the hands on, practical stuff. LPNs interact with patients while being trained and observed by registered nurses known as proctors. It is during the second year of learning that nurses learn the classes that they are able to take online. Those classes are more heavily focused on management and theory.

In fact, there are a lot of nursing skills that can only be learned by doing them, and practicing them on a real live person. The idea of a nurse who learned absolutely everything online, frankly, a scary one. And it would be quite unsafe.

There are, however, numerous LPN to RN online programs, paramedic to RN online programs, and even respiratory therapist to RN online programs. They are offered by private, expensive degree colleges but they are also becoming increasingly popular at community college because of the nursing shortage and the desperate need for registered nurses.

So it makes a lot of sense for an aspiring nurse to get a licensed practical nursing degree (or, in some states, what is called a licensed vocational nursing degree.) But it can't be done online.

However, the waiting lists for LPN schools are much shorter than those for traditional RN programs. And there are "career colleges" which, while more expensive than technical schools and vocational schools and community colleges, often have no waiting list at all. It is worth exploring those options, because one a student becomes a Licensed Practical Nurse, it is very simple to find a bridge program which will give them their degree as an RN.

But just remember, if you hear someone talking about an "online LPN degree" or "online LPN school" it's pie in the sky - because there truly is no such thing.

Don't keep waiting to fulfill your dream of becoming a nurse! Visit http://www.nursingschoolprograms.com to find the secrets to getting into nursing school - and getting your degree! faster than you ever thought possible!

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