Just as demands for doctors soar, the positions like physician’s assistants, medical technicians, and especially licensed practical nurses (LPN) are in constant demand. In Michigan, if you want to pursue career as LPN, you must meet the fastidious requirements by the Board of Nursing of the Michigan Department of Community Health. Of these exacting requirements for in-state applicants is the Michigan Nursing School Certification form.
These Certification forms can be completed from attending the community colleges or universities as long as they are accredited by the Michigan Board of Nursing. You can check with someone in the Michigan Board of Nursing to check if your college or university is accredited. Or, you can search in the Internet to find the list of universities and community colleges that provide LPN trainings.
If you are confident about becoming LPN and have rather a flexible schedule, consider universities such as Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette. At NMU, your journey to become LPN may be as short as just three semesters! Upon completion of all the trainings for LPN from NMU, you are entitled to take the NCLEX-PN (National Council Licensure Examination-Practical Nurse (NCLEX-PN), an exam for receiving license to practice as LPN. Along with the Certification form, NCLEX-PN is required by the Michigan Board of Nursing.
The applicant must have first successfully completed six prerequisite courses such as Human Anatomy and Physiology, Role Development in Nursing Practice, and Basic Pharmacology Skills. These prerequisite trainings are mandated by the NMU before the main courses for LPN can begin. Once the applicant has met the prerequisites, then the official training for LPN can begin. Unlike the prerequisites, the LPN training courses are designed more to teach applicants on practicality and pragmatic aspect of nursing. Students are exposed to courses like Fundamentals of Nursing and Medical-Surgical Nursing to learn the principles of nursing and face the various situations that are likely to occur in the actual practices.
What if you don’t have time to enroll in a full-time university? No worries, consider accredited community colleges like Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) at Kalamazoo. To apply to KVCC, the applicant must submit high school transcript and/or college transcript. KVCC also requires prerequisites, but with the KVCC counselor’s approval, the students can take the prerequisites at KVCC or other community colleges. The key factor is that the student must pass with a 2.0 or better on these courses. Some courses in high school and college can be substituted for the prerequisites as well. There are other non-academic requirements such as undergoing criminal background check and fingerprinting.
As far as the official LPN training courses are concerned, they are very similar to those of the NMU. The students take courses such as Basic Nursing Skills and Care of the Family (Theory). Once the LPN training is completed, the students are eligible to take the NCLEX-PN, and once the passed score and other necessary documents are sent to the Michigan Board of Nursing, they can legally practice as LPN