As a condition of employment, a licensed practical nurse (LPN) must typically complete a program of study and pass a licensing examination. A prospective student may believe that she can obtain an LPN degree through an educational website if she hears the term “LPN online degree programs.” This term is misleading; there is no LPN “degree” to earn in the United States, and the education required to become a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) or an LPN results in the award of a certificate, not a degree. Furthermore, there is no single online program that will grant an LPN certificate based solely on online classes; nursing studies necessitate a significant amount of supervised clinical work.
Online LPN degree programs should probably be considered online LPN degree programs. Community colleges, vocational training schools, and some hospitals typically offer LPN programs. One or more classes may be offered online, depending on the specific institution and the requirements of the state in which it is located. These classes are usually limited to those that are required to demonstrate a general ability to perform the program — such as basic mathematics — or to classes that are unrelated to actual hands-on clinical skills, such as medical terminology. As a result, neither community colleges, vocational training schools, nor hospitals offer fully online LPN degree programs.
Enrollment in a community college — with some online classes — that offers a certificate after completion of LPN or LVN studies is the closest study activity that comes close to LPN online degree programs. However, as previously stated, there is currently no online substitute for successfully completing patient-related clinical classes. This isn’t just a matter of a school’s ability to offer a specific class. Individual states and their boards of nursing, on the other hand, require successful graduation from both an accredited institution and a program that is approved. In the interests of patient safety, state nursing boards are understandably wary of approving online classes requiring a degree of practice and expertise.
A currently licensed LPN who enrolls in a community college to earn an associate’s degree in nursing or a college to earn a bachelor’s degree in the field is a second type of educational arrangement that might resemble LPN online degree programs. After completing either program, the LPN student will be awarded a nursing degree and the ability to practice as a registered nurse (RN). If the LPN enrolls for her studies at an institution that offers online classes, she will be able to enroll and study available online classes in this manner. However, because the art and science of nursing requires some skills that can only be learned in the real world, completion of the program will require some classes with face-to-face interaction.