What is Practical Nursing?
No matter the healthcare setting, chances are you’ve been cared for by a practical nurse. Practical nurses work under the direction of physicians, registered nurses, and licensed dentists. While the duties of practical nurses vary depending on the workplace, practical nurses will generally
- Provide direct, individualized nursing care
- Assist with health care teaching
- Monitor patients’ health status
- Provide support to patients and their families/significant others
- Participate in planning, implementation, and evaluation of nursing care
If you love helping others and you look forward
to new challenges every day, then you’ll thrive as a practical nurse!
What kind of career will I have?
As a practical nurse, you have many
opportunities at your fingertips. The passing of recent
healthcare
legislation
makes this a unique time for job growth in all levels of allied health! The focus on patient outcomes and preventative
care will increase the demand for nurses.
Plus, practical nurses will be in high demand. The National League for Nursing recognizes that the LPN as a valuable member of the health care team and the 2011 Institute of Medicine report, “The Future of Nursing,” acknowledges that LPNs are especially important to health care delivery because of their contributions to care.
P.I.T. graduates with certificates are eligible to take the licensure examination (NCLEX®-PN) and will be able to find work in a variety of rewarding healthcare settings, including:
- Doctor’s
offices
- Home
healthcare
- Hospitals
- Long-term
care facilities
- Multi-doctor
practices
- Prison health care
systems
- Psychiatric
clinics
- Substance
abuse clinics
Why choose P.I.T. for your
Practical Nursing education?
- Get
REAL WORLD experience from week one!
Our Practical Nursing Program puts students in
real-world health care settings as early as the first month of the program. By the end of the program, it’s common to
have more scheduled clinic work than classroom work.
- Earn
your certificate AND degree under one roof!
P.I.T.’s Practical Nursing Program is designed for students who want to earn their certificate AND they can earn an associate degree in the order and timeframe that works best for them.
- Experienced
Instructors
Our instructors either come from a real world
background or still hold positions in their fields. They share their working
knowledge to better prepare our students to enter the workplace.
- Intimate
learning environment and family atmosphere
Our instructors know each student on a first
name basis. Smaller class sizes allow us
to focus on each student’s individual strengths and areas to improve.
- Parallel
learning
P.I.T.’s unique “parallel learning” approach saves
time and money for our students. We
offer skill strengthening and degree classes at the same time,
fast-tracking students to a degree.
- No
“weeding out” courses
It’s common to find “weeding out” courses in
other healthcare programs. These courses
are harder than a first semester course should be. Some schools use these to “weed out”
struggling students. At P.I.T. we take the opposite approach: we WANT you to
succeed. We will go the extra mile to ensure
your success!
- Free
tutoring
Scheduled tutoring from both instructors and
honor students is available to ALL P.I.T.
students, free of charge!
- Portfolio
Building and Interview Coaching
The value of a P.I.T. education extends beyond
the classroom! Our instructors work hard to prepare graduates through portfolio
building and interview coaching.
The Practical Nursing Program’s approval status has changed. On 11/26/2012 the Practical Nursing Program was placed on provisional approval status by Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing for a first-time NCLEX® Pass Rate of 77.78% for the period 10/01/2011 to 09/30/2012. The required minimum pass rate is 80%.
The Practical Nursing Program has performed an evaluation of the program and developed a performance improvement plan. We feel confident that the plan will improve our first-time NCLEX® Pass Rate to the required minimum rate of 80%.
The Practical Nursing Program change in approval status will not affect the ability of qualified students to receive financial aid. It will also not prevent graduates from taking the practical nurse licensure examination.