Montana, MT | LPN Nursing Program Information
How to Become an LPN in Montana
The first step to becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse is to enter an LPN education program, which lasts about a year. To apply, around five prerequisite courses in introductory topics like physiology, biology, and psychology, must be taken. Then, prospective students submit an application to a college of nursing, with competitive acceptance based largely upon grades. Just under a year of course work focuses predominantly on the practical skills necessary to care for patients and lays the foundation for an understanding of broader processes of patient care. Then students are ready for the National Counsel Licensing Examination-Practical Nursing (NCLEX-PN), which costs $200 to take through national examiners Pearson Vue and carries a $100 application fee from the Montana Board of Nursing. It is the last step to licensure, and once a passing result is received—as is the case for upwards of 80 percent of first time test takers—a new LPN can begin working in Montana.
Montana LPN Salary, Hours and Duties
In Montana, the average yearly salary for a Licensed Practical Nurse is a little under $37,000 (according to BLS.gov). LPNs mostly find work in Montana’s hospitals, but there are employment opportunities in doctor’s offices and nursing homes as well as other health care facilities. LPNs are most needed in hospitals because they are trained to directly care for patients as part of a patient care team, keeping an eye on their health, giving them medicine, and, in conjunction with nursing assistants, helping them stay fed and bathed. Their work hours can run into the evening, weekends and holidays—after all, a lot of patients require around the clock care.
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