Nebraska, NE | LPN Nursing Program Information
How to Become an LPN in Nebraska
One becomes a Licensed Practical Nurse through a one-year LPN education program. They typically require five to ten prerequisite courses in introductory topics like physiology, biology, and psychology, before submitting an application to a college of nursing. Entry is highly competitive—just as LPNs are in demand, so too is LPN education. Once accepted, course work focuses predominantly on skills and knowledge pertaining to direct patient care, while also offering some foundational knowledge towards an understanding of broader health care processes and concepts.
Once courses are complete, students take the National Counsel Licensing Examination-Practical Nursing (NCLEX-PN), for which exam administrators Pearson Vue charge $200, and which also carries a $123 application fee from the Nebraska Board of Nursing as the last step to becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse in Nebraska. Above 85 percent of students pass the test on their first try, and it is possible to take it again within two months if not successful the first time.
Nebraska LPN Salary, Hours and Duties
The vast majority of Licensed Practical Nurses in Nebraska work in hospitals, although they may also find a job at a doctor’s office, retirement home, or other health care facility that requires direct patient care. With an average yearly salary of $38,000 (according to BLS.gov) 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 feed and bathe patients who can’t do so themselves. This also means that their schedules may include evening, weekend, and holiday shifts—after all, a lot of patients require around the clock care.
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