Practical Nursing

The Eastern Florida State College Practical Nursing Program is a 12-month course designed to prepare the student to function as a member of the health team in those capacities where minimum supervision is rendered and to assist the registered nurse or physician in meeting the more complex needs of other patients.

The foundation period of classroom instruction, approximately four months, includes course study on Vocational Adjustments, Normal and Abnormal Body Structure and Functions, Fundamentals of Nursing, Human Growth and Development, Nutrition, and Personal, Family and Community Health. This instruction is correlated with clinical instruction and supervised experience in the areas of Medical-Surgical Nursing. The remaining instruction includes Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Mental Health Nursing and Geriatrics. This is also correlated with clinical instruction and supervised experience.

This certificate program prepares students for entry-level positions as licensed practical nurses. The practice of nursing means the performance of those acts requiring substantial specialized knowledge, judgment, critical thinking, and nursing skills based upon applied principles of psychological, biological, physical, and social sciences. The LPN is responsible and accountable for making decisions that are based upon the individual's educational preparation and experience in nursing.

Growing numbers of practical nurses are now working in all areas of the medical field clinics, mental and general hospitals, doctors' offices and nursing homes. Job opportunities are extensive for the practical nurse.

Throughout the United States, never before has there been a greater demand for competent practical nurses, skilled in patient care, as vital and acknowledged members of the respected medical team.