- Practical Nursing Program
- Advancement & Benefits of a Nursing Career

Career Levels
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Nursing Assistant (NA)
After a very brief 4-16 week training, NAs are positioned to help patients perform the most basic daily tasks (e.g. bathing, feeding, vital signs, observation)
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Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
LPNs have completed a one- to two-year program culminating in passing the national licensure exam. LPNs are often front-line caregivers in nursing homes, extended and skilled care facilities, rehabilitation centers and community settings.
CCIU Practical Nursing Program diploma
Average starting salary (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014): $42,490 per year ($20.43/hour)
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Registered Nurse (RN)
RNs have earned an associate degree or bachelor’s degree allowing them to make more critical decisions on the job, often positioning them more in the hospital setting
Associates degree in Nursing
Average starting salary (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014): $66,640 per year ($32.04/hour)
PNP Partnerships:
Delaware County Community College provides PNP graduates advanced credit for Nursing 110
Excelsior College offers members of the National Association for LPNs (NALPN) a special partnership discount. Additionally, NALPN members' spouses have the opportunity to receive discounts for a number of other degree concentrations.
Bachelors degree in Nursing
Average starting salary (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014): $66,640 per year ($32.04/hour); same as step 2 but BSN offers more employment opportunities (hospitals typically require bachelor’s degree for RNs)
PNP Partnerships:
Delaware County Community College may help RNs continue onto:
- West Chester University
- Jefferson University
- Drexel University
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Advanced Practice RNs (ARN)
ARNs have earned a master’s degree in nursing and typically fall into 4 specialized categories: Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwife, Clinical Nurse Specialist or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
Benefits of Being an LPN
Workplace variation
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LPNs have the unique advantage of being marketable across multiple healthcare settings allowing you the ability to really see where your interests and strengths lie. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) reports that 38% of LPNs work in nursing care facilities, 17% in hospitals, 13% in doctor’s offices, and 11% in home health. For RNs, hospitals are the most common setting, with 61% in state, local or private hospitals.
Advancement opportunities
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In the long term care setting, LPNs have opportunities to quickly move up in ranks, often supervising nursing assistants (NAs). The NLN reported in 2011 that newly licensed LPNs in long term care were almost six times as likely to have administrative responsibilities as their counterparts in hospitals were.
Faster entry into nursing
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You've made the decision you want to be a nurse and you’re ready to jump in and start gaining experience. PNP is set-up not only to provide you clinical rotation experience early and often, but you’ll be in the nursing field earning an average salary of $40,000/year in as little as 14-15 months.
What does this mean for you? With a smaller financial and time commitment, you can gain experience that will help you further determine whether this is indeed the career path for you or help you determine if you want to further your education and/or specialize or even try a different field entirely.
Increased education assistance
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In a recent survey of Chester County healthcare providers, close to 75% offer tuition reimbursement, scholarships or grant funds for LPNs to further their education. So, if you do decide to move forward and become an RN you have the potential of having your employer assist you financially rather than trying to do it on your own.
High demand occupation
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) reported that employment of LPNs is expected to grow 16 percent by 2024, faster than the average for all occupations. By 2020, an estimated 12 million older Americans will need long-term care (Medicare, 2009). To provide care for these individuals, the demand for health care workers is projected to increase (BLS, 2012). Currently, 70 percent of licensed care in nursing homes is provided by the LPN workforce (Corazzini, Anderson, Mueller, McConnell, Landerman, Thorpe, Shorti, 2011). In a recent survey of Chester County healthcare providers, 100% of the hiring organizations have at least one LPN position open for hire at any given time with over 35% having four or more positions open.
Career Pathways
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While more than half of RNs will end up in a hospital setting Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) have the distinct advantage of being marketable across multiple healthcare settings. While performing similar tasks and duties in each setting, the LPN has the ability to specialize in one area or mix things up and experience new environments. The following are some of the most common work environments/career paths for LPNs as ranked by 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):
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BLS states 38% of all LPNs work in this environment
- Examples of employers: long-term care providers, nursing homes, residential treatment agencies, rehabilitative services, hospice services
- Common duties: conduct health assessments, supervise nursing assistants, basic nursing care, collaborate with an RN, MD or dentist to develop treatment plans and assist with procedures, administrative work, assist with physical therapy regimen; give medications
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BLS states 17% of all LPNs work in this environment
- Examples of employers: hospitals, especially emergency, maternity and surgical departments and acute mental health units
- Common duties: assist with advanced medical practices, supervise nursing aides
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BLS states 13% of all LPNs work in this environment
- Examples of employers: physician offices, clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, emergency medical/urgent care centers
- Common duties: prepare patients for examination, give injections, administer medications, assist with minor surgeries, dress incisions, maintaining medical records
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BLS states 11% of all LPNs work in this environment
- Examples of employers: clinics, private home health agencies, subsets of larger facilities
- Common duties: assist patients with personal and environmental hygiene, entertain and converse with patients to promote mental health, evaluate patient living conditions, teach families/caregivers basic patient care
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BLS states 7% of all LPNs work in this environment
- Examples of employers: military, military hospital, Federal Civil Service clinic
- Common duties: specially trained as a medic