Practical Nursing Certificate
The health care industry needs informed, skilled and dependable workers to complete the care team. The licensed practical nurse assists registered nurses and physicians in caring for physically or mentally ill clients. In the long-term care setting and home health, the LPN may supervise other nursing care personnel.
Practical nursing offers employment in many health care settings. Long-term care, physicians' offices, home care, hospitals and clinics provide opportunity for the practical nurse to administer care to a variety of clients.
Job outlook for the Kansas City area is good, with an average starting salary of $36,000-$38,000.
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to apply to take the Practical Nursing Licensing exam. After completing the practical nursing program, LPNs may continue their education to become a registered nurse.
Full-time option
The full-time program, which can be completed in 10 months, provides 880 clock hours of instruction. This includes classroom and clinical laboratory experiences in many areas of nursing. As sample course of study is below.
The application deadline is March 15th for every year and has an August start date. See admission requirements.
Evening-weekend option
The evening-weekend program, which can be completed in 19 months, provides approximately 880 clock hours of instruction. This includes classroom and clinical laboratory experiences in many areas of nursing.
See sample course of study for the evening-weekend option.
The application deadline is October 15th every year and has a January start date. See admission requirements.
Prerequisites BEFORE Beginning Professional Courses
Students must “pass” all clinical courses and maintain a grade of “C” or higher in all non-clinical courses to remain in the program.
Admission to the Practical Nursing Program; Current Certification in Kansas as a Nursing Assistant and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for Healthcare Providers.
(Major Code 366A/368A; State CIP Code 51.3901)
Prerequisite Courses
| BIOL 144 | Human Anatomy and Physiology* | 5-8 |
| or BIOL 140 & BIOL 225 | Human Anatomy and Human Physiology* | |
| PSYC 130 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 218 | Human Development* | 3 |
| Total Hours | 11-14 | |
First Semester
| PN 125 | KSPN Foundations of Nursing* | 4 |
| PN 126 | KSPN Foundations of Nursing Clinical* | 2 |
| PN 130 | KSPN Medical Surgical Nursing I* | 4 |
| PN 131 | KSPN Medical Surgical Nursing I Clinical* | 3 |
| PN 135 | KSPN Pharmacology* | 3 |
| PN 155 | KSPN Gerontology Nursing* | 2 |
| Total Hours | 18 | |
Second Semester
| PN 140 | KSPN Maternal Child Nursing* | 2 |
| PN 141 | KSPN Maternal Child Clinical* | 1 |
| PN 145 | KSPN Mental Health Nursing* | 2 |
| PN 146 | Mental Health Nursing Clinical* | 1 |
| PN 150 | KSPN Medical Surgical Nursing II* | 4 |
| PN 151 | KSPN Medical Surgical Nursing II Clinical* | 3 |
| PN 170 | Physical Assessment for the Practical Nurse* | 3 |
| Total Hours | 16 | |
Total Program Hours: 45-48