Hands-On Training for a Rewarding Career as a Practical Nurse
The ACEN-Accredited Practical Nursing (PN) Diploma program at Iowa Lakes will prepare you for a rewarding career in healthcare. Through our one-year program, you will gain the knowledge, hands-on experience, and clinical skills needed to prepare you to sit for the NCLEX-PN exam. Upon successful completion of the program, you will be eligible to take the NCLEX-PN licensure exam, the final step toward becoming a licensed practical nurse.
Our ACEN accredited program is designed to provide you with a high-quality education that meets national nursing standards. In our program you will gain a strong foundation in nursing principles, patient safety, critical thinking, and compassionate care. Additionally, you will experience state-of-the-art simulation labs and gain real-world clinical experience, ensuring you graduate with confidence.
Practical Nursing (PN) Career Outlook
LPNs play a vital role in patient care, assisting registered nurses (RNs) and physicians in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and home health settings. Explore career opportunities and salary expectations for practical nurses through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook. Ready to take the next step? Connect with an enrollment coach today and start your journey toward a rewarding nursing career.
Find Your It!
Hands-On Training & Nursing Fundamentals
Comprehensive Coursework for Practical Nursing Success
The PN program at Iowa Lakes combines classroom instruction, laboratory training, and clinical experiences to ensure students are fully prepared for their LPN careers. Coursework covers:
- Fundamentals of practical nursing
- Pharmacology and medication administration
- Medical-surgical nursing and patient care
- Maternal-child and pediatric nursing
- Geriatric and long-term care nursing
Real-World Clinical Experience
Students participate in supervised clinical rotations in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and community health settings. These hands-on experiences provide direct patient care training and help students develop the critical thinking and technical skills required for practical nursing.
A Pathway to Career Growth
Graduates of the PN program are prepared for immediate employment as LPNs (following the successful passing of the NCLEX-PN exam), but many choose to continue their education and advance their careers by enrolling in an LPN to ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing) bridge program, which allows them to become registered nurses (RNs).
Your future in nursing starts here. Get to it!
Program Details
Length
3 terms
Degree
Diploma (46 credits)
Campus
Emmetsburg
Training
Clinical Assignments & Preceptorship
Your Career Pathway: Additional Degree & Certificate Options
Additional Information
Term 1
BIO 151 – Nutrition
This course provides the student with the basic background of the nutrients which are essential in maintaining the physical and mental well-being of the human body. An overview of the digestive processes and the relationship to each group of nutrients is presented. Basic nutritional principles of food selection are studied with an emphasis on health promotion throughout the life cycle. Students examine their personal eating habits and identify ways to promote a healthy nutritional status.
BIO 173 – Human Anatomy & Physiology II
An advanced study of anatomy and physiology. The relationship between body structure and function and homeostasis forms the basis for the course. Pathological processes that result in dysfunction and disease are presented. Major topics include digestive, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, immune, blood, metabolism, reproduction, urinary, fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance. Lecture and laboratory.
HSC 151 – Dosage Calculations
Dosage Calculations emphasizes the basic math skills and dosage calculations required of nurse professionals.
Grading: P/Q
PNN 105 – Practical Nursing Concepts I
Practical Nursing Concepts I is a class/lab/clinical course that introduces the role of the practical nurse considering history, trends, and comportment through a caring perspective. The role of the licensed practical nurse will be discussed related to safety, legal implications, and collaborative practice throughout the lifespan. The student will be introduced to the nursing process and healthy lifestyles related to physical assessment. The conceptual focus includes safety, communication, infection control, hygiene, skin integrity, elimination, oxygen principles, fluids, nutrition, mobility/ immobility, comfort, and mental health alterations. The student will practice and perform nursing skills in the lab and clinical setting while caring for client conditions.
PNN 135 – PN Pharmacology I
PN Pharmacology I is a class/lab course that introduces pharmacological concepts and classifications. Medication administration including oral, parenteral, enteral, and intravenous therapy maintenance will be discussed and applied.
Program Pre-Requisites: BIO 168 & HSC 172
Term 2
HSC 202 – Health Informatics
Health Informatics will provide an overview of basic computer skills as well as introduce the student to concepts related to information literacy and management. Utilization of informatics within the healthcare delivery systems including application of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) will be included.
PNN 106 – Practical Nursing Concepts II
Practical Nursing Concepts II is a class/lab/clinical course that builds upon concepts related to human needs utilizing the nursing process. The student will demonstrate caring behaviors while learning about physiologic adaptations related to perioperative, acid-base balance, fluid and electrolyte, elimination, sensory, oxygenation/perfusion, mobility, stress, metabolic and protective alterations as related to the medical-surgical client throughout the lifespan.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of first semester PN courses (C or better)
PNN 136 – PN Pharmacology II
PN Pharmacology II is a course that builds upon pharmacological concepts presented in PN Pharmacology I focusing on the classification, mechanism of action of the medications and nursing process as it relates to the client/patient condition.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of first semester PN courses (C or better)
PSY 121 – Developmental Psychology
Studies human development from conception through the lifespan. Physical, emotional, social, cognitive and moral aspects are studied in the classroom, by lecture, file/video, projects, and observation and by reading the literature.
Term 3
COM 723 – Workplace Communications†
Developing skills in reading, writing and listening as they apply to students’ vocational needs.
COM 725 – Workplace Communications Essentials
Refining of skills in reading, writing and listening as they apply to the student’s vocational needs.
PNN 107 – Practical Nursing Concepts III
Practical Nursing Concepts III class/preceptorship course that prepares the student for entry-level nursing practice by focusing on nursing judgment, legal/ethical issues and assimilation into the discipline of nursing. Concepts of leadership, management, and professional development, as well as maternal newborn nursing will be taught. Emphasis is on the role of the nurse as the provider and coordinator of care with simple to complex client conditions throughout the lifespan, including the child-bearing families. Management of simple to complex human needs including: oxygenation, perfusion, intracranial regulation, mobility, and inflammation/ infection/immunity.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of second semester PN courses (C or better)
Choose COM 723 or COM 725
General Education & Program Learning Outcomes
In the Practical Nursing program at Iowa Lakes, you will learn how to:1
Provider of Care
- Utilize the nursing process to provide ethically safe patient care within the scope of practice for the registered nurse.
- Deliver appropriate, individualized nursing skills.
Member of the Profession of Nursing
- Display professionalism in the role of the registered nurse within the healthcare system.
- Proficient in utilizing critical thinking skills through implementation of Evidence Based Practice.
Manager of Care
- Apply communication techniques in providing culturally competent care throughout the life span.
- Apply knowledge of health promotion and maintenance across the life span.
1The What You’ll Learn section of our website provides a description of Learning Outcomes for students who successfully complete all requirements for obtaining a Practical Nursing diploma from Iowa Lakes Community College.
ACCREDITATION:
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
Nursing Program ACEN Candidacy Notice to Students
Related Documents:
Physical Form, Waiver of Liability and TB Conversion Assessment Self Report
U.S. Department of Education New Regulations
As of July 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education implemented new regulations that professional nursing programs (LPN and RN) must adhere to – Regulation 34 CFR 668.43 (a) (5) (v). In compliance with this regulation, Iowa Lakes Community College PN & AD Nursing is providing the following information:
- Iowa Lakes Community College Practical Nursing and Associate of Science degree, nursing curriculum meets state educational requirements for professional licensure in all 50 states.
- Iowa Lakes Community College Practical Nurse and Associate of Science degree, nursing curriculum does NOT meet the state educational requirements for professional licensure in the following states/jurisdictions: None.
- Iowa Lakes Community College has not made the determination if the Practical Nurse and Associate of Science degree, nursing curriculum meets the state educational requirements for the following states/jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
NOTES:
- This information is only for initial licensure by exam requirements for the state listed.
- Students should contact the State Board of Nursing in which they wish to be licensed for specific licensing requirements.
- Students may meet with the Director of Nursing Education if they wish to be licensed in another state.
This information is only for initial licensure by exam requirements for the state listed.
- Students should contact the State Board of Nursing in which they wish to be licensed for specific licensing requirements.
- Students may meet with the Director of Nursing Education if they wish to be licensed in another state.
Disclaimer: This information has been gathered from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) website and will be updated annually on July 1. Iowa Lakes Community College assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the information contained in this resource. It is your responsibility to verify accuracy by visiting the NCSBN website at:https://www.ncsbn.org/14730.htm
Program Acceptance & Admission Requirements
Preference will be given to those who apply by June 1st for the fall semester and February 1st for the summer semester.
In order to qualify for the Iowa Lakes Practical Nursing Diploma program, applicants need to complete the following:
- Attain a high school diploma with a minimum GPA of 2.0, or GED/HiSET mean score equivalent, or a college GPA of 2.0 from 7 credits of college-level science coursework, attaining a grade of C or higher.
- Attain a grade of C or higher in Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Lab (BIO 168), 4 credits.
- Pass a 75-Hour Certified Nursing Assistant (HSC 172) course and/or proof of CNA certificate. Documentation must be submitted to the Iowa Lakes Nursing program.
- ACT or Next-Generation Accuplacer Results:
- ACT Composite score of 18. No super scores will be accepted. Next-Generation Accuplacer scores for LPN to ADN program: Reading – 250, Writing – 250, Math – 270
- The composite score is based on English, reading, mathematics, and science scores. The additional “Writing Test” is not required.
- Request that the ACT sends official results to the Iowa Lakes Admissions Office. Hand-delivered results will not be accepted.
- Register for the ACT exam by visiting www.actstudent.org. Register for Next-Generation Accuplacer by contacting the Iowa Lakes Success Center.
Hands-On
Training
Career-Ready
Day One
Opportunities, Earnings & Growth
Projected Employment Growth
0.3 %
Potential Careers
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in specialty areas including nursing home, assisted living, medical clinics, and hospitals
Projected Earnings
Iowa Workforce
$55,868
Average Salary
US Bureau of Labor
$60,790
Average Salary
START YOUR LAKER JOURNEY IN 4 STEPS!
Questions? Let's Talk
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Melinda McGregor Recruitment & Retention Coordinator 712-852-5271 | mmcgregor@iowalakes.edu |