Joe G. Davis School of Vocational Nursing

Nursing Programs Offered

LPN Program Details

One of the best kept secrets in Walker County is Huntsville Memorial Hospital’s nursing school. The Joe G. Davis School of Vocational Nursing is a one-year, hospital-based program which prepares students to take the Vocational Nursing Licensure Examination in order to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN).

The program is accredited by the Division of Education Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas and is surveyed or reviewed annually for continuing accreditation.

The HMH School of Vocational Nursing was established in April 1966, with the first class enrolled in September 1966 and graduating in August 1967. In 1977, the school was renamed the Huntsville Memorial Hospital Joe G. Davis School of Vocational Nursing in memory of Joe G. Davis, a member of the HMH Board of Trustees from 1945 to 1972.

The vocational nursing school program begins in December or January of each year, with graduation in December. Applications for the program start being accepted in March for the following school year. The program requires a High School diploma or GED.

Applicants will be accepted into the program each year based on test scores. Our smaller class structure allows the faculty to provide more effective, one-on-one training to the students.

In the beginning of the program, students spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week in classroom training. The successful completion of this period of study is marked at a Capping Ceremony where students are given their nurses cap and scholarships are awarded. Students start clinical training in February of each year.

After the Capping Ceremony, students then begin clinical training at multiple clinical sites. The students complete the program with a graduation ceremony in December, and the Vocational Nursing Licensure Examination may be taken as early as January after graduation.

In the 43 years since it’s inception, the Joe G. Davis School of Vocational Nursing program has graduated over 500 nurses, and many of the program's graduates have joined the HMH staff after graduation.