Unitek College - Santa Clara

Nursing Programs Offered

LPN Program Details

A Licensed Vocational Nurse is a health care provider at an entry level, whose responsibilities are concerned with basic nursing care. Vocational nurses care for the injured, sick, disabled, and convalescent under the direct supervision of registered nurses or physicians.

As mentioned before, most LVNs provide the basic bedside care. They are responsible for taking vital signs such as pulse, blood pressure, respiration, and temperature. They also prepare and give injections, treat bedsores, apply dressings, apply hot water bottles and ice packs, monitor catheters, and give alcohol massages and rubs. LVNs are trained to observe patients and to notice their reactions to treatments or medications and report them. They also collect samples for testing and can perform some of the routine lab tests. LVNs are required to help their patients with dressing, bathing and personal hygiene, as well as to care for their emotional needs.

The state of California requires that the licensed vocational nurses complete 1,530 hours of training, out of which 576 hours are reserved for theory and 954 hours are clinical education. In other words, the full time CA LVN training should take from twelve to fourteen months, whereas the part-time CA LVN education takes from eighteen to twenty months to complete.

The content of the CA LVN training program includes anatomy and physiology, psychology, pharmacology, nursing process, communication, patient education, nutrition, normal growth and development, rehabilitation nursing, maternity nursing, pediatric nursing, medical/surgical nursing, gerontological nursing, nursing fundamentals, leadership, supervision, and communicable disease.

Individuals can pursue the CA LVN education in institutions such as community colleges, private schools, regional occupational centers, high schools, and hospitals.

A CA LVN may be employed in any of the following institutions/medical facilities: medical/surgical hospitals, home care agencies, doctor's offices, convalescent hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, blood banks, dialysis centers, correctional facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and vocational nursing programs.