LPN-RN on-line classes

[LERIA]

Kansas: New online LPN-to-RN program begins

The Kansas State Board of Nursing has given approval to Pratt Community College to establish an online LPN-to-RN completion program, reports the Pratt Tribune, a newspaper serving Pratt County.



The program will be the first statewide LPN-to-RN program available online, according to the Tribune, and only the third program nationally — the other two being Excelsior College in New York and the University of Phoenix.



The difference between the three programs, said Gail Withers, ARNP-CNS, MSN, RN, dean of nursing and allied health at PCC, is that the PCC program will offer clinical training, which she said the other two do not. That training will be offered on campus, as only the theory portion of the program will be online.



Students will come to campus 1-2 days for NUR 102b (a transition course), 2-3 days for IV skills & mock code and 4 days for the NCLEX-RN review. Clinicals will be offered in various areas in the state through adjunct clinical instructors and preceptors.



PCC plans to accept 40 people into the program, which will begin in June and run until January 2007. After that, a second group of 40 people is planned to take the program from February to June. PCC anticipates a total of 80 additional graduates coming from the PCC nursing program each year, Withers said.



The program is being developed and taught by two members of the PCC nursing faculty, Barbara Hardinger, BS, RN; and Janis Jilg, MSN, MBA, RN. Mid terms and final exams will be offered at test sites throughout the state by a proctor.



Since grant money came from the Kansas Department of Commerce, admissions are being limited to state residents for the time being, but the program could expand to other states, Withers said.



Applications for the program are being accepted through March. Interested LPNs can contact Joyce Jones, secretary to the dean, at 620-450-2233 or Hardinger, online coordinator, at 620-450-2274.