Practical Nursing Program

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Practical Nursing Program

Practical Nursing Program

Change your career path, change your life! Become a Licensed Practical Nurse in just one year with Centra College.

Centra College offers a 12-month practical nursing program. Students are admitted twice a year, in January and August. Completion of the program qualifies a student to take the national licensing exam (NCLEX-PN). Licensure is required for employment as a licensed practical nurse. The Practical Nursing program is approved by the Virginia Board of Nursing and is a member of the National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Service, Inc.

Our graduates will obtain licensure to practice as an LPN through successful completion of hte NCLEX-PN examination, work as a beginning nurse in acute, intermediate, long-term, and ambulatory healthcare settings, and be trained in best practices. 

Interested in the Practical Nurse program? 
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Advantages of a Practical Nurse education include:

  • Short program length
  • Transition to RN
  • Focus on long-term care
  • Affordable cost

 

Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements
Admission Requirements

Practical Nursing Program Requirements

  • A minimum high school GPA of 2.2 is recommended for the Practical Nursing (PN) program.
  • Official high school transcript indicating that the applicant has or will complete a high school course of study and/or has a passing GED official score report.
  • A Kaplan Entrance Exam score is completed with the application.
  • Test scores should be no older than 1 year at the time of application.
  • Areas to be tested include Math, Reading, Science, Writing, and Critical Thinking.  
  • Math 53>, Reading 53>, Science 26>, Writing 43>, and Critical Thinking 46>.  To meet requirements for admission, each applicant must achieve 3 out of 5 of the above areas on the Kaplan entrance test.  
  • Letter of Recommendation from an individual, other than a family member or friend, must accompany the application.
  • The recommendation should be from those who can speak to the applicant’s work ethic, community service and/or academic performance.
  • Transfer students refer to the College Catalog:  Transfer of Credits into the College of Nursing

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  •  All Accepted Applicants  for the Practical Nursing Program
  • Background check and drug screen (conviction of certain crimes may preclude admission to the College)
  • BLS Provider by American Heart Association (Adult, Child, Infant, and AED taught in course). If card expires while attending the program, the student must enroll into a BLS Provider CPR re-certification course to maintain an unexpired status for clinical settings. 
  • All new students are required to have a 7th Generation iPad with a minimum of 32GB and a 9.7-inch display and an iOS 13 Operating System.
  •  All accepted applicants will be required to attend the full orientation session. Failure to attend the orientation will result in forfeiture of your position in the program

 

 

Tuition, Fees and Calendar

Tuition, Fees and Calendar
Tuition, Fees and Calendar

Tuition and Fees

Below estimated tuition and fees for the the past two years for reference.

 

Academic Calendar

This one-year, 3-semester program  is broken up into 16-week  and 13-week segments. You can see examples of  past year's academic calendars below. 

Addendum

Student Handbook Addendum: PN Summer 2020 Tuition & Fees and Academic Calendar

NCLEX Pass, Job Placement, and Retention Rates

NCLEX Pass, Job Placement, and Retention Rates
NCLEX Pass, Job Placement, and Retention Rates
PN NCLEX-PN
First Time Pass Rate		 Retention/
Completion Rate		 Job Placement
Rate
Dec 2019 95% 70% 89%
Aug 2019 92.8% 82% 92.8%
Dec 2018 82.35% 83% 80%
Aug 2018 80.9% 65% 85%
Dec 2017 80.9% 73% 80%
Dec 2016 94.74% 86% 89.47%

Accreditation

Accreditation
Accreditation

Centra College Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN, Distance), Associate Degree in Nursing, and Practical Nursing programs are accredited by the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA) located at 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037.