Licensed Practical Nurse

Licensed Practical Nurses may be employed in the following settings: ambulatory care centers, hospitals, home health and hospice, skilled nursing facilities, long term care settings, at schools providing care for children and families of those children, in occupational settings promoting employee health, for public health departments, in physician offices and more. They work under the supervision of physicians and registered nurses and may involve administration of medications, intravenous therapy, cleaning and dressing of wounds, glucose monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, patient education, general assessment of persons in need of health care, delivering the needed care, and evaluation of the patients' outcomes after the care has been provided.

Employment opportunities for graduates who pass the licensure exam are variable in the Eugene/Springfield area, but those who are willing to seek employment in settings other than the acute care settings can usually find employment giving nursing care. Starting salaries vary according to the type of care the nurse will be providing, but in the acute care setting the average pay for LPNs is about $21/hour or about $43,500/year. New graduates will make somewhat less than this amount, as will those working in long term care, medical offices, and clinics.

If in the future the graduate wishes to progress toward becoming a Registered Nurse, LPN's have an option to apply for the LPN to RN Bridge program. Upon completion of the "Bridge" students would then be eligible to enter the "second year of an Associate of Applied Science Degree Registered Nurse (RN) Program" in a participating Community College that is part of the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE). If a student then wishes to progress toward completion of a Bachelors Degree with a major in Nursing, there are many options in the state of Oregon. OCNE RN's have the option to complete a final year through Oregon Health Sciences University or in any of the other RN to BSN programs. For more information please refer to the State of Oregon information.

Links to the left will enable you to learn more about the profession of nursing and about LCC's outstanding nursing programs. For information on how and when to apply for admission to the LPN program, take a look at the Application Information. 

Program Information