LPN Certification

Tips To Ace Your LPN Certification Exam

Are you ready to take the next step towards your career as practical nurse? Then you best prepare for your LPN certification exam, which will decide if you can begin your life as a nursing aide. Employers are waiting for you, and you can gt the word out you're available by passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nursing (NCLEX-PN).

Put things in order

1.   Before you even ventured into LPN schools or programs, you should have checked the specific requirements of your state nursing board with regards becoming an LPN. While generally, these may have similarities, there are variations to consider the needs and laws of your specific state.

The foremost requirement is to complete LPN training at an accredited school. Accreditation guarantees you got the standard quality of training needed for the job.

2.   In completing your practical nursing training, which requires at least 1,530 hours of LPN classes, get as much hands-on experience as possible. In the 12 to 15 months of full-time study, you need at least 954 hours for clinical training. Aside from internship, you would certainly benefit from any volunteer work in a medical facility performing the work of an LVN.

3.   Send in your application for licensing and locate the nearest testing facility for the LPN certification exam. This is administered by Pearson Education for the NCLEX. Pay the testing fee, which varies per state.

What is the NCLEX-PN test?

Anyone who wants to work as a practical or vocational nurse must be licensed. All 50 states, from California to Florida and even US territories like Guam and American Samoa, require this. Pass this LPN certification test and you get certified and will be qualified to work in medical facilities needing the services of nursing aides.

The licensed practical nurse LPN test focuses on the candidate's medical knowledge as well as the ability to care for patients and is made up of four sections:

1. Health Promotion and Maintenance
2. Safe and Effective Care Environment
3. Physiological Integrity
4. Psychosocial Integrity

It is a computerized exam with 205 questions and each examinee must answer at least the first 85. Beyond this number, the computer will continue to provide questions of varying levels of difficulty based on calculations of how likely you are to correctly answer the succeeding questions. As the test progresses, the questions will become increasingly easy or difficult. And based on your answers, the computer will determine if you passed or failed the exam.  

The test takes 5 hours to complete, including the time to train you in using the computer.

Practice makes perfect

Now if you really want to get ahead and ensure you pass the NCLEX-PN test the first time out, it will help yo greatly to do practice tests. There are many sites on the internet that have sample questions which you can use for review purposes. These are timed practice test online, the better to give you a simulation of how the actual LPN certification examination is conducted.

There are also several materials available both online and in stores to help you review for the test. The exam will basically cover all that was taken up during training, and other knowledge you may have gained during clinicals. Often, with more hands-on experience not just in school, but under actual settings, you are better able to assimilate information that will be useful during the exam.

Results for the exam are submitted to the state nursing licensing board within 24 to 72 hours after completion. You can expect to be notified of the results after a month.

If you fail, you may take the exam as many times until you are successful, but with an interval of 91 days each time. After a certain point, you may be required to enroll for LVN training again should you not be successful after several attempts or if the time lapse between your last exam is two years.

Why is LPN certification necessary? Health care is serious business and employers need to know the people they choose to work in their facilities are competent and have the minimum standard of skills needed on the job. The LPN certification exam is also a good gauge for you to determine if this career is the right one for you or if you want to start with a better LPN salary.

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