The demand for practice nurses, or PNs, is growing rapidly, with these professionals needed at a wide variety of healthcare settings and facilities. Luckily, the path toward becoming an PN – and enjoying all of this growth and variety – is very straightforward at Prism Career Institute’s New Jersey and Philadelphia campuses. In fact, you can become a PN in a little over one year! Here’s a closer look at how you can get started with your PN career training.
Our Practical Nursing Program
The first step toward becoming a PN is to complete a training program such as the one offered by the Prism Career Institute. Our Practical Nursing program is available to graduates with high school diplomas who have interviewed with an Admissions Representative and passed a short entrance exam.
The Practical Nursing program takes only 63 to 70 weeks to complete – slightly over one year – and covers a variety of topics relevant to nursing. Over the course of your training, you can expect to address the following subjects and more:
- Anatomy and physiology
- Medical terminology
- Nutrition
- Pharmacology
- Psychology and psychiatry
- Nursing care for adults and children
- Human growth and development
This training will give you the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in the workplace and prepare for the PN licensing exam.
Take the Licensing Exam
Upon completion of the training program and earning your diploma, you’ll need to earn your nursing license. All states require you to pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) before you can begin working. This is a nationally standardized competency exam to ensure that new PNs have the skills, knowledge, and ethics necessary for healthcare.
During this computerized exam, multiple-choice and other types of questions will test your knowledge on a variety of subjects relevant to PN duties and meeting the needs of patients. Questions come in these four major categories:
- Safe and effective care environments: You’ll be tested on your ability to keep areas safe and clean while protecting patients’ rights and confidentiality.
- Health promotion and maintenance: This section covers basic nursing care for adults and infants, including how to encourage self-care and healthy habits.
- Psychosocial integrity: Here, you’ll answer questions about mental and emotional health, including addiction and end-of-life care.
- Physiological integrity: This last section addresses basic health, hygiene, pharmaceuticals, and medical treatments.
Consider Additional Training and Certification
After you’ve completed training and passed the licensing exam, you are ready to register in your state and enter the workforce as a PN. If you’d like to expand your opportunities even further, you may want to consider further education. Additional certifications are available to PNs to prove aptitude for specialist fields, including:
- Gerontology
- Pharmacology
- Hospice
- IV therapy
- Immunization
- Dialysis
You can also pursue an associate’s or bachelor of nursing degree to qualify for registered nursing (RN) exams. Steps like these can increase your earning potential and qualify you for more employment opportunities.
Start Your PN Career Training Today
Nursing is a career field with rising demand and a wide variety of options and opportunities. If you’d like to begin your journey to becoming a PN, sign up for our training program now. Prism Career Institute offers high-quality PN career training programs at all our campuses across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Find out more about why you should choose Prism Career Institute, or contact our Admissions Department at 888-966-8146.