The wealthiest state in the nation, Maryland, is also considered to be where America’s religious freedom originates from. It is a neighbor to Washington, D.C., and is home to its own major urban center, Baltimore. If you claim Maryland as your state of residency this page may contain some useful information for you.
The first part delves into a description of what a typical LPN schooling. The next section lists some typical job functions for an LPN. The third section covers some requirements for LPN certification in Maryland, and the last section includes a listing of local Maryland schools that may provide LPN programs.
LPN Schooling Programs – Basic Information
In Maryland, many LPN programs resemble RN programs. Licensed practical nursing programs may have a general education component, requiring students to take classes like psychology and composition, but the majority of the coursework will be in nursing. Students may take classes such as maternal-fetal nursing, pharmacology, nutrition, various other aspects of nursing, and possibly a class that teaches information about medical dosages. Students may also take labs with the courses; the labs allow students to execute and perfect skills on a mannequin or on one another under the watchful eye and expertise of the instructor before taking these skills to the real world. Real world experience is provided through clinicals in most LPN programs. Clinicals are where a student may take care of a patient (or more than one patient) one or several days per week in a real medical setting, alongside the student’s regular classes. The student is supervised and given added responsibilities and obligations as time progresses and the student learns more LPN skills and knowledge.
Common Duties of an LPN in Maryland
Licensed practical nurses perform many different kinds of tasks. They may frequently check on patients to determine their current medical status, perform various bedside care procedures, as well as other tasks requiring specialized skills. For example, with bedside care, an LPN may bathe and dress patients, clean wounds, change bandages, and help with patients’ personal hygiene. With patient status monitoring, an LPN may assess and note the vital signs of patients, including height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar. An LPN could also talk with the patient about the care he or she is receiving and anything the patient is worried about regarding that care. The LPN may then direct those concerns and any changes in the patient’s health status to the supervising doctor. LPNs may also be needed to complete certain specialized tasks if they have received the necessary schooling. Some examples of specialized tasks might be assisting patients with catheters, dealing with IVs , and helping patients who need dialysis. Finally, LPNs may be asked to perform an assortment of other tasks, such as complete paperwork (like insurance billing), administering medication, and supervising aides and assistants. Just as the functions that an LPN may perform are varied, so too are the locations that an LPN may work (and these locations can affect what job duties an LPN may have). LPNs can work in nursing homes, hospitals, doctor’s offices, medical clinics, and other medical locations.
LPN Certification Information in Maryland
To practice as a licensed practical nurse in Maryland, LPN applicants need to have graduated from a board-approved practical nursing or registered nursing program. LPN applicants must also be high school graduates (or equivalent) provide a passport-style photo, have a background check performed, and successfully pass the NCLEX-PN exam. If the Maryland applicant already has an active LPN license from another state, the applicant may apply through endorsement. For complete, up-to-date information on LPN licensing in Maryland that may not be present here, visit the Maryland Board of Nursing’s website online at www.mbon.org.
The exam required of Maryland LPN applicants is the NCLEX-PN. It is an electronic exam that constructs the series of questions it asks off of the user’s own answers. How a user answers the questions determines which questions the exam software chooses next; this also means that the number of questions asked per exam can vary—a typical range is approximately 100 to 200. The way that the exam is graded is unique, as well. There is a preset standard that the software looks for in users’ answers; the users are not graded against each other or graded against a scale with a lowest number of correct answers to pass. Every user is generally given a maximum of six hours to successfully finish the exam.
Maryland is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact—an agreement between 24+ states that allows nurses in these states to practice across state lines without requiring a nursing license in each state. As long as the nurse holds a practical or registered nursing license in his or her resident state, he or she is allowed to practice with that one license in multiple states that are also included in the compact.
Maryland Schools That May Have LPN Courses or Programs
Allegany College of Maryland
12401 Willowbrook Road SE, Cumberland, MD 21502
(301) 784-5270
Anne Arundel Community College
101 College Pkwy, Arnold, MD 21012
(410) 777-2222
Baltimore City Community College
2901 Liberty Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215
(410) 462-8000
Carroll Community College
1601 Washington Road, Westminster, MD 21157
(410) 386-8000
Cecil College
1 Seahawk Dr, North East, MD 21901
(410) 287-1000
College of Southern Maryland
115 J. W. Williams Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
(410) 550-6000
Frederick Community College
7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702
(301) 846-2400
Hagerstown Community College
11400 Robinwood Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21742
(240) 500-2233
Harford Community College
401 Thomas Run Rd, Bel Air, MD 21015
(443) 412-2000
Prince George’s Community College
301 Largo Road, Largo, MD 20772
(301) 336-6000
Sojourner Douglass College
500 N Caroline St #103, Baltimore, MD 21205
(410) 276-4101
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