St. Louis, Missouri is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the best performing Major League Baseball teams in the United States. The city is identified by a monumental arch curving in the sky, the Gateway Arch, which reflects St. Louis’ nickname, “Gateway to the West.” If St. Louis is the city you all home, and you are looking for Missouri licensing information and information about being an LPN, keep reading. The first section that appears on this page covers general information about LPN schooling in St. Lousis and greater Missouri, while the second section describes a typical LPN job, the third section presents information about Practical Nurse licensing in Missouri. You’ll also see at the bottom the page there is a section that lists some schools in Missouri where a person interested in becoming a Practical Nurse might be able to find schooling.

Basic Practical Nurse Schooling Information

LPN classes tend to look much like RN classes; they both include classroom education, labs, and clinicals with the goal of equipping the student with skills and knowledge necessary to succeed as a nurse, whether practical or registered. In St. Louis, students may have to pass a pre-test before being accepted into a practical nursing program. The nursing program itself may require students to not only take nursing classes, like pharmacology, nutrition, medical dosage, mental health nursing, and other nursing classes, but also general education classes, like psychology and science. Some nursing classes may teach not only theoretical knowledge but also practical skills; these classes may be accompanied by labs, in which students can practice those skills, guided by the instruction of a supervising professor or instructor. Clinicals also usually comprise a major part of LPN education. Clinicals are days where students work at a place like a hospital or health care clinic to gain real-life experience; they are closely supervised and may take on lighter responsibilities at first and gain more responsibility as their skills and knowledge increase. Clinicals may also re-emphazise things that a student is learning in class in order to cement those ideas and skills in the student.

Job Duties of an LPN in Missouri

Many tasks fall under the LPN’s duty at work; some of these tasks may be dependent on where the LPN works (for example, an LPN working with the elderly in a nursing home is not likely to do any bottle-feeding, unlike LPNs working with babies in the NICU). Licensed Practical Nurses work with patients in a wide range of medical settings, which may include doctors’ offices, medical clinics, hospitals, nursing homes and many other places. Some typical job duties that LPNs may perform can be organized into several different categories: patient health status monitoring, bedside care, specialized tasks, and other duties. Tasks that may fall under patient health status monitoring include recording patients’ vital signs, like blood pressure, pain level, blood sugar, oxygen levels, temperature, and weight. Some LPNs may also discuss the patient’s health and healthcare with the patient, acting as a person who can communicate between the patient and his or her medical team. Bedside care involves physical tasks of cleaning and hygiene: bathing the patient, dressing the patient, cleaning wounds, changing bandages, and helping the patient with other personal hygiene tasks. Some job functions for LPNs require special education and/or certification before LPNs may be asked to perform them; such functions include assisting with dialysis and working with IV therapies. Licensed Practical Nurses might also perform tasks such as supervising others and helping with various day-to-day tasks.

Missouri Licensing Information for LPNs

Practical Nurses in St. Louis and Missouri in needs to licensed in order to practice. As a result, there are several requirements that LPN students must meet in Missouri in order to be licensed. A general overview of these requirements and the licensing process follows; however, because regulations often change, visit the Missouri Division of Professional Regulation for fee amounts and comprehensive information on their licensing requirements. Missouri is a participating member of the Nursing Licensure Compact. Being a member of Nursing Licensure Company means that if an LPN from another Compact state wishes to work in Missouri, they may work under their state’s license in Missouri, and an LPN in Missouri who wishes to work in another Compact state may work under their Missouri license and is not required to obtain that state’s LPN license.

Applicants for a Practical Nursing license must complete a practical nursing program that is approved by the MBN (Missouri Board of Nursing, and it’s a wise idea to check with the MBN first to find out which programs are approved). Upon completion of a program, the school must forward official transcripts to the Missouri Board of Nursing in order for the education to be recognized by the MBN. Applicants must fill out and notarize the license application, pay an application fee, and pass criminal background check. The application must also include a signed photograph of the applicant, as well as any additional documents required for certain questions if the response was indicated “yes.” Applicants must also pass the NCLEX which is the nursing exam that most states require for Practical Nursing licensure.

Missouri LPN Schools

Listed below are various Missouri schools that might have LPN courses or programs available to someone looking to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. To find out if these schools have LPN programs, please contact them directly.

Cass Center
1600 E Elm St, Harrisonville, MO 64701
(816) 380-3253

Metropolitan Community College
3200 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 604-1000

St. Louis Community College
300 S Broadway, St Louis, MO 63102
(314) 539-5000

State Fair Community College
3201 W 16th St, Sedalia, MO 65301
(660) 530-5800

East Central Community College
1964 Prairie Dell Rd, Union, MO 63084
(636) 584-6500

North Central Missouri College
1301 Main St, Trenton, MO 64683
(660) 359-3948

Southern Central Center
407 W Thornburgh St, West Plains, MO 65775
(417) 256-6152

Sikeston Technology Center
200 Pine St, Sikeston, MO 63801
(573) 471-5442

Mineral Area Community College
5270 Flat River Rd, Park Hills, MO 63601
(573) 431-4593

Three Rivers Community College
2080 Three Rivers Blvd, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
(573) 840-9605

Crowder Community College
601 Laclede, Neosho MO 64850
(417) 451-3223

Four Rivers Center
1978 Image Dr, Washington, MO 63090
(636) 231-2100

Jefferson College
1000 Viking Dr, Hillsboro, MO 63050
(636) 789-3000

Saline County Center
900 W Vest St, Marshall, MO 65340
(660) 886-6958

Moberly Area Community College
101 College Ave, Moberly, MO 65270
(660) 263-4100

Ozarks Technical Community College
1001 E. Chestnut Expressway, Springfield, MO 65802
(417) 447-7500

Find LPN Programs Near Me
Select Your State for Local LPN Information