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Alabama LPN School

By Mat Lindenberg, allied health world contributing writer
Published:  February 11th, 2010

LPN Education in Alabama

The Alabama Board of Nursing, or ABN, takes a very active hand in the nursing programs in its state. It maintains a comprehensive and frequently updated list of which Alabama LPN schools are in good standing, and which aren't. It ranks schools by their NCLEX scores, and contains contact information for the programs directors and instructors. Compared to some other states, which don't even have comprehensive lists of what schools they approve of, this is a welcome change. It can all be found on the board’s web site at www.abn.state.al.us.

Currently, there are just fewer than 25 approved campus-based and online Alabama LPN schools. There is one in nearly every corner of the state, so wherever you are you shouldn't have to go far- and the exacting standards of the ABN means that there is little discrepancy in quality of education.

When you enroll, your curriculum will mostly likely follow the national standard- a general overview of patient care and a basic introduction to physiology and medicine, with a slowly increasing emphasis on hands-on learning under an experienced LPN or RN in a clinical setting.

Most standard Practical Nursing programs take about a year to graduate from- though there are many, geared towards people who can’t attend full time, that take longer, or as long as is needed. You’ll want to look carefully and choose the one that best suits what you need.

Continuing Education for LPNs in Alabama

In order to remain eligible to work as a Licensed Practical Nurse in Alabama, you'll need to earn 24 'contact hours' every two years. A contact hour is defined as 50 minutes of uninterrupted education, and is the standard unit of measurement for continuing education.

Because Alabama's Board of Nursing is so involved and so informative, you can find a full listing of approved, and no longer approved, continuing education providers on their website- as well as guidelines for how to keep record of your hours properly, and what topics need to be learned that year. The Boards web site is located at http://www.abn.state.al.us/.

Through campus based and online programs, aspiring Licensed Practical Nurses in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Huntsville, Alabama may be able to prepare themselves for the possibility of employment in some of the largest hospitals and healthcare facilities in the state including Huntsville Hospital, Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, Saint Vincent's Birmingham, and Dekalb Regional Medical Center.