Practical Nursing

The LTCC Practical Nursing Program accepts the philosophy and goals of the Lebanon RIII School District supporting the concept of quality career-technical education.  Our related mission is to serve the area with a strong program providing learning experiences directed toward the growth of the individual in personal, career, and community life.  It is this integration that will prepare the practical nurse by incorporating concepts from physical and behavioral sciences, humanities, and the discipline of the nursing process.  Our faculty is committed to mentoring students in order to guide them in successful completion of the program and licensure preparation through lecture, lab, hands-on practicum and service to the community.  Upon graduation, the practical nurse will be able to provide knowledgeable, skilled care under the direction of a registered professional nurse or a person licensed by a state regulatory board to prescribe medications and treatments

This course introduces the student to the basic concepts of nutrition focusing on the practical nurses role and the nursing process in health, wellness, and illness.  Emphasis will be on disease prevention, alternative healing methods, health education, and health promotion.

This course is designed to help the student understand basic growth and development from birth to end of life.  By increasing knowledge of growth and development, the student will more effectively care for culturally diverse individuals at all age levels and gain individual wisdom about their own personal journeys through the human life span.

Introduction to the nursing profession, its responsibilities, and the legal and ethical issues in nursing practice.  Concepts related to the physical, emotional and psychosocial self-care of the learner/professional.  Includes study skills.

This course is designed to assist the beginning student make the necessary professional and personal adjustments in their development as practical nurses.  He/she will be introduced to primary nursing skills and principles.  The emphasis will be on utilization of the nursing process and related scientific principles.

 Nursing Fundamentals consists of a combination of classroom and skills lab experiences designed to teach the learner the first concepts of basic human needs and principles of selected nursing skills and their relationship to the client’s health status; identifying the nursing process used to solve basic client care problems across the life span utilizing appropriate medical terminology.  Principles of good patient care will be utilized.  A portion of this course will be dedicated to medical terminology in order for the student to recognize the meaning of complex medical terms and use a word building system to write and spell medical terms correctly. 

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The purpose of the IV Fluid Therapy Administration course is to provide the student practical nurse with the knowledge and skills to perform IV therapy to a culturally diverse population across the life span in accordance with the Missouri Nurse Practice Act, Section CSR 200.6010.  This course instruction will be conducted over second and third semester.

 The course is integrated into a number of existing courses established in the program:  Anatomy and Physiology, Fundamentals of Nursing, Nursing Care of the Adult, Nutrition, Nursing Care of the Older Adult and Pharmacology.

 This course is based on approved curriculum by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri State Board of Nursing entitled, “LPN Intravenous Fluid Therapy Administration Course” by Instructional Materials Laboratory.

This course introduces the student to general principles of medication administration including determination of dosage, preparation, safe administration and documentation of multiple forms of drugs.  Instruction includes various systems of measurement.  

These courses will prepare the student nurse in the fundamentals of medications and their diagnostic, therapeutic and curative effects in addition to their common side effects that will lead him/her to become a safe practitioner in the administration of medications.  During clinical practice, direct supervision of the student while performing administration of medications will be provided.

This course will assist the nursing student to gain basic knowledge of childhood diseases and child care through adolescence that may affect the well-being of culturally diverse children.  The focus will be on the care of the well and the ill child utilizing the nursing process.

This course is designed to familiarize the practical nursing student in the health and care of women of multi-cultures, and their families with the process of conception, pregnancy, and birth; how the nursing process relates to the normal aspects of pregnancy, labor, delivery, the post-partum period, and the care of the newborn.  It will also address the most common complications of pregnancy.

This course will present principles and theories of positive mental health and human behaviors.  Individual responses, coping mechanisms, and therapeutic communication skills will be discussed and will include mental abnormalities and modes of treatment incorporating the nursing process.  The use of a therapeutic interpersonal process and problem-solving approach by the nurse will be stressed.  This information will help the student apply these concepts in a variety of settings including:  Home-health, hospice, geriatrics, medical-surgical, crisis centers, pediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency rooms.

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This course introduces the student to the basic concepts of medical surgical nursing care of the adult with emphasis on meeting the needs of the whole person, the theories underlying nursing care, and the psychosocial aspects.  The nursing process will be used in an in-depth study of disease processes associated with the various body systems with emphasis on etiology, diagnosis, signs/symptoms, treatment, and nursing considerations.  The focus will be on the surgical patient, integument, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal disorders to include the gallbladder, liver, biliary tract, and pancreas, and blood/lymphatic disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.  This study will continue into the third Semester with Urinary, Endocrine, Reproductive, Sensory, Neurological and, Immune Disorders, care of patients with HIV/Aids and Cancer.  Incorporation of principles and applications of IV Therapy will be included.

This course will introduce the importance of professional growth.  Topics will include the role of the licensed practical nurse in the multi-disciplinary health-care team, professional organization, and continuing education.  The basic principles of leadership and management will be included.

This course will present an overview of the normal physical, psychosocial, and cultural aspects of the aging process and addresses common disease processes of aging.  From wellness promotion to restorative care, the student nurse will focus on assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, rehabilitation, and prevention as it relates to the older adult.  Common problems of aging will be discussed.  Learning experiences will be provided in the various settings such as acute care, long-term care, and community care.

Clinical learning experiences are obtained at area hospitals, long-term care, and community health facilities.  Each student will rotate through a planned program of clinical instruction in hospitals, long-term care facilities and additional experiences in the community setting.  Learning experiences are provided in the care of patients in obstetrics, pediatrics, geriatrics, acute care nursing, leadership/management, community health nursing, mental health nursing, with selective experiences as assigned by the nurse director.