10 Best LPN Programs in Kentucky – (Online & Campus-Based)

Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH

Could LPN programs in Kentucky be your gateway to a comfortable salary and job security? They certainly could! LPNs in the Blue Grass State earn $51,700 annually, and demand for their services is expected to rise by more than 5 percent in just one decade. LPN programs in the Blue Grass State teach you nursing fundamentals, allowing you to acquire professional experience if you’re thinking about applying to an RN program. As an LPN, you can work in a wide variety of practice settings, including long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living care facilities. Interested in learning more? The list below of the 10 best LPN programs in Kentucky is an excellent place to start.

RECOMMENDED ONLINE HEALTHCARE SCHOOLS

WHAT ARE THE BEST LPN PROGRAMS IN KENTUCKY (ONLINE AND CAMPUS)?

Based on our Ranking Methodology, the following are the 10 best nursing schools for LPN programs in Kentucky.

1. Somerset Community College - Somerset

Program Details: Lecture materials and laboratory exercises are integrated into a single class format when you pursue Somerset Community College’s licensed practical nursing program in Kentucky. The 45- to 53-credit program takes just 11 months to complete and is offered at the Somerset (fall start) and Laurel (spring start) campuses. The Somerset campus also offers an evening pathway that’s ideal for aspiring LPNs who are juggling hectic work or personal commitments.

This program is only open to applicants who have completed a 75-hour nursing assistant course and are active on Kentucky’s CNA registry. Other application requirements include current American Heart Association CPR certification and taking the ACT entrance exam.

Courses like “Fundamentals of Nursing Care,” “Pharmacology,” and “Medical Surgical Nursing I & II” will teach you key nursing skills and prepare you to use them in a dynamic, ever-changing, real-world setting. You’ll learn basic nursing techniques in Somerset Community College’s simulation lab, which is equipped with hospital technology and patient simulators. You’ll also participate in supervised patient care experiences at extended care centers and other healthcare agencies throughout Somerset, Pulaski County, and other communities in Kentucky’s Outer Bluegrass Region.

Why Choose This Program

• Students in this LPN program in Kentucky may qualify for free tuition through Kentucky’s Work Scholarship program.
• Ready to take your LPN to the next level? Somerset Community College offers an LPN-to-ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing) track.
• Somerset Community College’s LPN grads have an impressive 99 percent five-year pass rate on the NCLEX-PN.

2. Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College - Bowling Green

Program Details: Like most other LPN programs in Kentucky, acceptance into Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College’s licensed practical nursing program hinges on whether or not you’re a certified nurse aide on the Bluegrass State’s registry. You’ll also need to take the ACT or the NLN pre-admission (PAX) LPN exam and complete prerequisite courses. SKCTC receives more applications than it can accommodate each year, and the college does not maintain a waiting list, so competition for acceptance can be challenging. The program is taught at the college’s Bowling Green and Glasgow campuses and starts in the fall.

What makes this LPN program in Kentucky stand out is the intimate feeling its small class sizes give. It’s a program where you can really connect with your instructors. Including prerequisites, the LPN diploma is 36- to 43-credits. You can complete the nursing core in just two semesters. There are just two foundational nursing courses—“Nursing Practice I & II”—and they combine lecture components with clinical experiences. State-of-the-art nursing labs contain task trainers, programmable manikins, and hospital equipment that can help you master essential hands-on skills. Clinical rotations at hospitals, clinics, and nursing care facilities throughout southcentral Kentucky will complete your LPN education.

Why Choose This Program

• Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College already charges the lowest tuition in the Bluegrass State, but with a Work Ready scholarship, you may be able to attend this program for free.
• Is an LPN just the first step in your nursing career? Kentucky Community & Technical College offers qualified LPNs advanced placement into its traditional ADN program.
• At 97 percent, Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College’s NCLEX-PN pass rate is one of the highest in the Bluegrass State.

3. West Kentucky Community and Technical College - Paducah

Program Details: West Kentucky Community and Technical College offers two pathways for earning your LPN technical diploma. These tracks differ only in the number of general education credits; the foundational nursing coursework you’ll take is the same. Classes like “Med-Surg Alterations I & II,” “Introduction to Health Deviation,” and “Mental Health” will prepare you to care for many different types of patients across their lifespans. You’ll also have experiences with direct patient care at Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital and other healthcare facilities in Paducah and other communities along the Kentucky/Illinois border.

All applicants must achieve minimum acceptable scores on the ACT, the NLN Pre-Admission RN Exam, or the A2 Admission Assessment Exam and complete prerequisites that include a Nursing Assistant Skills course. You’ll build on those skills in West Kentucky Community and Technical College’s high-tech nursing lab, which is furnished with sophisticated medical technology and manikins that can be programmed to mimic human physiological responses.

Why Choose This Program

• Eager to continue your professional nursing education? West Kentucky Community and Technical College’s hybrid LPN-RN bridge pathway is for you!
• Over the past six years, 90 percent of the graduates of this licensed practical nursing program in Kentucky have passed the NCLEX-PN.

4. Bluegrass Community and Technical College - Lexington

Program Details: You can enroll in Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s LPN program in Kentucky on the Leestown (fall) or Danville (fall and spring) campuses. The program has three pathways, each with identical core nursing courses but differing general education requirements. You’ll take between 43 and 57 credits, but full-time students can complete each pathway’s foundational nursing coursework in a single year.

Admission is on a first-come, first-serve basis. You must take the ATI: TEAS entrance exam and attend a mandatory preadmission conference with the program coordinator at the campus program you wish to attend. Danville and Leestown have different general education requirements, and all requirements must be completed before you apply to their programs.

Like other licensed practical nursing programs in Kentucky, Bluegrass Community, and Technical College’s nursing lab is a simulated hospital setting where students learn and practice essential skills like obtaining vital signs and drawing blood on high-tech manikins. Clinical rotations at extended care facilities and other healthcare agencies throughout the Lexington metro area allow students to learn what direct patient care is like. You’ll supplement experiential learning through lecture courses such as “Fundamentals of Nursing,” “Child Bearing Family,” and “Nursing Leadership and Management.”

Why Choose This Program

• High school students who want to get a head start on a licensed practical nursing career can enroll in LPN prerequisite coursework through the BCTC Healthcare Jumpstart Program.
• Want to keep climbing the nursing professional ladder? Qualified LPNs may earn nine credits of advanced standing when they enroll in Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) track.

5. Maysville Community and Technical College - Maysville

Program Details: Maysville Community and Technical College offers three licensed practical nursing programs in Kentucky: The LPN program at the Rowan campus begins in March, while the LPN programs at the Montgomery campus and the Maysville main campus start in January. You must score 41.3 or above on the TEAS entrance examination and be active as a Medicaid nurse’s aide on the Kentucky registry for consideration into any of these programs.

You’ll take courses like “Med-Surg Alterations I & II,” “Mental Health,” and “Introduction to Health Deviation” that will teach you how to apply critical thinking and other nursing concepts to patients across the lifespan. Nursing labs equipped with hospital fixtures and high-tech manikins will give you a safe place to hone your essential nursing techniques, which you’ll develop still further through supervised patient care experiences in healthcare settings throughout Maysville and other communities along the northeastern Kentucky/Ohio border.

Why Choose This Program

• Rowan Campus LPN graduates have had a 100 percent pass rate on the NCLEX-PN for more than five years, making this one of the best LPN programs in Kentucky.
• See yourself as an RN? Maysville Community and Technical College offers a hybrid LPN-to-RN track with online instructional courses and in-person clinical rotations.

6. Galen College of Nursing – Louisville

Program Details: Galen College of Nursing’s licensed practical nursing program may be one of the best licensed practical nursing programs in Kentucky for people who must work while they advance their professional goals because you can enroll in it either full-time or part-time. The full-time program offers daytime classes and involves approximately 30 hours a week, while the part-time program offers evening classes and involves 20 hours a week. You can complete the full-time program in 12 months and the part-time program in 21 months.

The program has four start dates each year and is offered at the college’s campuses in Pikeville and Louisville. No prerequisites are required for admission because the general education courses you’ll need to graduate are built right into the nursing curriculum.

Lecture courses include “Fundamentals of Nursing I & II,” “Maternal-Child Nursing,” and “Geriatric Nursing.” Galen College of Nursing has clinical nursing labs where you’ll work individually with instructors learning basic nursing skills as well as nursing simulation labs where you’ll work in teams with life-like patient simulators in replicated hospital settings. Clinical rotations are scheduled at hospitals and long-term care facilities throughout metro Louisville as well as in Pikeville and Pike County.

Why Choose This Program

• Galen College of Nursing’s Louisville campus has been designated a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing.
• Are you an LPN who wants to start learning again? Galen College of Nursing offers an LPN-to-ADN Bridge program.
• Graduates of this licensed practical nursing program in Kentucky have a five-year NCLEX-PN pass rate greater than 93 percent.

7. Hopkinsville Community College - Hopkinsville

Program Details: The LPN program at Hopkinsville Community College consists of 45 to 53 credits, which will take you around one year to complete. All applicants to this LPN program in Kentucky must be certified nurse assistants or have passed Kentucky’s state nurse aide exam. You must also achieve a composite score of 99 on the National League for Nursing’s PAX exam. The program starts in the fall semester.

Prepare yourself for your dynamic new career by taking courses like “Nursing Pharmacology,” “Mental Health,” and “Child Bearing Family.” The core nursing curriculum also includes a direct patient care practicum, which you will carry out at Jennie Stuart Medical Center or other healthcare facilities in Hopkinsville and the communities along the western Kentucky/Tennessee border. You’ll hone your essential hands-on skills at the college’s Emerging Technologies Center, which is equipped with nursing simulation technology.

Why Choose This Program

• Want to pursue a registered nursing career? Hopkinsville Community College has an LPN to RN Bridge track.
• Hopkinsville Community College’s LPN grads score outstandingly well on the NCLEX-PN with five-year pass rates of 95 percent.

8. Jefferson Community and Technical College - Louisville

Program Details: Are you dreaming of a practical nursing career but feeling frustrated because you can’t afford to stop working to go back to school? Jefferson Community and Technical College’s Carrollton campus has a hybrid LPM program that offers online coursework plus labs and clinicals that meet two to three nights during the week. The college also administers a daytime LPN program at its main campus in downtown Louisville. Classes start in the fall and spring.

You must complete prerequisites, including a medical terminology course, before you start this licensed practical nursing program in Kentucky. All applicants must be certified nursing aides or have taken Jefferson Community and Technical College’s nursing aide course. Applicants are also required to attend an LPN preadmissions conference.

Foundational nursing courses like “Fundamentals of Nursing Care,” “Medical Surgical Nursing I & II,” and “Nursing Leadership and Management” will familiarize you with the LPN scope of practice and the critical role licensed practical nurses play in healthcare. You’ll polish your hands-on skills in the college’s sophisticated nursing simulation labs and get your first experiences in direct patient care through clinical rotations at extended care facilities and medical agencies throughout metro Louisville and other communities in Jefferson and Carroll Counties.

Why Choose This Program

• LPN students over 21 may be eligible for free tuition through the Jefferson Jump-Start Grant.
• Is an LPN diploma just the start of your nursing career? Qualified licensed practical nurses can get advanced placement into JCTC’s traditional ADN program upon completing an “LPN-ADN Transition” course.

9. Ashland Community and Technical College - Ashland

Program Details: Ashland Community and Technical College’s LPN curriculum follows the guidelines set forth by the Kentucky Board of Nursing with courses like “Fundamentals of Nursing Care,” ”Nursing Pharmacology,” and “Med Surg Nursing I & II.” In addition to the 35- to 53-credit technical diploma, this licensed practical nursing program in Kentucky also offers a 60- to 68-credit Occupational/Technical Associate of Applied Science for LPNs. The two programs differ in the number of general education courses they require. Both are taught at ACTC’s main College Drive campus.

All prerequisite classes must be completed before beginning LPN courses. You’ll also have to be a nurse’s aide in good standing on the Kentucky nurse’s aides registry and show proof that you’ve completed a 75-hour nurse aid training course. Most students can complete the LPN technical diploma in 11 months.

The college’s new Health Science Integrated Simulation Lab provides a safe setting with hospital equipment and programmable manikins so that you can practice the nursing techniques you’re learning. You’ll hone your skills further by participating in supervised practicums and other clinical experiences at nursing homes, extended care agencies, and medical facilities throughout Ashland and other communities along the northeastern Kentucky/Ohio border.

Why Choose This Program

• Don’t stop now! Ashland Community and Technical College offers eligible LPNs advanced standing in its ADN program.
• Students enrolled in ACTC’s LPN program in Kentucky may qualify for free tuition through Kentucky’s Work Ready Scholarship program.

10. ATA College - Louisville

Program Details: The LPN pathway at ATA College can be very convenient for working students because many of its lecture courses are offered online. Graduates will earn an Occupational Associates Degree in Practical Nursing. This LPN degree has start dates in January, March, May, August, and October, and you’ll complete it in 15 months. Students are admitted on a space-available basis.

The 90.5-quarter-credit curriculum includes courses like “Fundamentals,” “Adult Medical Surgical,” and “Nursing Care of Children.” Your clinical rotations will be scheduled at prestigious long-term care facilities and hospitals throughout Louisville, such as Episcopal Church Home, The Brooks, Jefferson Place, and Kindred Hospital. Modern onsite nursing labs will help you learn the essential skills and techniques you’ll need to master to be successful throughout your LPN career.

Why Choose This Program

• This licensed practical nursing program in Kentucky doesn’t maintain a waiting list or make you take an entrance exam. When you’re in, you’re in!
• Don’t have a laptop? Don’t sweat it! ATA College will provide you with one.


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Frequently Asked Questions Answered By Our Expert

1. Who Accredits LPN Programs In Kentucky?

2. What Is The Starting Salary For New Graduates Of These Programs In Kentucky?

3. What Is The Average Salary For LPN Nurses In Kentucky?

4. Average LPN Salary In Kentucky VS. Average LPN Salary In The Nation: Who Earns More?

5. What Is The Metro-Wise Average LPN Salary In Kentucky?

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