New York Nursing Schools

Fuld Trust Awards $2.5 Million Grant to School of Nursing

The University of Rochester School of Nursing's effort to attract more talented people to the profession has received a significant endorsement with the renewal of a major grant by a national foundation.

The Helene Fuld Health Trust, HSBC Bank USA , Trustee has awarded the School of Nursing $2.5 million to support scholarships and the development of new programs. In 2002, the Helene Fuld Health Trust gave the School $2.2 million. The two grants are the largest gifts from foundations to the School in almost 25 years.

"The first grant from the Fuld Trust helped us change the way nurses are educated and attract many people to the profession who otherwise might not have brought their talent and compassion to nursing," said Patricia Chiverton, Ed.D., dean of the School of Nursing . "The nursing shortage is about quantity and quality. The grant renewal will enable us to continue to address both issues."

Since 2002, the School has awarded Fuld scholarships to 130 people in the accelerated bachelor's and master's degree programs. Another 30 have been selected for the upcoming year. Students have identified scholarship support as the single most important factor in their ability to pursue an accelerated nursing degree.

"Before pursuing nursing, I spent 12 years in marketing," said Helene Menchel, R.N. "With the generous support of the Fuld Trust, I could transition out of my executiverole in amarketing firm and jump into nursing head first, earning a second bachelor's degree in one year. Without Fuld, I would still be in night school part-time, trying to crawl into nursing over a five-year period. I had little confidence that such a long transition would come to fruition."

Despite some signs of improvement in the nursing shortage, recruitment of new talent to the profession remains a matter of national importance. With the Helene Fuld Health Trust grant renewal, the School will be able to increase enrollment in the accelerated program by about 50 percent over the next five years.

The School's master's and doctoral programs also need the Fuld scholarship support. Read more aboutthis grant.

Licensed Practical Nurses in New York

New York LPN training lasting about one year is available in over one thousand State-approved programs, mostly in vocational or technical schools. New York LPN job applicants in hospitals may face competition as the number of hospital jobs for licensed practical nurses declines. Rapid employment growth is projected in other health care industries, with the best job opportunities occurring in nursing care facilities and in home health care services. Replacement needs will be a major source of job openings, as many workers leave the occupation permanently.

Most New York licensed practical nurses provide basic care, taking vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiration. Licensed Practical Nurses also prepare and give injections and enemas, monitor catheters, apply dressings, treat bedsores, and give alcohol rubs and massages. Licensed Practical Nurses monitor their patients and report adverse reactions to medications or treatments. New York Licensed Practical Nurses collect samples for testing, perform routine laboratory tests, feed patients, and record food and fluid intake and output.

Licensed practical nurses (LPN), or licensed vocational nurses (LVN), care for the sick, injured, convalescent, and disabled under the direction of physicians and registered nurses. To help keep patients comfortable, Licensed Practical Nurses assist with bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene. In States where the law allows, they may administer prescribed medicines or start intravenous fluids. Some New York Licensed Practical Nurses help to deliver, care for, and feed infants. Experienced licensed practical nurses may supervise nursing assistants and aides.

In addition to providing routine bedside care, licensed practical nurses in nursing care facilities help to evaluate residents' needs, develop care plans, and supervise the care provided by nursing aides. In doctors' offices and clinics, they also may make appointments, keep records, and perform other clerical duties. Licensed practical nurses who work in private homes may prepare meals and teach family members simple nursing tasks.

New York LPN Working Conditions

Most licensed practical nurses in hospitals and nursing care facilities work a 40-hour week, but because patients need round-the-clock care, some work nights, weekends, and holidays. They often stand for long periods and help patients move in bed, stand, or walk.

Licensed practical nurses may face hazards from caustic chemicals, radiation, and infectious diseases such as hepatitis. They are subject to back injuries when moving patients and shock from electrical equipment. They often must deal with the stress of heavy workloads. In addition, the patients they care for may be confused, irrational, agitated, or uncooperative.

New York LPN Training and Advancement

All States and the District of Columbia require Licensed Practical Nurses to pass a licensing examination, known as the NCLEX-PN, after completing a State-approved practical nursing program. A high school diploma or its equivalent usually is required for entry, although some programs accept candidates without a diploma, and some are designed as part of a high school curriculum.

Most training programs are available from technical and vocational schools, or from community and junior colleges. Other programs are available through high schools, hospitals, and colleges and universities.

Most practical nursing programs last about 1 year and include both classroom study and supervised clinical practice (patient care). Classroom study covers basic nursing concepts and patient care-related subjects, including anatomy, physiology, medical-surgical nursing, pediatrics, obstetrics, psychiatric nursing, the administration of drugs, nutrition, and first aid. Clinical practice usually is in a hospital, but sometimes includes other settings.

In some employment settings, such as nursing homes, licensed practical nurses can advance to become charge nurses who oversee the work of other licensed practical nurses and of nursing aides. Some Licensed Practical Nurses also choose to become registered nurses through numerous LPN-to-RN training programs.

Licensed practical nurses should have a caring, sympathetic nature. They should be emotionally stable because working with the sick and injured can be stressful. They also should have keen observational, decision-making, and communication skills. As part of a health care team, they must be able to follow orders and work under close supervision.

New York LPN Employment

Licensed Practical Nurses held about 726,000 jobs in 2004. About 27 percent of Licensed Practical Nurses worked in hospitals, 25 percent in nursing care facilities, and another 12 percent in offices of physicians. Others worked for home health care services; employment services; community care facilities for the elderly; public and private educational services; outpatient care centers; and Federal, State, and local government agencies. About 1 in 5 licensed practical nurses worked part time.

New York LPN Job Outlook

Employment of licensed practical nurses is expected to grow about as fast as average for all occupations through 2014 in response to the long-term care needs of an increasing elderly population and the general growth of health care services. Replacement needs will be a major source of job openings, as many workers leave the occupation permanently. Applicants for jobs in hospitals may face competition as the number of hospital jobs for Licensed Practical Nurses declines; however, rapid employment growth is projected in other health care industries, with the best job opportunities occurring in nursing care facilities and in home health care services.

Employment of Licensed Practical Nurses in hospitals is expected to continue to decline. Sophisticated procedures once performed only in hospitals are being performed in physicians' offices and in outpatient care centers such as ambulatory surgical and emergency medical centers, largely because of advances in technology. Consequently, employment of Licensed Practical Nurses in most health care industries outside the traditional hospital setting is projected to grow faster than average.

Employment of Licensed Practical Nurses is expected to grow much faster than average in home health care services. Home health care agencies also will offer the most new jobs for Licensed Practical Nurses because of an increasing number of older persons with functional disabilities, consumer preference for care in the home, and technological advances that make it possible to bring increasingly complex treatments into the home.

Employment of New York Licensed Practical Nurses in nursing care facilities is expected to grow about as fast as average because of the growing number of aged and disabled persons in need of long-term care. In addition, New York Licensed Practical Nurses in nursing care facilities will be needed to care for the increasing number of patients who have been discharged from the hospital but who have not recovered enough to return home. However, changes in consumer preferences towards less restrictive and more cost-effective care from assisted living facilities and home health care agencies will limit employment growth.

Nursing Resources

For a list of accredited clinical nurse specialist programs, visit the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists. For information on nurse practitioners, including a list of accredited programs, visit the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

For information about accredited programs in other states visit one of the following websites: Nursing Programs in Ohio, Nursing Programs in Illinois, Nursing Schools in Delaware, and Massachusetts Nursing Schools.

Information about employment opportunities may be obtained from local hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies, psychiatric facilities, the New York State Board of Nursing, and local offices of the State employment service.