logo

Stew Lilker’s

Columbia County Observer

Real news for working families.  An online news service

County/Florida News

Florida Gateway College in Top 17% of LPN Programs in Florida: No. 15 in Ranked Programs

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Florida Gateway College has been recognized by the Annual PracticalNursing.org State LPN Program Rankings as the No. 15 ranked LPN program in Florida. Practical Nursing is the leading LPN/LVN advancement and ranking agency and has been publishing the PracticalNursing.org Rankings List for the past 4 years.

According to Practical Nursing, "There’s never been a better time to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN)."


BLS Stats: click

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports favorable employment trends for the field through the year 2026, predicting a 12% increase. In addition to this, Florida LPNs earn an average hourly wage of $20.65, or $42,960 per year.

LPN's earn more than a living wage throughout Florida and according to MIT's Living Wage Calculation Columbia County is well above the average.

Students interested in becoming LPNs must first enter an accredited LPN program, which can take anywhere from 1 to 2 years to complete. In order to receive licensure, students must pass the NCLEX-PN exam upon graduating.

Attending a nursing program approved by the Florida Board of Nursing is the first step to becoming an LPN in the state. Beyond that, the NCLEX-PN exam will need to be passed. Only graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX exam.

FGC President Larry Barrett said about Practical Nursing's ranking, "FGC and its Board are very pleased about the recent ranking. Rural education is a challenge throughout America and the recent rankings demonstrate that the College and its Board are working hard to even the playing field for our rural students."

Read about becoming an LPN in Florida here: Becoming an LPN in Florida

More about FGC and its tuition rates are here: Tuition Rates

Graphic: Columbia County Observer; may be used with attribution

Comments  (to add a comment go here) 

This work by the Columbia County Observer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

 
Meeting Calendar
No need to be confused - Find links to agendas and where your participation is welcome.
 
 

Make a comment • click here •
All comments are displayed at the end of the article and are moderated.