Becoming an LVN in Houston

Last Updated/Verified: Mar 22, 2024

Of all the nurses currently working in Houston, Texas, 21% are comprised of LVNs—a little over 1/5^th of the city’s nursing population.

In Houston, there are a total of four post-secondary educational institutions which offer LVN programs to prospective nursing students. All programs are offered on-site and on-campus. Curriculum for LVN programs will generally include a combination of in-class (didactic) coursework, lab sessions/simulations and on-site clinical practice. Programs seek to produce highly trained LVNs who are immediately ready to enter the workforce upon graduation.

Courses to be completed during LVN programs include, but are not limited to, the following:

Nursing Care Concepts
Pharmacology
Mental Health
Human Anatomy & Physiology
Psychosocial Concepts in Practical Nursing
Maternity, Pediatrics, Leadership and Supervision
Surgical Nursing I & II

Of the four LVN programs in Houston, all of them are fully approved by the Texas State Board of Nursing.

Schools That Offer LVN Programs in Houston, Texas

Bell Tech Career Institute

Website: http://belltechcareerinstitute.com/admission/vocational-nursing/
Address: 12000 Richmond Ave s130, Houston, TX 77082
Phone: 713-636-2659

Bell Tech Career Institute, under the name Bell Tech Training School, was established in 2002. The LVN program seeks to offer the best education available to all members of society—wealthy and disadvantaged. The program is designed more specifically to prepare people for the ever-increasing demands on the workforce involved in healthcare. BTCI seeks to provide the highest quality and most effective LVN program available.

The LVN program is completed in 12 months with classes being conducted Monday to Friday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Common tasks that LVNs must master include some of the following:

Checking vital signs like pulse rate, blood pressure, temperature and respiration
Assisting patients with eating, accompanying patients on walks, helping them take baths and taking care of other grooming activities

Admission Requirements:

Non-refundable application fee
Applicants need to be 18 years of age or older
Applicants must possess a valid Texas Driver’s License or ID
Applicants must present their original Social Security card
Applicants need to have obtained a high school diploma or GED equivalent; for foreign students, high school diplomas must be certified by the United States and meet its standards
Applicants are required to take the HESI Admission Assessment Exam and receive a minimum score 70%
Complete a personal essay
Three letters of recommendation

Houston Community College

Website: http://www.hccs.edu/programs/areas-of-study/health-sciences/licensed-vocational-nursing-lvn/
Address: 3100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77004, Houston, Texas
Phone: 713-718-2000

Founded in 1927, Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a network of community colleges operating in various cities in Texas including Houston, Stafford, Missouri City and Greater Katy. In 2015, HCC had over 5,700 international students enrolled in its many programs of study.

Houston Community College offers students an LVN program that takes 44 weeks to complete. A total of 39 unit hours must be completed in order to finish the program. The vocational nursing curriculum encompasses a mixture of in-class lectures, laboratories, nursing skills training, and on site clinical experience practice in a variety of health care settings.

Students are instructed in course such as:

Nutrition
Anatomy and Physiology
Vocational Nursing Concepts
Essentials of Medication Administration
Leadership and Professional Development
Mental Illness
Clinical Vocational Nurse Training
Maternal-Neonatal Nursing
Nursing in Health and Illness
Basic Nursing Skills

To learn more about what it takes to be admitted into HCC’s LVN program, you can speak to one of the school’s Admissions Representatives. They can be reached at 713-718-2000.

Lone Star College – North Harris

Website: http://www.lonestar.edu/vocational-nursing-certificates.htm
Address: 2700 W.W. Thorne Drive, Houston, TX 77073
Phone: 281-618-5400

Established by voters of the community in 1972, Lone Star College-North Harris is a public community college. The college serves over 11,000 students, offering them a number of programs ranging from paralegal studies, medical assisting, information technology and others.

The school’s LVN program is a three semester, one-year program which prepares students to become licensed vocational nurses.

Some of the courses taught in the program include:

Gerontology nursing
Maternal nursing
Neonatal nursing
Mental Health

Admission Requirements:

High School Diploma or GED documentation
Take HESI Test
Pass a criminal background test
Must be up-to-date on vaccines and immunizations
Present official copies of transcripts from all colleges or universities previously attended
Complete college-level reading, writing, and math prerequisites or Texas Success Initiative (TSI) requirements.
Submit a completed electronic application form
Submit a Signed Score Sheet
Completed FERPA form
Copy of Credit Advising Transcript

San Jacinto College – South

Website: http://www.sanjac.edu/lvn
Address: 13735 Beamer Rd, Houston, TX 77089
Phone: 281-998-6150

San Jacinto College – South was originally founded in 1961 as a community college in the Greater Houston area in Texas.

The LVN program takes a full year of training to complete and is comprised of 52 unit hours. In total, the program includes 576 classroom hours and 880 laboratory/clinical hours. In order to be awarded the LVN certificate at the end of program, students are required to have completed each course in the program with a grade of C or better.

Admission Requirements:

Have obtained a high school diploma or have passed the GED examination
Have a GPA minimum of 2.25 on college-level coursework
Pass a physical examination
Provide proof of a valid CPR certification
Pass the program placement test with adequate scores; in some special cases students who don’t score high enough may need to successfully complete college preparatory courses
Take and pass the HESI A2 Exam
Have a background clear of criminal history
Provide proof of health insurance
Every student applying to the nursing program is required to submit a copy of the front/back of insurance card
All required immunizations must be current and completed prior to the final application deadline and must not expire during the program

Employment Opportunities for LVNs in Houston, Texas

LVNs in Houston Texas should be able to find gainful employment in many different healthcare sectors across the city, including physicians’ offices, nursing homes, hospitals (large and small), clinics, outpatient care centers, nursing homes, addiction rehabilitation centers and senior living facilities.

The largest and most significant healthcare institutions in the city of Houston, Texas which employ LVNs include some of the following facilities: