This LPN student is practicing in NECC’s clinical lab on the Lawrence campus.

Northern Essex Community College’s Licensed Practical Nursing Program has been ranked one of the top LPN programs in Massachusetts by PracticalNursing.org, a national nursing advocacy organization.

The rankings were based on graduate passing rates on the NCLEX-PN (National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses) exam, which is used by state boards of nursing nationwide for testing proficiency and granting licensure.  Sixteen programs in Massachusetts were ranked, and Northern Essex received an overall score of 97.62 out of 100, ranking second and missing first place to Mass Bay Community College by just .22 points.

“This is such great news again for our students and the community which counts on Northern Essex for its LPN’s,” said Lisa Bass, coordinator of Northern Essex’s Practical Nursing Program.

LPN’s are in high demand in Massachusetts, due in part to the nationwide nursing shortage.  According to the PracticalNursing.org website, LPN’s earn an average hourly wage of $28.36 or an annual salary of approximately $58,990.

Northern Essex’s LPN Program is a 47-credit certificate program.  Graduates of the program will be eligible to take the NCLEX-PN and can also apply credits earned to NECC’s associate degree in nursing, which offers an advanced placement option for licensed practical nurses.  The program includes classroom study, lab practice, and a clinical experience.  LPN’s work for long-term care facilities, outpatient clinics, home health care, rehabilitation centers, and more.

Bass attributes the college’s top ranking to high passing scores—the class of 2019 had a 100 percent passing rate on the national licensure exam—and the program’s well-equipped labs located in the El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center in Lawrence.

“I’m proud of our faculty and our students,” says Bass.  “They work very hard to succeed.”

To learn more, contact Lisa Bass, NECC’s Practical Nursing Program coordinator, at lbass@necc.mass.edu.

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers approximately 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Each year, 6,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,000 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.