Unitek College LVN Program

The LVN program at Bakersfield Adult School(BAS) takes 22 months to complete. There are 4 prerequisites which must be completed prior to applying:

• Medical Math
• Anatomy & Physiology
• Psychology
• Medical Terminology

Applicants must have either a high school diploma or GED. BAS's LVN program boasts a 100% NCLEX pass rate. The total cost of the program is $6,500, which includes all materials, books, uniform, and laptop.

The LVN program is currently impacted, which means there are many more applicants than there are available seats. Students who are not accepted are placed on a waiting list.

• 22 week CNA certification program
• 1 semester part-time medical billing & coding program
• 20 week medical assisting program
• business certification program
• computer certification program

The LVN program at Bakersfield College(BC) is the oldest program in Kern County. It's also the most popular. Bakersfield is loaded with RN's who began their nursing education at BC. Many LVN's stay at BC after graduation in order to take their LVN to RN program.

The downside of BC's popular LVN program is that it can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years to get accepted. This is because the program is so impacted(there are many more qualified applicants than there are available seats). 

Students who receive high grades in their prerequisite courses are usually accepted at a faster rate. 

There are 4 prerequisite courses that need to be completed before applying:

• College Algebra
• Human Anatomy & Physiology I
• Human Anatomy & Physiology II
• General Psychology
• CNA Certification

All applicants must show proof of a high school diploma or GED.

High Desert Medical College(HDMC) offers 2 vocational nursing programs at their Bakersfield campus: an LVN certification program which takes 56 weeks to complete, and a 101 week Associate of Applied Science LVN degree program. Graduates of both programs are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-PN exam.

Both programs are offered in a "hybrid" format. The general education courses can be completed online. The clinical rotations must be done in person. All "online" LVN programs in California must have in-person clinical rotations.

HDMC has many other healthcare certification programs, including: Ultrasound Technology, Medical Billing & Coding, Pharmacy Technician certification, Dental Assisting, and more.

The San Joaquin Valley College(SJVC) LVN program is 2 years long. Graduates of the program are awarded an Associate degree.

After program completion, graduates are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-PN nursing board.

• 15 month surgical technologist program
• 17 month medical sonography program
• 9 month medical assisting program

Cerro Coso Community College(CCCC)'s LVN program takes 3 semesters to complete. Graduates are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-PN. 

There are more qualified applicants than there are seats available. CCCC does not have a waiting list. That means that anyone who is not accepted must reapply the following year.

There are 4 prerequisite courses that must be completed prior to enrolling:

• Electronic Health Record (Required beginning Fall 2023)
• Anatomy and Physiology
• General Psychology
• Medical Terminology for Health

The Kern River Valley campus in Lake Isabella is a part of Cerro Coso Community College. Their LVN program is approved by the California Board of Vocational Nursing. It is a 3 semester program, with a total of 1660 hours of combined lecture and clinical rotations.

There are 6 prerequisite courses which need to be completed prior to applying:

• CNA certification
• Medical Terminology
• Human Anatomy
• Human Physiology
• General Psychology
• Computer Literacy