California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians

2535 Capitol Oaks Drive Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
Phone: (916) 263-7800
Email: bvnpt@dca.ca.gov
Website: www.bvnpt.ca.gov/

California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians

The Hartnell College Vocational Nursing Program is accredited by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians. The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians awarded Hartnell College "Continued Approval" status in February 2021.The mission of the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (Board) is to protect the public. Public protection is paramount to the Board and its highest priority in exercising its licensing, regulatory and disciplinary functions. Toward this end, the Board ensures that only qualified persons are licensed vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians by enforcing education requirements, standards of practice and by educating consumers of their rights. The nursing curriculum is dynamic and ever-changing. 

Board Members

The Board is composed of eleven members with a public member majority. There are six public members and five professional members. Nine members are appointed by the Governor, one by the Speaker of the Assembly, and one by the Senate Pro Tempore.

BVNPT Public Protection

The California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (Board) protects the consumer from unprofessional and unsafe licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) and psychiatric technicians (PTs). Public protection is the highest priority of the Board in exercising its licensing, regulatory and disciplinary functions.

To protect the public, the Board

• Establishes the minimum requirements for examination and licensure.
• Establishes educational standards for the accreditation of Vocational Nursing (VN) and Psychiatric Technicians (PT) schools in California.
• Adopts regulations to clarify the performance, practice and disciplinary standards for its licensees.
• Enforces the regulations governing the continued accreditation of VN & PT schools in California.
• Enforces the regulations governing LVNs and PTs by taking appropriate disciplinary action against incompetent or unsafe licensees efficiently and effectively.

The Board is responsible for examination and licensure of over 9,500 VN applicants and 1,000 PT applicants annually. The Board contracts with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. for the year-round computer-adaptive vocational nurse licensure examination (NCLEX) administered at over 200 test centers nationwide. After an application has been approved, the applicant is sent an NCLEX Registration Bulletin with instructions on registering for the examination. Once the applicant has registered for the NCLEX, an Authorization to Test will be mailed from the NCLEX Data Center in Minnesota. The applicant is then responsible for calling to schedule an appointment to test.
A licensed vocational nurse is an entry-level health care provider who is responsible for rendering basic nursing care. A vocational nurse practices under the direction of a physician or registered nurse. The licensee is not an independent practitioner.

Curricular Requirements

Licensed vocational nursing programs must consist of 1,530 total instructional hours:
Theory - *576 Hours which includes 54 hours of pharmacology for nurses
Clinical - 954 Hours
Programs are located in community colleges (47.0%); adult education/high schools (24.0%); private schools (20.0%); regional occupational centers (8.0%); and hospitals (1.0%).

LVN Employment

There are more than 200,000 licensed vocational nurses in California providing health care services in a variety of settings. Regardless of setting, the vocational nurse's practice is governed by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.