Could you please explain to me the differences between these nursing vocational programs?

You have two essential cles of licensed beside/floor nurses: the LVN/LPN and the RN. The LPN is the lowest run on the ladder, has the least amount of training & has limitations on where they can work & what they can do. This is usually achieved through a vocational school and is about 1 year to 1.5 years in training. Then the RNs are either ociate degree'd RNs (ADN) 2+ years from a community college or bachelors (BSRN) nurses-4 years from a university. A diploma school was the old way to get a nurses' education (and there are very few of them left) essentially they were run by hospitals and they were an in-house hands on training program (3 years) after which you got a "diploma". I remember them and their hospital dorms, LOL. The LPN to oiates is for someone who already is a LPN and wants to further their education into getting a RN license & an ociates degree.