[KrysyRN]

Originally Posted by RbLegend

Go straight for your RN. I have been an LPN for over 25 yrs. Been doing the RN work and paid half all these years!

I so agree with this.

I have been an LPN for 18 years and just completed an LPN to RN bridge program.
I wanted to kick myself for not going the extra 2 semesters to get the RN. Working side by side with RNs over the years and doing the identical work at times, and getting half the rate of pay, was disheartening at times.

[debanam]

Honestly, I would do the same thing again. I went to a really good LPN program, much better than the RN program I am currently in. I work as a nurse in an ER and can relate my practice to my schooling. I also make a decent income. I will definately be a better RN for having been an LPN. As a single mom, it just worked out better. If I could go back in time to before kids, I would go right for the RN. But this is good for me now.

[ER JUNKIE]

Hi, I have been a LPN for 11 years. I have been wanting to go back for my RN for quite some time now but waiting for my youngest to be in full day school. I have no regrets going to LPN school, however...if you want to be an RN, make it your stepping stone. Keep going, w/o a break and achieve your goal of RN asap. It's easy to start working as a LPN, becoming complacent, and then you don't feel like going back to school. I wish that I would have waited another couple yrs to have my kids and kept going to school. Now, it will be much harder to concentrate on RN school w/ all of my mom responsibilities. Good luck in whatever you do!

[Audrey28]

Originally Posted by Tracylvn

If I had no kids. Did not have to worry about money. And no resposibilities I may have done it a different way and gone right for RN.
But back to reality single mom of 3, need to work, have ton of resposibilities........Nope would not do it different.

I'm a single mom- I'm hoping I can make it through all this- I still have a long ways to go- I just have one daughter- but I'm hoping to be an RN... I guess time will tell... I know i will need to work extremely hard- and I still work F/T- I have to only me to support us- I guess we will have to see....

But I do know other women who have done it and I know I could too...
~audrey

[stilltrying]

I agree with Tracylvn if you don't have any resp. just keep going until you finish your RN, but if you have a family then you have to do like the rest of us and work and make some money to help provide for the family.

[belle3672]

I chose to go the LPN then bridge for my RN. First I really wanted to make sure nursing was for me, the LPN program was 1 year and then allowed me to realize nursing is for me. Second I have completed the PN program, passed those boards, worked for 2 years as an LPN, Bridge for my RN, finished and took my RN NCLEX today. All this in less time then if I had waited for my generic RN program start date, I live in Florida and the wait was 2-3 years! I do not regret doing it this way at all! I gave me a great foundation and 2 years to really discover that I do loving nursing! Good Luck!

[kcochrane]

No, I don't regret getting my LPN first. Back when I decided to go to nursing school, I wanted to get my RN first, but didn't have the time to be out of the job market. I'm glad I was forced to get my LPN first.

If you have your prereqs done and a "C" average, you are pretty much given a slot to get into the RN program at my local CC. The wait for those without their LPN can be up to a year. Like another poster mentioned, check you RN programs to see if you are going to have a long wait to get in. Having my LPN really helped with A&P.

I am not as scared of RN school as I was LPN school. I feel more confident about taking care of patents and have so much knowledge that I will take with me. I was able to learn to be a nurse as a LPN and not have to worry about being "in charge". And the amount of clinical you get as a LPN is wonderful.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[nursval]

I think a common reason why future nurses go for LPN snd then RN is because of the wait to get straight into an RN program. I have only attended 2 different school in two different states, but both were extremely competitive. The RN program I did pre-reqs for in TN had 300 people trying to get into a program that accepted 60 and graduated 30, once a year. I just gained acceptance into a bridge program, and about 90% of the students in my class are fresh from or have not yet graduated from thre LPN program. If I knew I could get straight into an RN program, I probably would have gone that route simply because it would have been less hassle. But, on the other hand, I did lots of experience that I would not have gotten otherwise.

[amjowens]

It depends on your situation. For me, I'm not married and don't have kids, and am pretty driven toward my eventual goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. Also, I want to have an income that supports my lifestyle. So, I'm doing the step-by-step plan, earning my LPN this Dec., starting a regular RN program (NOT bridge) in Jan., and will directly continue on for my BSN, then my MSN. I'll be gaining nursing experience, so I can move right into my MSN, plus earning a nurse's salary all along, hoping to improve my level with each degree. A dream career plan for me that I'm happy about working toward!

If your plan is to get to your nursing degree asap, then work fully without going on to school at the same time, I'd definitely go straight for the RN. I've met some pretty bitter LPNs. They appear stuck for whatever reasons, and I feel sorry for them since I see their point re the way they're sometimes treated.

[ncnurse99]

YES YES YES a thousand times yes!!! I would NEVER have went for LPN first. I am an LPN and have been for 9 yrs and have said from the day I graduated I was going straight back for my RN...well life happens! 9 years later I am finally starting my RN classes! I could kick myself for not doing it to start with!