[mercurygirl]

Hi all! I'm not a nurse but found this site while looking on for info on the profession. I have wanted to work in the medical field since I was young but never did anything to pursue it. I have come to a point in my life that I feel is a crossroads & really feel the time is right for me to switch professions. I am a single mother (of a wonderful 19 month old) so being out of a job for a long time isn't a viable option for me. I am gathering info, but am thinking I'll want to end up with a BSN RN. I would have to first do Nursing Assistant since it's a requirement for admittance for the LPN school closest to me. Then obviously LPN, at that point I would (hopefully) get a job as a LPN while continuing my education for a 2 year RN. Then get (hopefully) a RN job while going for my BSN. I know it's the very long, very slow road, but as I said I can't be without a job for too long & it offers the chance to keep moving up at whatever rate I feel most comfortable doing. What suggestions would you all have to help me decide? Any books, questions I should be asking myself?

[Wren]

Mercurygirl,
Welcome to AllNurses! There are lots of jobs in the medical field that you could do...including a number that you could train for at a community college and you'd get a certificate for what ever program you chose. The downside to that is your training will limit you working just in the field you chose.

Nursing is a much better springboard to anything you want to do...even if it something you can't even imagine today. You seem to have a good plan and you know best about what your situation is. I think you can get a job as a certified nursing assistant and learn as you go. Most hospitals will train you to be a nursing assistant and then as you said, work on becoming an LPN. Many, many hospitals will help you become an RN (if you are working for them as an LPN) including tuition reimbursement. It is in their interest to "grow their own" nurses and they know that and most will support you. So I say to jump into the water and see if you like it! Realize of course that the work that a CNA does is very different from that of an RN or an LVN but it puts you in the same environment and will give you an opportunity to see what others in the health care field do.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[Daytonite]

Hi, mercurygirl!

I'm going to give you a bunch of links to information for you to read so you know what the job descriptions of a CNA (nursing assistant), LPN and RN are. I am also giving you the websites where you can get lots of information about nursing and how to become a nurse. On the Discover Nursing website you will find a link there that has a listing of the many different areas in nursing that you can work in with more links to get more information about them. Because being an RN generally means going to a college I usually advise people to go to the collegeboard website (it's listed below). Although it is the primarily known as the website to get information for the S.A.T. and C.L.E.P. exams it also has a great deal of information on what you need to do to choose a college and get into a college. I would also encourage you to do a websearch and go to the website for your state Department of Education. Some states have special programs and financial assistance in place for adults who want to go back to school to become trained in a career. You should also check the website of your state board of LPN/RN nursing to see if there are any scholarships available. Because of the current nursing shortage that is expected to remain, there are a number of organizations that are doing what they can to assist future nurses finance their nursing educations in many different ways. You can find your state board of nursing website link through allnurses by rolling your mouse over the "Links" button at the top right of this page if you are logged in. A drop down menu will appear. Click on "Boards of Nursing". A page of states will come up. Click on your state. A link to your state board of nursing will come up. I also suggest that you begin hanging out and reading what the Pre-nursing students have to say and what they are going through to prepare for admission to a nursing school on the Pre-nursing Forum on allnurses. You might also check out the CNA-Nursing Assistant Forum on allnurses as well to find out how to become a CNA and what being a CNA entails.

Good luck! Welcome to allnurses!

http://allnurses.com/forums/f265/ - the CNA – Nursing Assistant Discussions forum on allnurses
http://allnurses.com/forums/f198/ - the Pre-nursing student forum on allnurses

http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos165.htm - information on nursing assistants (CNA) from the U.S. Department of Labor

http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos102.htm - about LPN nursing from the U.S. Department of Labor

http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm - about Registered Nursing from the U.S. Department of Labor

http://www.discovernursing.com/

http://www.awhonn.org/ncc/student.htm - a very nice information page from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses on being a nurse, salary you can expect to make, types of nursing degrees, nursing specialties with weblinks to some of the major professional nursing organizations, the Nurse Reinvestment Act, and some information and how to search for scholarships and financial aid.

http://www.nursingsociety.org/career/cmap.html

http://allnurses.com/forums/f198/how-get-your-state-information-become-cna-146727.html#post1550317

http://www.medicaltrainingdirectory.com/medical_school_guide/guideid/173.htm - How to Become a LPN along with a list of some online programs you can contact about LPN training.

http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/Education/ - a listing of nursing schools by state with links to their web sites. The list is not comprehensive. You can get an official list of official state board approved nursing schools from your state board of nursing.

http://www.nursingexamprepinfo.com/ - information on the various pre-nursing exams that some nursing schools require you to take as part of their decision to admit you to their nursing school

http://www.collegeboard.com/?student - the official site of the College Board which administrates the SAT and CLEP tests. The Plan for College, Find a College and Apply to College boxes are links to lots information on these subjects for you to explore.

[mercurygirl]

Thanks for all the info! There aren't many CNA jobs near me so I don't think I'll end up working as a CNA, but I have to become one to get in to the LPN program here. I'm off to do more research on getting $$ for school!

[Daytonite]

Oh! CNAs are usually coming and going all the time in LTC! Unless you are in a very unusual area the CNAs are often a very unstable bunch in most nursing homes with a very high turnover rate! The fastest way to find a CNA training program where you live is to get a listing of the approved CNA training programs from the agency that approves and maintains the certification registry in the state where you live. I am listing a link to the thread in the CNA-Nursing Assistant Discussions Forum where you can find such a link. If you have trouble finding information on your state site, PM (private message) me and I will help you find it. (A few of the state sites are hard to navigate and not user friendly at all.) I am also including a link to another thread on that forum that has a link to a free CNA video course where you can view some of the things you would learn in a CNA program—just to whet your appetite! Ain't I a little devil? If you can find the funding for school consider going directly in an LPN or RN program if you can swing it.

http://allnurses.com/forums/f265/complete-list-cna-registries-171787.html - "Complete List of CNA Registries" thread on the CNA-Nursing Assistant Discussions Forum

http://allnurses.com/forums/f265/free-full-cna-video-course-191189.html - "FREE Full CNA Video Course" thread on the CNA-Nursing Assistant Discussions Forum. The link is on the first post.

[mercurygirl]

I can't got directly in to an LPN program as the CNA is a pre-req for LPN.