[SoCalMom0499]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about this program. A friend of mine heard about it, and said that you work as an LVN for Riverside County, CA and agree to stay at county for 5 years as an RN, that they will pay for ALL the schooling. Is this true and how long does it take, etc.?
Thanks!

[tothepointe]

I haven't heard about it but depending about how much they pay for schooling and IF they help you get into the bridge it might be worth the commute. I think the clincher would be getting into the bridge program quickly as community college programs in LA don't cost alot

[tothepointe]

Pay is not that great $13hr

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeek...0/20_Program,_

[I_Do_OB]

Originally Posted by SoCalMom0499

I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about this program. A friend of mine heard about it, and said that you work as an LVN for Riverside County, CA and agree to stay at county for 5 years as an RN, that they will pay for ALL the schooling. Is this true and how long does it take, etc.?
Thanks!

Hello SOCALMOM
I live in Torrance CA (LA county) and the hospital I work for offered this program quite a few years ago. They had a program worked out with one of the local community college. It was for their already hired LPN employees. How it worked was, You continue working in your department, but only worked 20 hrs every two weeks and then went to school for 20 hrs every two weeks. The hospital paid you your regular pay (as if you were working full time) The program took 1 year and then you were able to take the RN boards. I didn't take advantage of it at that time. Wish that I had. If they ever offer it again, I surely will take them up on it.
Roberta

[majahsatrey]

I was one of the first RN graduates of the 20/20 program that Riverside County started in 2006. To qualify for the position into the program you must have completed all of your prerequisites and Riverside Community College must accept you into the ADN program. If you are not accepted by RCC you will not get into the program although your chances of getting into the program are higher if you are going through the Riverside County route. When I started you had to be an LVN waiting to get accepted into the bridge program but they are now accepting those who are going straight into the 2 year ADN program, as long as you are willing to contract to work for the county for a period of 2 years after graduation. I do not know how much has changed but I can tell you my experience.

I am contracted to work 2 years after graduation as a registered nurse. During the program I worked as an LVN for 20 hours a week and went to school for the rest of the time. Basically, I was paid as an LVN full-time county wages with full benefits for working those 20 hours; your wage is dependent on your LVN years of experience. (It is not alot considering what you can make as an LVN in private facilities, but I only had to work a 12 hour shift and an 8 hour shift...2 days to get 40 hours of pay with full benefits, i made about 15 dollars an hour). RCC had just opened up their new Nursing extension classes on March Air Force base where our classes had taken place (easy commute, no traffic and parking issues like on campus). My class hours consisted of one full day of lecture material 8am-11am and 1pm-3pm and 2 clinical days (one half day and one full 8 hour day) So basically 3 days of school and 2 days of work. It was the best work and school schedule for me. My assistant nurse manager (i loved her for that) worked with our schedule (although not all will) that enabled me to make the best out of my days off (i never worked a weekend when i was in the program!) And because you are a full-time employee you accrued sick and vacation times and trust me there were days when i was "sick, cough cough" before an upcoming exam (hehe).

The program does not pay for your tuition, but attending RCC is soooo cheap compared with the other private schools out there that it really does not make a difference, especially with BOG waivers and financial aid. My expenses for school tuition, supplies, and materials were way less than 2000 dollars to get my RN degree, well worth it considering 90 percent of my fellow graduates of 100 students had jobs waiting for them on graduation day that made a salary of 50,000 plus a year. (those who did not have a job lined up simply had not applied). There were only 2 full semesters and one hybrid program in the winter that you were required to do in the program, about 9 months of school from LVN to RN. I got my interim permit 2 days after I graduated from the program and started working as an RN I-P at Riverside County right when I realized my interim permit was available. A month after I graduated I took the boards and passed and transitioned to a licensed RN.

I have only had good experiences from this program although others had bad experiences because of family and time issues. You did not get any slack for being a working LVN at RCC; you had to complete all their requirements to the RCC ADN program standards. If you failed a semester you could lose your position at the county.

Also, once you graduate you do have to work for the county for 2 years and the county, compared with other hospitals in the area, does not pay their RNs as much as their competitors. But you do learn and get good experience from working at the county because it is a teaching hospital. Hoped this helped with your question.

[caliotter3]

I was involved with a similar program. The employer was in close contact with the school. You were supposed to work half time and go to school half time. Unfortunately, the job required people to be on duty more than their contracted "half time". There were numerous other complaints which I heard about since I wasn't one of those who was involved in this setup. One should always be as aware as possible about any pitfalls that programs like this entail. Once you are committed to it, it can be very difficult to deal with. Those students who were held up at work were very disgruntled because they couldn't properly attend to their classwork.