looking to start nursing school in august

[ketcham0291]

Hi everyone, im excited to say that i will be signing up for and attending me local vo-tech's lpn program starting in august. There is alot of emotions when i think about this lol. I am very nervous and excited all in the same. Im currently married and have 2 kids both my wife and i work, i should also mention that i am 26 year old male, if that matters or not i have no idea but i figured i would put that out there. I have quite a few questions i would like to ask and would appreciate anyone input. first, as i stated before, i have a wife and 2 kids, house payments, car payments. the school i will be going to is full time, so how did most of you who are in similar situations make ends meet while surviving on 1 income? Also any pointers you can give to ready myself so that i dont look completely dumbfounded when i go to class for the first day? i geninuely love helping people, and i want to change peoples lives for the better, and am currently in a career that i do not enjoy nor do i see my self doing for the rest of my life so i would like to better my family and i's future and have a more stable income and future. afterall im still pretty young and have alot to look forward to. thanks anyone who will take the time to comment on this post and i appreciate your input! have a great day.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the General student forum

[sasera]

Hi Ketcham,

I see two main areas for concern in your question: money and kids.

First: Money. I would suggest putting aside some money starting now, not just for living expenses, but for those little things that always pop up. Even if you're on a scholarship or financial aid, your school will most likely make you pay out of pocket for fingerprinting, drug testing, vaccinations, and a physical. Those add up. Some people in my class were denied clinicals because they "didn't have enough money" for those things. They were esentially kicked out of the program (no clincials=no nurse). So set aside some money for that beginning NOW.

Even better, maybe try living off your wife's salary starting now and saving all of yours while you're still working. If you're going to be a one-income family, why not start when you have two incomes...that way, if things get tight, you'll have a bunch of money to fall back on. (Plus all the other generic money-saving adivce out there: stop going out to eat, make your coffee at home instead of Starbucks, cut your giant cable bill and get Netflix instead, maybe ditch one of the cars and carpool with your wife. I don't know your financial situation, but sometimes every dollar can help).

The other thing I want to point out is your kids. I don't have kids, but a bunch of people in my class constantly miss school due to their children's illnesses, Dr.'s appointments, school functions (seriously...) That time adds up, and if you don't do a certain number of hours, the BON and/or your school won't let you test. So, is your wife's job flexible enough that she can stay home when one of your children inevitably becomes sick? Or do you have someone to rely on who can?

You are in a pretty good place being that you have roughly 8 months to figure all this out before you start school. Plan now for the worst, and you may be pleasantly surprised at what happens. Good luck!

[sasera]

Also any pointers you can give to ready myself so that i dont look completely dumbfounded when i go to class for the first day?

I forgot to address this part of your question. I don't think you'll need to study in advance, because vocational LPN programs usually lump in everything. But showing up with a tiny bit of knowledge might be helpful. I would suggest spending time on this website. I browsed it for a few months before starting my program and I learned all kinds of useful things! Medical abbreviations, NCLEX-"style" question formatting, how to deal with a criminal background (which I don't have but find the stories fascinating). I've spent hours reading about LTC and home health, med surg and step-down units, and I really do find that a lot of this information has helped me in school, as mundane as it sounds. I was familiar with a foley catheter before we had to use one in lab and just knowing the parts and their names helped me a lot. The more basic (and I do mean BASIC) information you can learn now, the less you'll have to learn when the hard part of nursing school comes.

So my advice would be to do your research, ask questions, browse around the topics that interest you. You'll learn a lot, and for me at least, I found I wasn't as anxious on the first day of school. And remember that it's everyone's first day and you'll all be a bit nervous.