Questions from a new nursing student...

by giraffeboy
  855 Views   7 Comments

  1. Sorry to ask you this question - those already out of nursing school must get sick of people asking this!

    I'm 25, and I've just gone back to school to get my BSN. I am currently taking prerequisite science courses, and have not yet gotten to the nursing courses. I'm wondering if it would be smarter to become an LPN - and therefore get my life on more solid ground (financially) sooner and get some experience - but I'm worried that this would be more challenging than what I am doing now: working part-time at a low-stress job for slightly more than minimum wage and going to school full-time.

    Is being an LPN truly a good sneak-preview of what it's like to be a nurse?

    Do the classes you take for an LPN degree apply towards a BSN degree?

    Did anyone here work as an LPN and go to school for the BSN at the same time?
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  2. 7 Comments

    Topic Closed
  3. by rollingstone
    Mar 21, '04
    If you want your BSN focus on that. For a "sneak peek" of nursing get a job as a nurses aide or tech in a hospital and keep those eyes and ears open.
  4. by Ahhphoey
    Mar 21, '04
    I think you should go for the BSN if that is what you want in the long range. Although I did work as an LPN while going to school for my RN, I only did this because LPN school was free and I did it as a part of high school. Therefore, when I graduated high school, I also graduated nursing school and took the boards and passed; I was a 17 year old LPN. But anyway, school is hard and stressful. Why not go for what you really want and get it over with? I agree with the previous poster, get a job as a nurses aide if you want a sneak peak into nursing. Good luck.
  5. by kc ccurn
    Mar 21, '04
    Continue on with the BSN!
  6. by giraffeboy
    Mar 22, '04
    Thanks for the responses, folks!
  7. by frann
    Mar 22, '04
    plus where we are costco pays around 10/hr. local hosp. pays new lpn grads. around 13/hr. Costco has employee discounts, bathroom breaks,no nights, no butt to wipe.
  8. by Tweety
    Mar 22, '04
    It's a very good sneak preview of what nursing is like. Do what you have to do, but if you have the opportunity to get your BSN, as the others have said I would continue on with that.

    What happens to a lot of people is that they get the LPN, or in my case the associates degree RN, and get in the work force, get busy making money and never go back to school for the BSN. Then you'll miss out on the earning potential and the job opportunities that a BSN provides.

    Good luck in whatever you do. The advice to eventually becoming a CNA and a tech once you get a few of the basic nursing courses under your belt is a good idea.
  9. by etmx5313
    Mar 22, '04
    I completely agree. I obtained my LPN with the idea that "I would go back for my RN"..................11 years later I finally made it. It would have been SO much easier to just finish it 11 years ago!!! I do think being a CNA is a good idea--to learn the basics and I think it gives you a good perception of what it is like for them, once you become a nurse!

    Quote from 3rdShiftGuy
    It's a very good sneak preview of what nursing is like. Do what you have to do, but if you have the opportunity to get your BSN, as the others have said I would continue on with that.

    What happens to a lot of people is that they get the LPN, or in my case the associates degree RN, and get in the work force, get busy making money and never go back to school for the BSN. Then you'll miss out on the earning potential and the job opportunities that a BSN provides.

    Good luck in whatever you do. The advice to eventually becoming a CNA and a tech once you get a few of the basic nursing courses under your belt is a good idea.

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