LPN or RN?

Hello Again!

I posted a thread before regarding if I should go to school to be a medical assistant before I went to RN school and decided that becoming an LPN would be a better option for me. I have several schools available to me in the area that I can complete in one year and they are thousands of dollars cheaper than RN school. I think this would be beneficial to me because it would put me in a nurse like environment and the bigger thing is if I don't like it I didn't just waste 2 years of hell and am 20 grand in debt. So here are several questions for you guys.

1. The main one being what should I look for in a school? I have a lot of LPN programs available to me, but some of them ask that you take pointless classes like anthropology and history. Should I look for school focused more on academics or clinical?

2. My friend said that if I'm going to be an LPN I should just be an RN because there's not that much difference and you get paid a lot more. Is this true? What is the average salary an LPN makes? I have read on Google it's anywhere from $14 - $29 per hour!

3. FINALLY are the schedules as crazy as an RN's? Are you guys working 16 hour shifts on no sleep and running on empty. I heard both yes and no.

Thanks for all your help and career advice. I'm going on my 2nd one so I have to make sure it's done right!

Hello Again!

I posted a thread before regarding if I should go to school to be a medical assistant before I went to RN school and decided that becoming an LPN would be a better option for me. I have several schools available to me in the area that I can complete in one year and they are thousands of dollars cheaper than RN school. I think this would be beneficial to me because it would put me in a nurse like environment and the bigger thing is if I don't like it I didn't just waste 2 years of hell and am 20 grand in debt. So here are several questions for you guys.

1. The main one being what should I look for in a school? I have a lot of LPN programs available to me, but some of them ask that you take pointless classes like anthropology and history. Should I look for school focused more on academics or clinical?

2. My friend said that if I'm going to be an LPN I should just be an RN because there's not that much difference and you get paid a lot more. Is this true? What is the average salary an LPN makes? I have read on Google it's anywhere from $14 - $29 per hour!

3. FINALLY are the schedules as crazy as an RN's? Are you guys working 16 hour shifts on no sleep and running on empty. I heard both yes and no.

Thanks for all your help and career advice. I'm going on my 2nd one so I have to make sure it's done right!

sorry about that bad word I ment to put pass not ass i am so embrassed!!! I hope that I did not offend you- I need to make sure to go over what i have written more carefully!!!

Stuff happens. Do you know about the "edit" function. I use it often.

I am an LVN at a skilled nursing facility in Texas. I earn $19 hourly, and the RNs who work alongside me earn $23 hourly. At my workplace, there's no huge pay difference between LVNs and RNs.

I have Monday through Friday off, then I work two 16-hour double shifts on Saturday and Sunday. Under the Baylor plan, my place of employment pays me for a 40 hour work week, so this is not too bad of a deal for me.

However, I would advise you to eventually pursue your RN licensure, because RNs tend to have more career mobility than LVNs/LPNs as a rule of thumb. While many LPNs have had a variety of experiences in different specialties, RNs generally have the pick of the crop.

I have a some questions, first how do get shifts like that, does it depend on where you work? Can you ask for shifts like that? I know that I have awhile before I even start Nursing school every but i was just wondering about that. I have two boys 5 and 3 yrs. old and the shifts that you have would be perfect once i graduate and pass my boards, I would be able to take them both two and from school and only need a babysitter on saturday's because my husband has every sunday off. Sorry about my rambling, the shift you work sounds like a perfect shift if I can get once I become an LVN.