Questions for LPN's

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2007

1) were you a cna before you started lpn school, or did you have any backround working in healthcare beforehand?
if yes, do you feel it benefited you during school?
if no, do you wish you had the experience before entering school?
2) did you work during lpn school? how many hours a week did you work and what was your occupation?
3) how many lpn schools did you apply to, and did you get in on your first try?

i'm a student lpn but i can answer the questions, if you don't mind a students answers :lol2:

1. yes, i was a cna for many many many moons. and i do have other health care background. i am an emt. i was a pharmacy tech, and a cna. also, presently i am a health claims analyst.

i feel it greatly benefited me. i had the "hands on" experience that many of the students didn't. i went in knowing how to take acurate vital signs, i knew how to do adl's on patients etc. then on the other hand i think my experiences hindered me in a way. i found it difficult to think outside the cna scope. all in all, for me, my experiences in healthcare helped me.

2. yes i work while attending lpn school. i work 30 hrs a week. but i do my work from my home. i am lucky enough to work for a company that set me up to work from home around 5+ yrs ago when my youngest was born. so i set my own hours/days. i don't think i'd want to work outside the home. i don't think i'd be able to work 30 hrs and go to school full time. i am a health claims analyst.

3. i applied to one school and was accepted as soon as i took my pre-entrance exam (i go to a private tech school.) at the time that i took my pre-entrance exam there were only 3 seats left. i took one of those 3. my timing was perfect, had i waited another day or two i would have been put in the next class that started 6 months later. phewwww

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Sep 3, 2007

1) Were you a CNA before you started LPN school, or did you have any backround working in healthcare beforehand?

yes

If yes, do you feel it benefited you during school?

yes

2) Did you work during LPN school? How many hours a week did you work and what was your occupation?

Yes. Anywhere from 45-60 some hours a week.

3) How many LPN schools did you apply to, and did you get in on your first try?

One and i got in on the first try.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2007

I was a direct care staff aide at a group home for developmentally disabled adults. I gave showers, changed diapers, toileted residents, dressed them in the morning, gave out snacks, prepared lunches, cooked breakfast, charted on flowsheets, and reported changes in condition to the on-call RN. In other words, many of my duties overlapped with those being done by CNAs.

This experience somewhat benefited me during school. I had also completed a medical assisting program, which did not benefit me.

I did not work during school. I quit my factory job of three years, and lived off the $1,600 unemployment checks and my savings account. By the end of school, my savings was nearly depleted.

I only applied to 1 school. It was a private program, and I got in on the first attempt. Private schools are more lenient on admission requirements than publicly operated community colleges.

sharona97, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2007

I was a CMA(certified Med Assistant) when I entered the only college I applied to in 1982. I got the med/science bug during my CMA experience. The med terminology and A @P helped along with clinicals, meds,math,injections. I worked 3-11 shift in a ped hospital as a nursing assistant. Gave me time to study in am and also I was lucky to be working with many RN students. I did alot of help with procedures and viewed lots of stuff, so when it came time to do LPN clinicals, I guess I was used to it or not afraid to try something. Hope this helps. Oh Yeah, was a single mom too!

jmking · Sep 3, 2007

1) no, was never a cna

2) Maybe, I graduated from a class of 35 and only 16 of us graduated. Only three of us were cna's The rest of us were looking for a second career. I say maybe because it does not always imply that you will be a great RN. In my class the 19 that did not graduate, ninety percent of them were cna's.

3) I worked during LPN school but only 16 hours a week. Way too intense.

jmking · Sep 3, 2007

Sorry I did answer the last question, I applied to several school over two and half years. I finally got into a technical college on the second attempt.

Jennifer LPN;)

brenan, ASN, LPN, RN · Sep 3, 2007

i have a few questions for all you lpn's out there, hope you don't mind answering them.
1) were you a cna before you started lpn school, or did you have any backround working in healthcare beforehand?
if yes, do you feel it benefited you during school?
if no, do you wish you had the experience before entering school?
2) did you work during lpn school? how many hours a week did you work and what was your occupation?
3) how many lpn schools did you apply to, and did you get in on your first try?
thank you in advance!! :thankya:

i was not a cna before going to lvn school. once in school the first semester you learn all the cna work and the clinicls were mostly cna stuff. i'm glad i did not work as a cna before school, the faster you get in and done with school the faster you can start making more money. i worked through lvn school as a waitress i worked around 30 hours a week. i worked on the weekends and the days i only had a half day of school. i applied to 2 schools and i got in them both, i went with the one that had the better hours for me. good luck in school. hope this helped!

pagandeva2000, LPN · Sep 4, 2007

i have a few questions for all you lpn's out there, hope you don't mind answering them.
1) were you a cna before you started lpn school, or did you have any backround working in healthcare beforehand?
i was a cna, medical assistant, phlebotomist and patient care associate
if yes, do you feel it benefited you during school?
somewhat. it helped me to deal with patients. i was not afraid to do intimate things like bathing and i knew from experience how to calm or soothe an anxious client. it did not prepare me for the courseload of school to become an lpn, but it did help me with people skills. and, i did recall some of the rationales of why nurses would get upset with me if i didn't do certain things such as timely and accurate vital signs, following the cna care sheets, i&o sheets and such.
if no, do you wish you had the experience before entering school?
2) did you work during lpn school? how many hours a week did you work and what was your occupation?
i did not work during school. i was lucky, my job gave me leave with complete pay, paid tuition and books to become a nurse. i don't think i would have been as successful without that.
3) how many lpn schools did you apply to, and did you get in on your first try?
i only applied to one, the school that was working with my job's program to allow us to become lpns. i did have a high gpa in order to get in, but, that was because i wasn't distracted with working. even a person that works can make it; no doubt. but, i was so dedicated to studying and had to read subjects over and over again to get the point, so, my time would have been limited if i had worked during that time.
thank you in advance!! :thankya:

you are quite welcome!

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2007

no, no, no, one cc and got in first try.

kstec, LPN · Sep 4, 2007

1) were you a cna before you started lpn school, or did you have any backround working in healthcare beforehand?

if yes, do you feel it benefited you during school?

if no, do you wish you had the experience before entering school?

2) did you work during lpn school? how many hours a week did you work and what was your occupation?

3) how many lpn schools did you apply to, and did you get in on your first try?

1. yes i worked as a cna prior to going to lpn school and i also worked 15 years in a hospital pharmacy as a pharmacy technician, so between the two jobs, they helped me tremendously with school.

2.yes i worked during school (appx. 8-16hrs/wkly)in the hospital pharmacy as a pharmacy technician. i had a 5 year old and a 7 year old and a husband to also tend with along with everything else.

3. i applied at one school and got excepted the next fall.

hope that helped to answer some of your questions.

DreamyEyes · Sep 4, 2007

Thanks for everyone's replies so far!

Anyone else? :idea: