NEW to all things Nursing. Can y'all set me in the right direction? :-)

[coolamanda]

Hi guys!

My name is Amanda, I am approaching my later 20's (actually 26, but I already feel my metabolism turning to pot LOL) I am a SUPER busy Mom, married, and my husband and I own our own business, which is a retail music store. (We are kinda' music/theatre geeks LOL)

So anyway, after spending the past SEVERAL years at our store, and with the husband 24/7 (Dear God! LOL) I would really like to branch out and do something on my own, for ME that is close to my heart, which is nursing of course. :-)

When our baby son was born 3 years ago, I admit I had absolutely NO knowledge regarding ANYTHING medical other than how to take a tyelenol. Of course, our son was born with Down Syndrome (talk about a shocker!) and after spending the first 3 months of his life, laying in bed like a Zombie, I decided to quit my pity party and do my homework...As I am sure you all know the health implications that come along with a diagnosis such as Down Syndrome.

So I studied, read everything I could get my hands on regarding subjects that mattered such as the cardiovascular system, autoimmune diseases, skin problems, intestinal problems, AML and ALL...Pretty much anything that may ever POSSIBLY pop up in his life, I learned. All of this left me thinking to myself "Wow Amanda, you have a knack for this and you should put this to use!" I've spent the past two years contemplating going back to school, lurking around here for AT LEAST 6 months LOL, and finally I got sick of hearing my sons Ped and my own Dr telling me "Amanda, you need to get on the other side of this!"

So here I am. :-) I confess I really don't know where to begin...And after reading through your discussions for the past several months LOL I have learned some, but would really like to jump in and see what you all have to tell me.

My schedule being as crazy as it is, I really think time wise, it would be best for me to pursue my LPN right now. Eventually, the goal is R.N. but for now, I just want to get my feet wet. I need a flexible school, but unfortunately I haven't heard the best things about a few of the more "flexible" school choices such as SB...If I am wrong about this, please let me know. I'm new to all of this, but I am pretty darn determined, and FINALLY after much consideration, I am READY to do this.

Thanks so much guys! I look forward to talking to you all!

[smk1, LPN]

THe time is going to pass by no matter what you do with it. This is the motto that put my butt in gear and got me to drive in to the local community college and get started. I cant' speak for everyone before I decided on the route (LPN vs RN) I would go in and talk to advisors and councelors at both schools. FIgure out what your babysitting options and backup plans will be. WIll you need student loans and grants etc... if so get started right away filling out a FAFSA. (talk to the financial aid office at the schools of your choice to get more info on this, the deadline is probably coming up within a month so get this filled out if you think you want to start in September). Most community colleges have classes available thorughout the day and the evenings and some are online or via telecourses. This makes for a pretty flexible schedule for prerequisite education. THe actual nursing programs are dependent upon acceptance and are a lot more rigid as far as the schedule goes regardless of whether it is an LPN program or an RN program. I urge you to look up the websites of the colleges that you are interested in. If at all possible do your schooling in a college setting even if you are going to go the LPN route, because it usually makes it easier for your credits to transfer when and if you decide to further your education and go for an RN degree. I went back to school when my daughter was 3 and a half. She doesn't have down syndrome but it was still an adjustment. I graduate tomorrow with my ADN degree. It is definitely hard work but definitely doable! Good luck and get started with getting the specifics down. Talk to the colleges and find out what sort of schedules are possible for you. Welcome!