24, want to become a nurse, best route

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 22, 2015

Research the job market in your area. At this time, many areas are seeing a glut of nurses, especially new grads. Hiring requirements are one way employers are filtering out the number of applicants. Look at what jobs are available and what they are requiring to help guide your decisions.

bsnprg · Feb 22, 2015

Shadow a nurse that is the best place to start. You'll see whether nursing is for you. You gotta love nursing if you wanna step this path.

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JoseQuinones · Feb 22, 2015

You sound like a talented, bright individual. The world of nursing needs people like you. And more Spanish speakers are always welcome. I am also male, Hispanic, and bilingual. I started nursing school at 25 after many interesting twists and turns. Trust me, nursing schools look for bright, well rounded persons with life skills.

Â¡Buena suerte y bienvenido!

Anonymous1257 · Feb 22, 2015

Howdy from a UT alum and current UT MSN student. The beauty of nursing is the incredible amount of entry points into practice. I advise against pursuing an LVN license simply because it allows you to do the least and earn the least (no hate of course, love my LVN colleagues!). I was in a similar spot to you when I was 23, working in an unsatisfying job, recently graduated and unsure of what to do with my life when I found nursing.

There are several entry points into nursing for someone like you...

1) The already discussed LVN

2) Get an associates degree to practice as an RN - ADN-RN

3) Do a post bacc accelerated BSN

4) Get a traditional BSN - but why do this when you could do an accelerated if you want a BSN?

5) Alternate Entry MSN, or AE-MSN to practice as either an RN or APRN

Given what you've shared in your original post, it sounds like you would be a good fit for an AEMSN program or an accelerated BSN. Both of these will qualify you for leadership roles within nursing if you choose to pursue that. Are you interested in advanced practice at all?

Also since you're familiar with UT, check out the AE website and get some info: Graduate Degree Programs | School of Nursing | The University of Texas at Austin

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2015

We have a lot in common as far as background. Only difference is I wasn't as smart as you to drop out of law school when I figured out it wasn't for me (the first semester, I just didn't want to be a dropout). I ended up finishing and practicing for a decade or so before transitioning to nursing. My biggest mistake was not doing my due diligence with the legal career to fully determine whether it was the right career path for me. I never shadowed a lawyer or really understood what they did before jumping in. I went into it thinking it was a great money-maker and will bring me prestige. I went to the wrong law school for that also, and as a result I ended up competing for jobs with Ivy League grads and was very disappointed. It DOES matter where you go to law school, you will never get into a top law firm if your school is not a Top Ten. Had I stayed in the region where my law school was located I would have been ok, but that was not an option for me. That decade of practicing was quite unhappy. I was just working for the money, I had zero job satisfaction by the end.

Now that I am a nurse, things are a complete 180 degrees. I am older now obviously, but feel much younger and more accomplished in this career, and am I happier? 100% happier! The difference? I did my due diligence this time around, I shadowed nurses and asked them questions and determined that it was what I should have been doing all along. Definitely don't enter nursing without doing all that pre-investigative work.

In the end, people find it hard to believe I make more money overall and am happier as a nurse. I only wish I had started my career sooner. And BTW, being bilingual has been quite as asset to me everywhere I go, especially in nursing. Your trilingual skills will be even more advantageous in the major urban areas.

No question though: if you do nursing ... Do an accelerated program. One year of your life, get school over with and you're working a year earlier with your BSN. No regrets doing it this way for me.

!Suerte!

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HazelLPN, LPN · Feb 22, 2015

Hi!
So I'm wondering what options I have. Nursing attracts me for a number of reasons: the people you meet, the satisfaction of healing and making a positive difference, etc. I'm 24, and I have a BA from UC Berkeley in history. When I was 18, I was serious about becoming an academic, then wised up (sort of) at 20 and went the law school route out of thinking I had no other options, which is the worst possible reason to go to law school. I graduated with a 3.8 and got into the law school at the University of Texas, but left after one semester. I wasn't kicked out, but decided to fold my cards, because law firms just care about your first-year class ranking, and in this legal market my chances of a decent job were zero. But also, I simply wasn't into law. I'd go walking in a park near my apartment, and would see nurses from a nearby hospital taking breaks. I'd be terribly stressed about law school, and always thought to myself, "Wow, how I envy nurses. They deal with plenty of stress and disappointment, too, but at least they're secure in the knowledge that the world values their profession, and it's not terribly difficult to find work compared to lawyers." Of course, I had thought of becoming a nurse even before I started law school.
I've enrolled at a couple community colleges and will start my prereqs in the summer. But after the train wreck of law school, I don't want to be reckless. There's no guarantee that I'll do well in my prereqs, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth a try. The prereqs, though, are beside the point: besides an accelerated BSN, which routes should I consider? Becoming an LVN? How does one do that? Is it realistic to assume I'd get work as an LVN that could serve as a launch pad for a BSN?
Some more data: I live in Southern California's Inland Empire. I'm Hispanic and male, fluent in Spanish and Russian. I've lived in Russia.
You all have the right to be skeptical, since I dropped out of law school and don't have a science background, but since I haven't burned my nursing bridges yet, what would you all suggest doing?
Thanks!

I am an LPN (called LVN in the states of California and Texas) and I would not recommend anyone go this route anymore. In my day, an LPN could work anywhere. They were simply nurses who took care of the patients without the additional paper work of the administrative roles. Today, LPNs have much fewer career options. Many veteran LPNs are being forced out of acute care jobs that they have done well for many years and poorly designed and biased research is used to remove them. Even the ADN and the diploma RN are being pushed to get their BSN or they may not have a job. Now, LPNs are often limited to LTC and ambulatory settings, and in some places are being phased out of that. It does depend on the region, but the BSN is going to give you the most options in your career, and I advise all young people to enter nursing via this route. It won't make you a better nurse than that veteran LPN, ADN or diploma RN that you are working alongside mind you....that's an attitude that is far too common among new grads. inexperienced nurses and corporate minded nurses.

My advice? Before you jump into going into more debt and going to nursing school, there are jobs in the hospital which simply require OJT where you can work with nurses and may even do some nursing tasks yourself. Sometimes, hospitals will pay tuition reimbursement if you are in school at the same time. Many nurses I worked with over the years started out as nursing assistants or unit clerks in the hospital, and worked their way though school that way. This will give you a better idea if nursing is for you. You also want to be wary of the for profit schools as they are extremely expensive,often have low graduation rates, care more about your money than your qualifications, and exist to make money for their shareholders.

Best to you,

Mrs H.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Feb 23, 2015

I respectfully disagree with PP. The entry level MSN does NOT qualify you for a "leadership" position in nursing. This is an absurd marketing ploy. You cannot "lead" if you are not even clinically competent - and this takes at least a year of working experience after graduation. E-MSN grads are competing with all other new grads for those increasingly scarce entry-level positions.

My advice? Exercise abundant caution with any sort of educational short cut... including accelerated programs. In my state, there is evidence that ABSN grads are less successful with NCLEX than generic students. Hiring managers in my organization tend to actively avoid hiring graduates of 'fast track' programs because they have discovered these individuals are not sufficiently acculturated into the healthcare environment & do not meet expectations for entry-level clinical competency.

OP seems to have a high level of self-awareness which is a wonderful attribute for any beginning nursing student. He's undoubtedly highly intelligent and will undoubtedly do very well in any nursing education program.

Anonymous1257 · Feb 23, 2015

HouTx raises a good point, whether you choose accelerated or traditional routes, consider the quality of the program you'll be attending. I also agree with her statement about entry level degrees of any type qualifying you for leadership. No entry level degree, except for advanced practice, will qualify you for leadership immediately. What a BSN, and to a somewhat higher degree an MSN, does is provide leadership training and credential you in support of your experience, making you a MUCH stronger candidate for leadership positions within organizations. An ADN is going to have a hell of a time securing a Charge or DON position over a BSN or MSN prepared competitor, even with a great deal more experience, especially in major hospital networks.

Also, since we're sharing anecdotes, the accelerated program I attended is well respected in the area and every member of my cohort had a job in their desired field within 2 months of passing the NCLEX. This is in a city with 3 schools that have RN programs - ie tons of competition. My accelerated cohort also had a 100% pass rate on NCLEX. A quick tip is avoid any for-profit programs, especially online programs. There are varying opinions on these, I personally don't believe they offer adequate preparation. Exceptional individuals can of course go this route and be successful, but that is a testament to the student, not the program. Read reviews, contact programs to ask about NCLEX first time pass rates, ask on Allnurses and other message boards about specific programs in which you are interested.

estrellaCR, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

HouTx...are you really saying all ABSN programs are no good and grads do not pass nclex at a good rate and are not prepared for entry level? Here are some facts for you! I attended an ABSN program at a public city university in NYC. It has a great reputation in the city. And we had real clinical experiences with same amount of hours as generic BSN programs...yes we graduated a semester earlier than the generic BSN students BUT we ABSNs went to school in the summer while the generic BSNs had the summer off. The program was affordable and admitted a manageable amount of students so that all students were fitted into hospital clinical experiences and we all got to do a Preceptorship in our last semester, working 1 on 1 with a hospital nurse for 3 months. Plus 90% of our ABSN class passed NCLEX on the First try.

Now the ABSN programs you should watch out for are those at private universities (i.e. NYU) that may not give optimal experiences are those where the tuition is high and many students are admitted (300 per semester!)...there some students do get stuck with simulation lab instead of clinical b/c the school cannot fit all the students into hospital clinicals as hospitals also have to leave room for other schools to bring their students.

Basically dont say all ABSNs are not good without looking at all the options...city and state universities (public) usually have the best programs...at least in New York.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

In my state, there is evidence that ABSN grads are less successful with NCLEX than generic students. Hiring managers in my organization tend to actively avoid hiring graduates of 'fast track' programs because they have discovered these individuals are not sufficiently acculturated into the healthcare environment & do not meet expectations for entry-level clinical competency.

Just another reason never to set foot in Texas as an RN, even as a traveler. They are missing out on a high quality nurse, this proud state university ABSN grad with honors, who passed NCLEX on the first try, and now has several years of floor experience with glowing recommendations from nurse managers at (so far) 2 nationally top-ranked hospitals. That's OK though, they can't afford me anyway

bsnprg · Feb 24, 2015

In my opinion both BSN and ABSN are great programs. It really depends on the institutions that offer them and your life situation.

In the BSN program, you'll definitely have more time to work and gain experience, research under a faculty's supervision, take a summer break and work 80hrs/wk in two facilities as a nurse tech and so on...

It's always best to research and find out which route best matches your needs.

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