Vet tech thinking about changing to nursing

I am a 31 year old vet tech (on the job trained, not certified) with a BA in Biology (1999). My job is wearing on me mostly because the pay is ridiculously low and we are expected to push products on patients/clients. My boss and I have very different ideas about what is ethical in a medical setting.

So, I am considering nursing. Where I really want to end up is as a nurse practitioner, but that seems so far away. I like the idea of more autonomy as a NP and more opportunities outside of hospitals. Working in hospice would probably be one of my top career choices, even though I'm not sure how much they need NPs. I just feel very strongly about people having care, support and dignity as they die.

I graduated college with about a 2.8 GPA, so that might be a problem going into a nursing program. Does it make sense to get a CNA first? That would let me work as a patient care tech in one of the area hospitals that offers tuition reimbursement or nursing classes...but I'm not sure that wiping butts for 8 hours a night is something I can tolerate, to be blunt. I also can't do any schooling if I'm not working, and it seems I'm going to have to work nights as no schools seem to offer night/weekend courses for nursing (I am in the Dallas, TX area).

I am planning on meeting with some advisors to figure out what my options are as far as school, but I thought I could ask here to see what the best course of action is, and if people think I'm a total jerk for being a little disinterested in patient care tech work and shouldn't be a nurse at all. If anyone has advice, suggestions, opinions or interpretations, it is welcome.

I feel like I'm forgetting to mention things, but I'll try to fill in the blanks later.