Concorde Arlington, Texas work/school

pink85 · Jan 7, 2009

I apoligize. I did not mean for it to come across that way. I just meant that you will not get as much opportunity to make more money. You are very fortunate to make your salary. I feel that most LVN's are underpaid anyway. I know where I work they do just about everything an RN does and they do not make near the pay. I know that a lot of people need to work soon and so that is why they pursue an LVN program first and then bridge over. We all have individual needs and circumstances and we have to do what is best for us! :)

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2009

let me mention that i think the cost of concord is ridiculous, however the loops that you jump through to get a spot in nursing school is even more ridiculous. check all the places mentioned hill, el centro, weatherford, navarro but also take a look at rn schools as well. there are several rn programs that do not require many pre- classes like weatherford college. hill college has a lvn program offered at various sites then you could do their lvn- rn ( i think they give preference to their lvn grads) . if you are good at distance learning then after you get your lvn license you could to a lvn to rn via excelsior ....you have many options look around and compare before committing yourself and your money.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2009

no offense taken. the opportunities for lvn's are very limited and seem to be getting smaller by the day. being a lvn has given me a great life and i have not always made top salary like now but i know where to go if i need that type of pay. i am just one of these nurses that don't really care about pay and settle for a job that i really like regardless of the pay. however, over the years it has become a thorn in my side to hear "only rn's can do that" or thats a rn position"...so i will be done hopefully in feb with my rn degree and hope to encunter many more opportunites....:wink2:

i apoligize. i did not mean for it to come across that way. i just meant that you will not get as much opportunity to make more money. you are very fortunate to make your salary. i feel that most lvn's are underpaid anyway. i know where i work they do just about everything an rn does and they do not make near the pay. i know that a lot of people need to work soon and so that is why they pursue an lvn program first and then bridge over. we all have individual needs and circumstances and we have to do what is best for us! :)

pink85 · Jan 7, 2009

Good luck to you! I know that must be frustrating! I guess we are both fortunate that we can work at a job we love and not have to be pressured for money. Those jobs are not real common!

ptrdsmn · Jan 7, 2009

I work security at a few hospitals right now. A nurse I talk to every night in this ICU facility is always telling me don't do RN and it's easier to just go for the gold and go RN. I just figured going LVN that I would learn a lot of stuff and it would be better doing a bridge. But I might consider it. Like everyone says its just so darn competetive to get into a slot it's crazy and downright depressing sometimes.

starsgirl78 · Jan 8, 2009

I go to Concorde and yeah, it's totally expensive. But I feel like I am getting what I paid for. I am happy with the program and feel that I will be prepared to hit the floor upon graduating (3 months from now! YAY!)

As for the age-old LVN vs RN debate, it's up to the individual. In my case, I found myself divorced last year with no career and no education. I always wanted to be a nurse and never had the opportunity. A year-long LVN program was the best way for me to get to work quickly, at a well-paying job, doing exactly what I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. Will I get my RN in the future? Heck yeah! Once my life is more stable, of course I am going back to school.

wendy76248 · Jan 12, 2009

first, to the one who said concorde isn't accredited....they are. you can easily verify that on the bne website. i am a few months from graduating from there for my LVN. i have found the experience satisfactory, not perfect though i doubt any school is. while some say the $23,000 is expensive, my thoughts is that you are paying for convience. if you can pay the money and pass the NET test, you are in pretty quick unlike the horrible waiting lists of the cheaper communtiy colleges. also, the few community colleges that do have an LVN program don't have an evening program. concorde's evening program allows for working during the day, or in my case being home during the day when my school age children get home. i do eventually plan to go on an get my RN, but nursing isn't all about money to me. i am very fortunate that i don't have to work, though nursing is something i have wanted to do since i have been a teenager, and concorde was a quicker way than spending 4 years in college. like most colleges, you get out of it what you put in. as for the comment on the GI bill, not too sure about the post 9-11 cause while i am eligible that does not start until aug 2009. though right now i recieve a direct deposit of $1321.00 a month from the VA for my GI bill. that covers my total cost, even for the evening program (you do enough hours for the GI bill to be considered full time as hours are computed monly and those every other weekend hours satisfy that). logically it would seem that the post 9-11 GI bill should cover it.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2009

first, to the one who said concorde isn't accredited....they are. you can easily verify that on the bne website.

Concorde Career Institute is approved to operate a nursing program (VN) by the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners. In fact, all nursing programs in Texas must be approved by the BNE in order to operate. However, Concorde is not regionally accredited.

There's a huge difference between approval and accreditation. Concorde is not regionally accredited, and neither are most private trade schools.

By the way, I completed a trade school LVN program and am attending a trade school RN program, so I have absolutely nothing against trade schools.

kat7ap · Jan 13, 2009

Some people on here are sooo judgmental, but I will try not to take offense. I am a 2006 Concorde graduate myself. I had almost completed taking prerequisites at TCC for the RN program. I did not have a perfect or near perfect GPA so I became extremely discouraged that there was no way I would be accepted into the program when I was competing against several hundered other applicants for just a few number of open positions. I could not bring myself to continuing to take classes over again for just the chance at a spot. I almost felt like quitting all together. I then looked at Concorde and was accepted right away and then graduated 2nd in my class 1 year later. For the most part it was a good experience with a few exceptions. As far as undesirable people in the class, yes there were a few, but most were people similar to me.

Good for those people who can get 4.0 and accepted to RN programs right away, but in reality not everyone can and will. I have had at many great opportunities as an LPN/LPN and I have made a very decent salary as well. I will make over $50,000 this year. Not too bad for 1 year education. Yes I do want to become an RN eventually, but so far being an LVN has been very good to me. I NEVER have regretted the route I chose. Just keep in mind everyone has a different life situation and what works for one person does not always work for another. That does not make us ignorant for that decision.

To the original poster, just decide what your ultimate goals are and what works for your life right now, do lots of research and make an informed decision. You will not receive educational credits for attending Concorde if you plan on doing your LVN-RN later. So you will have to complete any required prerequisites before acceptance to the RN program. Usually LVNs get preffered spots and can enter in the 2nd year of an RN program, so it's not like you have to start from scratch.

srkerk · Jan 18, 2009

Howdy :)

Thank you for serving our country! My husband is in the National Gaurd and might be going to Iraq in the coming months. He gets out in September and hopefully will not be stop loss

I recently looked into going to Concorde myself, as in 3 weeks ago. What happens is you do the first half of the class in the class room and then move onto your clinicals. The clinicals are mainly 11 - 7 in a nursing home M-F. That is what the recruiter told me. Have you thought about doing their night time class and weekend one? It wouldn't be so bad if you go that route too. You can work during the day to make up for living allowences the army doesn't provide you. Plus it would be every other weekend so you can still have a social life and catch up on that much needed laundry!

Lets say you go to Concorde and do all the paperwork and BS tomorrow, there is a waiting list (I was on it, but decided not to go) and your class will not start until June because there is a wait list at this time. Crappy huh? They make it sound like a bed of roses until you meet with your counsiler and they break that news. Like seriously, you couldn't tell me this over the phone before I drove all the way out here? :banghead:

But non-the-less I wish you the best of luck and if you have any questions about Concorde drop me a line. It is still fresh in my mind and I still have all the paperwork too :wink2:

kat7ap · Jan 18, 2009

What happens is you do the first half of the class in the class room and then move onto your clinicals. The clinicals are mainly 11 - 7 in a nursing home M-F. That is what the recruiter told me.

Actually the FT program is divided into 4 levels. The first level is taking the nursing fundamentals, A&P, nutrition courses, etc. the basics. Combined with the theory classes is a daily skills lab where you learn nursing assessments and procedures on dummies and classmates along with nursing math, calculations, and conversions. In general it is M-F 8-4

The second level is combined theory classes - I believe geriatrics, death and dying, pharmacology, pysch are some of the classes. You start clinicals in a nursing home at this level. In my class we had students split up at about 6-7 different nursing homes around DFW. I think we did classroom M-W 8-4 then clinicals Th-Fri 6-2, however a couple clinical sites had evening 2-10 hours.

The third level is the same set up as the second level. Classroom 3 days a week and clinicals 2 days a week. The clinicals are at a hospital. I went to Harris Methodist and the hours were 2-10, but some places were 6-2 as well. You will be studying OB, med/surg, pharmacology, IV Therapy...

The fourth level is classroom 2 days a week and clinicals 3 days a week (if I remember correctly). Clinicals at this level are also at a hospital, mine was at Kindred FW and the hours were 11-7 although some other sites were morning hours. You do med/surg, peds, IV therapy, and some course of nursing professionalism.

At least this is how it was done 3-4 years ago, I can't imagine it's too much different. You definetly have to do clinicals in some where other than just a nursing home though. There were plenty of students in my class who worked weekends and seemed to cope ok.

starsgirl78 · Jan 19, 2009

They've just recently re-worked the program. Apparently now they have gone to 5 levels and 15 months. I think they are taking smaller groups as well, which would account for the waiting list. For example, our class has 60-something people and is divided into 2 groups. The new class has about 36 people and they stay together. I'm not sure how they're working the clinicals and all of that.