aaaahhhhh! should i leave now?

[aeolus]

one week ago i started attending a private vocational lvn (lpn) school in san francisco...

things have not been what i'd hoped.

first of all (aahh i need to vent):

1. my prereqs instructor is burmese, has a totally incomprehensible accent and thinks

that teaching is making/projecting a powerpoint presentation and reading it out loud

2. i think i failed my first a&p test (tho we get to retake them each once)...the instructor,

for reasons best known to himself, takes several days to check our tests (good lord,

13 students' multiple choice tests of 30 questions? could be done in 30 minutes or less)

3. on my second test (multiple choice) i was reprimanded for crossing off the obviously

wrong answers on the test paper to help me focus (he said 'it looks messy')

4. at least 1/3 of the class (the filipina mafia) attempts to/does cheat on every test and

has seemed to get away with it so far

second of all...

5. today i called sallie mae and my first loan application was denied

should i get out before things get worse?

[Coffee Addict]

It seems to me - that too much focus is being put on what people think of you - such as coworkers, other nurses, etc. I think people should pursue RN (regardless of its right outta the gate, or from LPN to RN) for the purpose of furthering their education and broadening the scope of care they can provide to patients. I DON'T think anyone should pursue an RN simply for more prestige, pay, respect, or power. For some people - especially people making a 2nd career of nursing - the LPN to RN route is the only reasonable option to get us working in the career field of our dreams. It can be very rewarding, a solid foundation and solid building block to become an RN. I think its irresponsible to discourage someone :Leave now and apply for RN school. You won't make much money as a LPN and won't get the respect they deserve. If you want to continue in nursing LPN experience "doesn't relly count," - and in my opinion telling someone LPN nursing DOESN'T REALLY COUNT IS THE SAME AS TELLING THEM ITS A WASTE OF TIME.

:yeahthat::yeah:

[vegasmedic]

its funny that people feel the need to justify and fight online. who gives a rats............ lets just be adults and post things that are insightful and beneficial.

:heartbeat

[Nacki, MSN, NP]

It seems to me - that too much focus is being put on what people think of you - such as coworkers, other nurses, etc. I think people should pursue RN (regardless of its right outta the gate, or from LPN to RN) for the purpose of furthering their education and broadening the scope of care they can provide to patients. I DON'T think anyone should pursue an RN simply for more prestige, pay, respect, or power. For some people - especially people making a 2nd career of nursing - the LPN to RN route is the only reasonable option to get us working in the career field of our dreams. It can be very rewarding, a solid foundation and solid building block to become an RN. I think its irresponsible to discourage someone :Leave now and apply for RN school. You won't make much money as a LPN and won't get the respect they deserve. If you want to continue in nursing LPN experience "doesn't relly count," - and in my opinion telling someone LPN nursing DOESN'T REALLY COUNT IS THE SAME AS TELLING THEM ITS A WASTE OF TIME.

I never said it didn't count to me. That's just the way it has been viewed in my experience. How do you think I felt when my 4.5yrs was downgraded to 1 year RN experience? I put in my time and money for school, then working experience for someone else to basically say it was for nothing??? Almost 5 years as a LPN only considered 1 year as a RN? Me telling the OP to apply to RN school is no worse than another poster who said leave now. At least I gave a option for the poster if they wanted to continue thier education in the Nursing field instead of just leaving.

Do you want respect as a person? If so I assume you would want respect as a LPN too. I assume for all the hard work and training it took to get there you wanted to get paid a decent salary too. It just doesn't always work that way. I worked incredible hard for less than $13 an hr. Money isn't everything, but that's the only way I know of to pay my bills!

[ICor9:24]

This is a completely honest question - so please don't get defensive - because I by no means have all the answers and don't know everything - but - my question is, why should any LPN experience "count" as RN experience? I mean, I am not yet an LPN, but I know that there are many differences and many variations in the scope of practice between the two - so why should my future experience count as "RN" experience, when I wasn't an RN, I was an LPN.

Regardless of the fact if I was an LPN for 20 years, there STILl would be things as an LPN I cannot do that an RN does. Right??

I am just trying to understand why that point would be of consideration to any future LPN or employer.

[Nacki, MSN, NP]

A LPN is a nurse. A RN is a nurse. Depending on the setting you do alot of the same duties excluding things like charging, spiking blood, initial assessements, ect, ect...

As a LPN I was ACLS certified, IV certified (could administer IV meds and start IV's in my facility). I transitioned to a RN and had the basics of nursing down from being a LPN. Orientation was less for me than a new grad. I just hate to see almost 5 years of "nursing" experience go down the drain for 1. It is a slap in the face. I feel sorry for those who have more LPN experience than I did go on to RN, just to be downgraded again. Back to square one. Made to feel like their service as a LPN didn't count as real nursing. That was the point I was trying to make. To me being respected as a healthcare provider is key. Money is not everything but a nurse is a nurse is a nurse and we should all get paid a decent amount for what we do.

As a RN in the ICU I still do TOTAL care on my pts and charge over CNAs, in the end I'm still responsible for my pts. As a LPN for 4-5 pts I did TOTAL care, I was still responsible for my pts and the CNA's under my care. I would much rather get the respect I deserved to begin with then to partially get respect after being a nurse for 6.5 yrs total

[Rhone]

Wow, the negativity in this thread is entirely unnecessary.

From reading these forums, I've seen people recommend going straight to ADN (instead of LPN first) or straight to BSN (instead of ADN first) based on negative experiences with bridging or thinking "hey it's best to get it done with ASAP". But I've also seen people mention positive experiences with bridging, for example saying that they and other LPNs understood the material in the second year of ADN school much better than the students with no LPN experience.

Obviously it comes down to one's individual situation, goals, and needs. For some people, their situation might make the decision easy; for others, there might be a fairly even set of advantages and disadvantages and they have a very difficult decision. It is nice to read about the experiences of a diverse group of people in these threads, and, personally, I like to see what people advise and why, even if I don't necessarily agree with their advice.

As adults, I'm sure we can handle giving our opinions and reading each other's opinions without arguing. :typing :)

[vegasmedic]

im not sure where you two live. lpns in vegas are making 19 to 23 an hour. our MAs are making almost 15 an hour.

[rnmomtobe2010]

WOW!! There are other options and I would consider looking into them. Good luck and I wish you all the best.

[BE16]

well, here in New York a starting salary for a LPN w/o any experience is $20 hr whereas a LPn with experiences is $25 hr. And as a young men without any wives and children or even i am living in a more expensive States than Texas i will still have a well decent pay. So, i dont see why you are discouraging people to be LPN.:uhoh21::typing:zzzzz:banghead:

[Nacki, MSN, NP]

Do what you want.

[BE16]

humm oh yeahh i am doing what i want to do because everybody has their own problems and we handle our problems with different ways. And i define LPN as a "stepping stone" which is going to help me move upwardly to be if God's willing a CRNA ( Certified Registred Nurse Anesthesist Officer in the military).:typing

[BerryHappy]

I am also in LPN school. I want to be an RN (eventually ARNP), but because of my age, finances, family, commitments, LIFE, the LPN to RN plan just works out better for me. ANYWHOO...I often have wondered about those private nursing schools. Espicially the ones for LPN's. I thank GOD that by choosing a public vocational school here in Miami, ALL of my nursing school costs are being covered by federal or state funding. If I were to privately pay for my school it would have cost me $7500 plus books, uniforms, etc. I feel so badly for the people who have gone the "Name Brand" school route and must pay CASH for their nursing education. I HIGHLY recommend going generic (community vocational school) for your LPN and saving up for your RN education. Also, after reading and speaking with lots of other LPN students I am starting to think that no matter where you go, you don't get much quality classroom lecturing. Clinicals are different, lots of one on one teaching is done, but the theory time is pretty much self driven. You self teach from the books for the tests, and then get your lecture's at the pt bedside. I think that is the norm, at least for LPN school. If you can get in somewhere else for less GO, nursing school should not cost you a fortune! We are too much in demand! If you can't get in anywhere else because of waiting lists then just realize you will be teaching yourself the theory stuff and suck as much info out of your instructor as possible in the clinicals. Also, try to find some scholarships or federal/state funding. The money is out there for nursing students, it is just a full time job trying to find it! Good luck!