Advice needed! Should I bother with LPN?

mrphil79 · Jun 16, 2016

The LPN jobs are fading away...

Many hospitals haven't hired them for a long while now, and many are forcing the existing ones to have their RN by a specific date. That is a reality that will spread to non-hospital nursing jobs eventually as well.

3-4 classes is one, possibly 2, semesters. Do you really want to go in to a title that will be relatively limiting in the long term because you don't want to knock out 3-4 classes first?

I would strongly suggest stepping back and looking at the long term implications of your choice.

While it will take a little longer, the RN will make a BIG difference in your opportunities once you graduate and then further down the road. If you end up in a clinic with an LPN, what happens in 6 years when you want to go after another job/specialty, but you can't because you don't have an RN because didn't want to knock out the 3 pre-req classes way back in 2016? I guarantee you'll have the same "I'm kicking myself for not just doing it" attitude then that you do right now.

fischek · Jun 16, 2016

Thank you very much for the response. No, I totally get that and agree with you, it was back then that I didn't want to take those classes. Now I already have started taking some of the prereqs needed but my question is if I should not even continue with the LPN and start taking the other prereqs needed instead ofthe lpn program. I realize I will likely need to go on to get my RN and I will probably do so pretty quickly after the LPN. So it's not a matter of if I need or want to get the RN, it's if I should just stay the course, and finish up the LPN or if I should stop in my tracks and change direction for the RN by taking the additional classes. Thanks!

mrphil79 · Jun 16, 2016

Yeah I got what you were saying...

correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it more time/work to get your lpn and then bridge to an RN than it would be to just get your RN in the first place?

Seems like in the same time frame you could actually have a BSN (or be close to it...)

And all of this even ignores the pay difference between a lpn and an RN that would pretty quickly make up for the extra school time once you have your license.

You haven't started the lpn program, so take the next semester to nail down your remaining pre-reqs and start an RN program in January or May.

I guess in my mind I'm not sure going for a degree that many colleges are either no longer offering or soon will not offer just to get out in the workforce 2 semesters earlier makes a whole lot of sense.

fischek · Jun 17, 2016

You are absolutely right, and have helped me decide to just continue on with the prereqs (again, kicking myself for not starting them all sooner).

However, I would now follow that up with another thought. Why not try to get into a second degree entry-level msn program? (I have a B.S.) Pricey, but St. Kates -I just realized you may not be in MN...this is a private school here (after about a year of prereqs that I will need to take regardless) has a 2 years program where you come out with a Masters in Nursing! I guess I would still apply to other places as well though to be safe of course...

allnurses Guide · Jun 17, 2016

Hello all! I have found this site to be priceless for great information from real people. I have found myself in a bit of a decision crisis. I have a BS from 14 years ago, and am currently a licensed dental hygienist (a separate AS later). I am currently about to start an LPN program, of which I decided on because I really have no desire to work in a hospital, and at the time, didn't want to deal with all the prereqs I had to take just to APPLY to RN school (and I already had a good job, so I just wanted another career option.) I did well on the TEAS V which I had to take anyway to get into the LPN program (though now many schools would require TEAS VI) so that wasn't a problem. My main goal was to work in a dermatology clinic, or some other kind of specialty outpatient clinic, and I saw on most ads that they wanted MA's or LPN's. I thought it was a good way to get my "nursing toes wet" without going through the RN program. Now I am thinking I will almost surely need to go on for my RN regardless, as the pay cut and limited opportunities difference is massive, and more so the lack of respect it seems LPN's get hit with not being a "real nurse." (I am not trying to start anything, just my observation after MUCH research). I'm kicking myself not just doing it right away, as I would be starting RN by now.
My question is, should I just finish the LPN program (starts late Aug) which will have me be done in just under a year, or should I start taking the prereqs (would be about 3-4 classes) for the RN program? I just don't want to get out, then have to spend MORE time on prereqs before I can even apply to the RN program. My thought was I'd just do it, work a while then do it all later, but I hate to waste more time. I'm so torn. Thanks for any insight!

I think the answers to many of your questions are location specific, both to the degree LPNs are fading out, whether or not hospitals are hiring them and the potential availability of a job in a specialty outpatient clinic, which could be a problem if your only reason for going the LPN route is with one particular job in mind.

So all else being equal, if you presently have nothing hindering you time and money wise (many people do the LPN-RN bridge while they are employed as LPNs) I would get the RN done right away.

Last, if all the negative comments from other people you unearthed in your research regarding your career choices are more important than the pay cut and limited opportunities, sadly, no degree or specialty will give you immunity from "not a real nurse". Lots of nursing specialties are deemed to be not real by unthinking people. Ignore. All the best to you!

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Jun 17, 2016

I have mixed reviews. Of course in the end, get the RN. However if you're absolutely certain you can get the LPN in under a year, I would do that and bridge to RN...seems to be a faster route. For me, it would just depend on if there were any courses that would have to be repeated because they lacked being college level.

Like the previous poster stated, it is area specific. Here, there are some courses in the RN program that are now required in the LPN program as well. When my daughter went through the LPN program, she was required to take A&P I & II instead of just A&P I, and she had to take College Algebra, Life Span Psych, just to name a few. This may have been school-specific as well.

But if starting from scratch with lacking nursing prereqs, I definitely recommend going straight for the RN.

fischek · Jun 17, 2016

Thank you very much for the feedback! I have exhaustively researched the schools in my area (MN), and one major factor I consistently found was that I would basically be starting from scratch. Thereis onely one class that would be fulfilled as a prereq for the RN programs, otherwise from the LPN program. You only get about 5 "advanced standing" credits once in the RN programs if you are already an LPN which just allows you to skip one initial class in the core program and go right to a "transitioning to the professional nurse" class. SO, I think I will just have to put on my big-girl pants, bite the bullet, and pray for patience ane endurance while I get a start on my prereqs for RN programs. I am fortunate that money isn't the biggest issue, so I don't NEED to be working full time while in school, so that's not an additional factor.

I just wanted to be done and get my toes wet in nursing (albeit fairly narrowly in a derm clinic), and admittedly I'm not one of those people who has dreamed of being a nurse forever. I have inched my way up the healthcare ladder in different facets (vet tech, dental hygiene) and though it seems scattered, I have loved them all. I now want something futher, and I love the options nursing provides.