Am I doomed to never becoming a RN?

[salsaking]

HEllo everybody, this is my situation. I am 20 years old and I have about 50 units of college coursework completed. I need 3 more prereqs for nursing before I Can apply to RN programs. THe problem is that I live on my own (with a roomate) and I work full time.....If I go into part time I wont make enough money to afford rent etc. ( I live in ORange County, CA Apt prices are ridiculous). I currently work for Kaiser Permanente so I kind of have my foot in the door already. Most nursing programs seem to be intense and full time so working full time and going to school full time seems impossible. I was thinking of applying as some sort of nurses aid, nurse tech, etc. and trying to work around my school schedule but I'm not sure what I have to do or if there are any such postitions. Does anyone have any recommendations on my current situation?

[brina]

Hello Salsaking. By being a nursing student you are entitled to tons of loans, programs, and grants. These vary in the amount of money you receive, but you can DEFINITELY live off of them. I am married and the mom of 2 and I just graduated from a BSN program on December 16th and we managed pretty well. I had to quit my job once I got into clinicals, because you are right, it is very demanding and alot of times you just can't do both. You can apply for a pell grant that will probably cover your tuition and you can also apply for a Federal Stafford Loan that shoul at least be a couple of thousand. There are also Perkins Loans (these are loans that will be "forgiven" as long as you work as a RN in the state that you reside. A certain amount is paid back to the institution from the state until it is paid off) There is a lot of financial aid that is available to you, and a lot that is available especially for nursing majors. Go and talk to your financial aid dept. at your school, and they can tell you about everything including scholarships, and some of those are need based. Good luck! If I can do it, anyone can!

Brina

[SFCardiacRN]

Kaiser will help. Just ask!

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

Besides loans and grants and scholarships there may be tuition reimbursement or contracts (where the hospital pays for school in exchange for your commitment to work a certain period with them after graduation). I would contact HR in your facility, and others! They are paying agency nurses BIG bucks and surely have a way to recruit new nurses.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Doesn't Kaiser have an tuition reimbursement program for it's employees? I thought they also paid the tuition for some of their RNs who go through the Nurse Anesthesia programs. Have you checked with your human resources department to see what they can help you with?