Another Kentucky Newbie!!! =)

[qdiva411]

Good morning everyone! I have been reading the forums here for a week or so and everyone seems so nice! Which is good, because my questions are kind of silly.:imbar Anyway, I'll introduce myself as I'm new to this site as well...

I have been living in Kentucky (Brandenburg) for about a year now. I am a single mother of 2 gorgeous children (5 and 3) and my current job isn't cutting it right now. I have some general college credits (about 2 years worth as well as some military experience) that may be transferable and would like to start nursing school in Fall of 2009 hopefully (upon acceptance of course). I have been researching nursing for about 6 months (I'm a little picky ) but I have decided it's what I want to do. I checked with the schools, asked around, spoke to some friends, spoke to advisors, but I figured this was a good place to end my research, and I have some questions for you all.

1. I have decided to go ahead and go to school to become an RN as opposed to an LPN. Is this the way to go and why?

2. I am planning on taking this summer, fall, and spring to do prereqs for nursing at JCC in Louisville as it is where I wanted to do my schooling. However, I am getting mixed signals on what kind of school JCC is and if their program is as good as they say it is. I've also looked at Spencerian(looks like they only have an LPN-RN bridge program), Elizabethtown (KCTS just like JCC but a little closer). Opinions?

3. Financial Aid scares me lol. But I'll definetly need it, are there any other options aside from loans, scholarships and grants that I may not be aware of?

4. Anything else I might be needing to do before I go to school that pertains to nursing i.e. other certifications or just something you might recommend?

5. Any other advice for making things go more smoothly?

6. And last but not least, pros and cons of being a nurse? People always tell me it's a thankless career field that requires compassion, hard work and dedication. What a perfect fit! What do you think about it?

As stated before, I have done a lot of research on nursing and nursing school, and have talked to everyone with the exception of some real nurses. Just want to secure a future for my little ones as well as do something challenging that makes me happy. I thank you all in advance and wish you all the best in what you do!

P.S. I apologize for my wall of text, I'm a talker. :imbar

:heartbeat

K

[nursegreen]

I can give you a bit of information based off my experience and my state (Florida).

1. Going for LPN or RN is really a personal choice. It is getting extremely difficult to get hired on in a hospital as an LPN as opposed to an RN. There are more opportunities available to RN's, such as management and specialty areas. My facility no longer hires LPN's so it really depends on what type of nursing you may be interested in. I did the LPN to RN transition but when I did it I already had all of my pre-reqs done. My ultimate goal was to be an RN. Because my pre-reqs were done the transition took me 12 months for LPN and three semesters for RN. If you have the opportunity to take the RN route I say go for it.

2. As for the programs, I recommend going to the CON and talking to them about their program so you can compare the pros and cons. Ask them what their NCLEX pass rate is (VERY IMPORTANT), how many students start the program and how many graduate(my school has a total of 1000 nrsg students, 400 BSN and 600 ADN. We had the largest ADN graduating class the school has ever had it was 123), what material is included in your tuition (HESI, ATI testing). The ATI material was included in our tuition cost and we tested on certain subjects with each semester, and at the end we took EOP (end of program). I believe that a number of people in a graduationg class says a lot about the program. Keep in mind that many schools only have 60-80 seats available due to nrsg instructor availablity. You need and have every right to ask the schools what their programs have to offer you so you are prepared to take and pass the NCLEX which is the ultimate goal.

3. If you need financial aid take it!!! There are many programs out there for nurses. In Florida we have the nurse forgiveness loan through the state. Certain facilities participate and will pay back up to $4000 towards each student loan if you agree to work at the facility for a certain amount of time (two years for us). All this info is listed on our BON website so check yours in Kentucky. Also, some facilities offer tuition assistance (ours is $16,000 total for full time and $8,000 for part time with a max of $4000/yr that you don't have to pay back or sign a contract, and it is pre-paid). You would have to be an employee in the facility though.

4. You'll need a current healthcare provider CPR class.

5. Get organized and prepare ahead of time....stay ahead of the game.

6. As for pros and cons, all I can say is follow your heart. Nursing can be very challenging and along with the good comes the bad. The hours are flexible, there are many different types of nursing (more available to RN's than LPN's), many days you will feel like you didn't make a difference, might get yelled at, and then an appreciative pt, family, or staff may say something that makes you feel better(and you think about the reasons you became a nurse in the first place). DO NOT go in it just for the money or you will be very unhappy!!!!! Nurses don't get paid nearly what they should for what they do and what they put up with.

Personally, I have always known I wanted to be a nurse and truely LOVE what I do. You will always have those that make your experience very challenging, and I say bring it on!!! Nursing is a wondereful profession with many opportunities.. Good luck!!!!