Brevard County-Jobs-Schooling

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Hi,

I was hoping that someone could help fill me in on some finer details concerning the job market for CNA's and LPN in and around the Melbourne area. Are CNA and or LPN jobs plentyful? More specifically what is available for LPN's?

I know it may seem like my questions are all over the place,but I'm facing some tough choices and hope to get some clarification to help me make a wise choice. I'm currently in another state, planning a move at some point to this area. I'm also currently a pre-nursing student nearing completion of my course load, which, if I wanted to post pone my move I could go straight for an LPN cert. which would allow for a more sustainable living while I wait for Fl residency to kick in before going for my RN. Do I really want to do this though, waste time, energy, financial aid on becoming an LPN when I would be content working as a CNA and then going for my RN.

Does Brevard CC have a bridge program? If so, this makes the LPN option all that much more appealing. If they do have a bridge program is it any easier to get into time wise, as opposed to the RN program?

So, the biggest question is, does the job market in this region really offer LPN positions for LPN's? Is this whole line of thinking a waste of time?

I've been to salary.com and have checked out the low end or starting wages for CNA's. First hand information would be so much better. This would be a second income as my husband would work also.

Your experience and knowlege would be so helpful to me right now. I'm making myself sick over the whole issue and am really struggling to make the right choice. Our family would love to make the move this fall and get on with our lives.

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I live in Melbourne and am a nursing student (RN) at Keiser University. My RN school is only 2 years so it is a sacrifice now, but will benefit me farther in the long scheme of things. I actually contacted a nurse manager at Holmes to get their advice on working as an LPN and she told me that 60% of LPNs, end up going back to school for their RN. So, I just bit the bullet and went right to RN. There is no "wait list" at Keiser. They have a new nursing class start every 3 months, so if you enrolled now, got your pre reqs completed, you could be an "official nursing student" by years end or early '09.

There are PLENTY of CNA positions at both long-term and hospitals here. Let me put it this way, in a 50 mile radius of Melbourne there are nearly 20+ hospitals, 60+ long-term care facilities. I don't work as a CNA, school has my full-time attention. One of my friends is a CNA at Holmes Regional, here in Melbourne, and she started out at 11 an hour. She recently went per diem, due to school, and she makes maybe a dollar more an hour.

BCC, that I know of, does not have a bridge program. That could be changing though as many schools here are expanding their medical field education courses. I do know that BCC LPN program only takes applicants in January. That being said the deadline is September I believe.

I guess my whole outlook is why not just do 1 extra year and be an RN, but that is personal preference.

Most, LPN's here in this area work LTC. I am not saying there are none in the hospitals but most hospitals have locally phased out LPN's. As I said, there are TONS of LTC facilities here. Orlando is only a 45 minute drive and again, offers many opportunities for gainful employment.

If I can be of any further assistance please PM me and I would be more than happy to help you and your family find some answers

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Thank you for your response. The information is incredibly helpful.

I'm leaning towards skipping the LPN route especially if BCC doesn't have a bridge program.

If you don't mind I may contact you later this week via PM concerning apartments.

Thanks so much

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I just sent you a private message on how to contact me. Let me know if you don't know how to access that.

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I am a student at BCC at their Palm Bay (very close to Melbourne) nights/ weekend RN program. BCC does in fact have a LPN-RN program but starting this semester it is entirely online. If that works for you this could be a great option, many people in my program are doing the non-bridge just for that reason they can't do it online. I guess that scares some people off. I looked for an online program for RN and could not find it, would have loved it. I have no insight into the pay for a CNA, but nurz2be is right I have met many in LTC and I have heard of gobs at the bookoos of hospitals around here. We have a high population of elderly so we have many medical facilities in this area. Oh also BCC also has an educational equivalency in their RN program. After 3 semesters I could sit for the NCLEX-PN exam. So you could kill two birds with one stone. Where are you at with pre-reqs? All they require to start is A&P 1 and 2, and Microbiology. Eventually you want Develop. Psych, Sociology, etc. College Alg. is helpful because you must take the NET to get in and attain a rather competitive score. That test is half math and half reading comp. If you are close to that requirement level Cocoa begins in August, the deadline for aps is April, and Palm Bay starts in January with deadline in August. It is a great school and if you need any additional info I have no problem sharing. Love to meet you in the future. :wink2:

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Nurse2Bhomeschoolmom,

Your situation is so encouraging to me, because I too homeschool my youngest. You wouldn't happen to attend CCM? If so I would love to talk with you via private message.

Thank you for all the info. on BCC. I don't know why I so easily dismissed the idea of the night/weekend program? The pre-req's for my local CC are almost identical to what is required for BCC. I still need micro, life span and human developement. I've actually done a lot of my pre-req's online due to the homeschooling and it has worked out pretty good for me so far.

I would love to chat with you more about this and how you manage to carry such a heavy workload and responsibilities. Please feel free to contact me via pm.

Thanks

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Specializes in OB.

Hi there> I am about to enroll either at BCC or Keiser. I went to BCC today and it looks like I am so late with deadlines that I wouldn't be able to start my pre-requistes unitl the summer. Yet again, if I went to Keiser I am not sure if I could get started right away and do my pre-req's online, so by maybe early next year I can start with the major courses. Any feedback on this? I know Keiser will be maybe 3 times more expensive, but if I can get started right away, I might not care, rather to going to BCC, saving some $ but having to wait till 2011 to start Nursing School and that is if I'm accepted. Keiser seems to be a bit more flexible on this.

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Specializes in Ortho/PACU.

I am a 2006 graduate of Keiser University and I am currently working at Cape Canaveral Hospital as an RNI. In spite of the fact that Keiser students are well respected and sought after, unfortunately, the job market appears to be somewhat stalled right now. We have had several nursing students completing their practicum on our floor that tell us of their limited job possibilities, including being one of up to 50 applicants for any given RN job in Brevard County. From what I understand, Health First is limiting the hiring of GN's, and it seems this trend is more far-reaching than just Brevard County. I don't believe that the nursing shortage has ended, rather that companies are more budget conscious, thus reducing the amount of staff at every level. The nurse to patient ratio on our floor increased from 1:5 to 1:6 over the past 6 months alone. I work on a post-op floor and at times, it can be quite hectic. Again, it seems to have more to do with th economy than with staffing. Many people have the notion that nurses are somehow exempt from economic crisis; we are not. All companies, whether health care based or not, are feeling the crunch are responding to it. I personally applied for and was granted a job as a nurse tech while in school with the option to continue working as a nurse after graduation. As promised, I was hired at the facility I requested. I HIGHLY recommend getting a "foot in the door" as soon as possible if you are to ensure job placement during these difficult economic times.

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Specializes in OB.

Thanks for your feedback. I started my training for CNA and in 5 weeks I will be done. By the end of May I start 1 or 4 pre-reqs I have to do at BCC (ended up going to BCC since at Keiser I would be buring myself in loans and I would only save 3 months, so not worth it). Hopefully by Aug. 2010 I can apply for the RN program and I am almost postive that being a CNA for 1+ years when I apply will look very good in my application. Plus being a CNA will help me gain lots of experience that I need anyway. I can't wait!

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