Career Change - need advice on my plan

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Hello all,

I'm looking to make a career change into nursing from Human Services. I have a Masters of Education and I have been working in Mental Health and with Homeless youth for several years. I'm acknowledging that in order to make a sustainable living doing this work, I'll have to give up the direct service portion of this job, which is the part of the work that really drives me. I'm already familiar with health records, HIPAA, and basic diagnosis concepts (meaning I understand the difference between an AXIS I, II, III etc, rule outs, NOS...)

I used to have a Wilderness First Responder certification, so I've worked as a fill-in medic here and there for an outdoor program.

I'd love to do community nursing, or perhaps psych, but I'm willing to try anything.

I already have a fair amount of debt from grad school, so I want to be conservative in my approach. So here's my plan. Please critique, make suggestions, advise, etc!

I'm currently enrolled for the fall semester at the community college for Nutrition and A&P. There is a program here at the local hospital that is an LNA training program - in which you get hired on following successful completion of training and passing for licensure. I intend to apply to that as many times as needed to be accepted, then I will apply for nursing school at the local tech college - which has a very good reputation.

My hope is that the LNA program will make me a more desirable candidate for nursing school, and will give me a better window into the field before I commit too much time and money.

Any thoughts or advice would be so appreciated!

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Specializes in retired LTC.

I believe LNA is similar to a CNA (certified nurse aide) title. It is NOT a glamorous position. It is hard work for a bottom level nsg ancillary position. And it does NOT pay well for grunt work.

Not too sure if your LNA program is equivalent to the State endorsed CNA program. That may limit you to hospital only employment and there is no guarantee that you will be hired by your training facility.

Everybody is turning out nsg staff - from RN to LPN/LVN to aides. And the academic entry preparation varies tremendously. As you've no doubt read here, entry into nsg school is extremely competitive, again with no guarantee of entry, much less a speedy entry, regardless if you're a LNA/CNA or not. A lot of aides do WAIT to get into nsg school.

For nsg school, there are some bridge programs and some accelerated programs that you prob could qualify for but you need to do your research and realize that no program is inexpensive. Some routes are better than other but your current school debt may exclude you from further financial aid.

You will have to successfully pass NCLEX to obtain your nsg license to work and you will be a 'newbie RN'. A 'rookie'. You do have a mental health background. That could help you to secure employment in psych. But I hope you realize there is NO NURSING SHORTAGE and first jobs are difficult to secure even for experienced nurses, much less new grads. And you will be a newbie nurse.

I don't know how your M Ed will work to help you or not securing your entry level position.

You're right. Your LNA position may help you see nursing as it really is and that can influence your further decisions. Other more wise ones here can offer more specific advice, but you will have to weigh out your options to what fits for your situation.

Good luck!

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Ok! Thanks for the feedback.

LNA is the same as CNA, Vermont requires testing for licensure in the position, therefore it is a Licensed Nursing Assistant. I do recognize that LNA well be tough and underpaid, but I'm horribly underpaid as it is, so that party will be a lateral move. As far as lack of glamour, my thoughts on that is that it will probably be the worst of the nursing job, so it would potentially be a personal weed out for myself...

I know it's hard to get jobs. I think it's going to be hard to get jobs for me regardless, so that, too, is not really a change for me. Is it true that as a nurse you won't necessarily go unemployed, but will not have the job you want?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hi there. Welcome to AN where potential career-changers are always welcome.

The old adage that "nurses are never unemployed" is no longer true & hasn't been for a number of years. If you poke around here on AN, you will uncover myriad personal stories that illustrate this. Employers are eliminating nursing positions in an effort to reduce labor cost. In some cases, unlicensed (lower paid) staff are used to replace them, but all too often, the nursing workload is simply being increased - particularly in non-acute and hospital general care (Medical Surgical) areas. Despite a lot of legislative rumbling going on, thus far, only one state has mandated minimal RN staffing levels.

Your plan for nursing education seems to be very practical and certainly achievable. However, be sure to investigate the employment prospects for ADN nurses in your area. In a growing number of areas, hospital (acute care) jobs are only available to BSNs. You'll need to factor this in if it has any bearing on your career plan.

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Specializes in ICU.

Some nurses do go unemployed, so your statement about always having a job is not necessarily true. I don't know what the market is like in your area, though.

Considering you already have a degree, have you considered going for an accelerated BSN? It would cost more than your current plan, but you could go from zero to BSN in 12-18 months or so, depending on the program, versus working as a CNA, applying to nursing school, possibly not getting in for a couple years, and taking 2 years more to graduate with your ADN, which is not the top of the line desirable degree these days. You may end up enrolling to get a BSN right away if ADNs are not desirable in your area, so you could really be looking at 4-5 years before you get a job as a nurse with your current plan if you go CNA -> ADN -> BSN vs. straight to ABSN.

I personally would be willing to take on a little extra debt to get a decent job at least a year faster (and perhaps up to 3-4 years faster), but I just don't have a ton of patience and I would get frustrated having to wait that long to start a new career. Only you know yourself, though - if you are okay with the wait, your plan is practical.

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I hadn't really thought about the accelerated program as an opportunity cost - that I might end up with less debt. And here, the only program available is at the University of Vermont - which has a great reputation and has a teaching hospital. For the time being, my plan can remain the same as I'll need a few pre-requisites and to take the GRE (somehow I avoided this for my Master's). But I'll still have time to get my feet wet since I will be applying for the 2015 program.

I don't mean to sound overconfident or arrogant that I will definitely be employed... I am coming from an environment where I am constantly competing with others that have licensure in mental health, and I've managed to be employed the entire time. I interview pretty well, I have worked in a lot of traumatic, challenging, and unappealing situations, and I'm not above doing the dirty work. There are always posts for RNs in programs in the area, though they are often home care and geriatric care - that's not my end goal, but I'm willing to spend a while doing something that's not the dream on the way to doing something that is a better fit. The fact that at one point all nurses were employed and sought after is just so incredibly foreign to me - I fully anticipate a stressful number of hard job interviews where I am competing against those with more experience than me - but this in itself will not be new!

Thank you so far for the suggestions... keep 'em coming!

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