Career Change to Nursing...

[AustinTJC]

Hi,

i joined this site since it seems like it has a lot of helpful advice for the nursing field. So, about me, I got my BA in Economics and since then have worked in real estate billing and education (yeeehaw!). However, I'm ready for a change since I really dislike monotonous desk jobs and had enough of teaching. I am now looking into starting out by getting my LVN degree (I live in Texas) and changing careers into health care. I understand that nursing isn't an easy job, but I like helping people (preferably in a collegial atmosphere). I want to go into a job with security and satisfaction.

Is getting my LVN degree and later working towards becoming a RN a good move? I'm 31, which isn't too old, but I'm not 22 either.

Any other advice? I admit I'm a newbie and any help on getting into nursing would be helpful. Are there any reputable online degree programs? Or is a brick and mortar degree program best?

Thanks! :-)

[AustinTJC]

Thanks for the helpful replies! I appreciate them.

I would most likely first aim for Houston or DFW to work, but if they are oversaturated, I would be willing to relocate (Just hoping that the city wouldn't be too small).

To go back to an earlier post, someone mentioned being able to work a lot of OT as a nurse; Does that happen when you are an hourly employee, or mostly if you're salaried? I understand that if you're salaried you won't get paid OT, but if you're paid hourly, you can get time and a half after 40 hours in a week.

Thanks!

[Julius Seizure]

Thanks for the helpful replies! I appreciate them.

I would most likely first aim for Houston or DFW to work, but if they are oversaturated, I would be willing to relocate (Just hoping that the city wouldn't be too small).

To go back to an earlier post, someone mentioned being able to work a lot of OT as a nurse; Does that happen when you are an hourly employee, or mostly if you're salaried? I understand that if you're salaried you won't get paid OT, but if you're paid hourly, you can get time and a half after 40 hours in a week.

Thanks!

Nurses who work on the floor at the hospital are almost always paid hourly - and in many places the opportunities for OT are abundant. Some places in the DFW area (and elsewhere) even offer bonuses on top of the OT rate because they need staff so badly during the winter flu season.

There are definitely jobs in DFW and Houston, but yes, you will likely have to start on night shift and possibly on a general floor.

Some of the large hospitals in DFW and Houston do "new grad internship" programs where they bring in a class of new nurses and train them for 6 months or so before letting them work on their own. I highly recommend seeking out one of those opportunities!

It may be beneficial to do your schooling program locally to where you want to work, if it is a well respected program. You will also build connections as you do clinicals which can hopefully be turned into job opportunities later on.

[nurse0123]

I would recommend either going straight for RN or finding a fast track program that allows you to use the degree you already have towards your BSN. I worked my way through LVN to RN to BSN. LVN programs are expensive. While I learned a ton, I felt my time and money were wasted. I should have gone directly for RN. I have some coworkers who have done the fast track to BSN bc they already had a 4 yr degree. That is really what I would recommend. Most hospitals are leaning towards BSN in order to achieve/maintain Magnet status. If you do RN, plan to go back for your BSN within a year or two of graduating. I did an online rn to bsn program which worked well for my family. I took my time (3.5 yrs) and used tuition reimbursement from my job to pay for it.

[leighaRNBSN]

I also thought i would have to start from scratch, such a horrible feeling. I ended up feeling out a few schools and finding where my previous coursework would go the furthest. Prereqs will differ (slightly) from school to school. I live in NJ and ended up going to a NY school as it was the cheapest. Don't be discouraged by prices. The first NJ school i looked at was 76,000 for the one year program!! NO THANKS! I ended up paying 36,000 for a private school in NY. (3 semesters total)

Also program length varies greaty. One i looked at was 24 months. The one i ended up in was 12 months if you're a full time student.

As far as working during school goes, during the first 3 months I only worked about 12 hours a week, however, as the program continued and i realized i could work more I went up to around 24 hours a week. My advice would be to keep your work schedule as light as can be in the beginning until you have a handle on what is expected out of you. If you find yourself absolutely needing to work during school look into weekend ABSN options. My school offered one but it was 24 months as opposed to 12 months that full time students were offered.

And for the PA vs Nurse debate, my instructors always emphasized that nurse practitioners often have more autonomy than PA's, making nursing a better career choice

Best of luck!!