Career change

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone! I am going to be changing my career path but have no idea where to start. I want to become an RN and evntually get my BS. I cannot go on a waiting list and I cannot quite my job. I was considering going to school to become and LPN then go to a LPN to RN program. It looks likes this would work out for me to avoid a waiting list and avoid going to a school like west coast univeristy (only because they told me I would have to quite my job). Any suggestions? Is this possible to be accepted to a RN program once you become a licensed LPN? ThanksA

Wow! I appreciate everyones advice! I am a single mom and absolutley CANNOT quit my job. That was why I thought it would be better to go into an LPN position then a LPN to an RN. I haven't found any programs that do RN unless it was at a cal state or a UC. Some LPN courses are flexible and at least I know I can get into an actually nursing program to be an RN. Right now I just want to make sure that I am going the right path. The last thing that I wanna do is complete the LPN and I cannot get into a RN program

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Specializes in CVICU, education.

Go to the California BRN website, under schools it has a list of every school in California that offers an RN program. Also the LPN route does not guarantee you will get into a RN program. From what I have seen in CA, RN programs are either on a lottery system when they randomly choose from all the qualified applicants that apply (usually at the ADN/community college level), are competitive and award seats based on their point system (CSU/UC and many private 4-year programs), or are really easy to get into, but your pay out the nose for your degree and are in huge debt when you graduate.

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Hi,

My question is similar to yours, so perhaps we can receive responses together. I have a M.A. in Government and am interested in a LPN/RN program in Upstate NY...what are the qualifications, if any to proceed in this manner?

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I would advise anyone interested in Nursing to do a job shadow at a local hospital if you can. Nursing is not for everyone and I am finding that out the hard way. I graduate in May 2011 and I absolutely hate it. Be sure this is what you want to do. It is a huge financial and personal commitment and I wish I had done a little more research before going to school. And the job market in my area is tough right now. Fortunately I already have a bachelors in another area that I will probably use to get a job when I graduate. Good luck in your endeavors.

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I graduate in May 2011 and I absolutely hate it. Be sure this is what you want to do. It is a huge financial and personal commitment and I wish I had done a little more research before going to school.

@Meldep, I'm currently doing a lot of research before I make my decision to leave my career of 20 years to become a nurse. Could you elaborate on what you hate? I'm very curious! However, I'm sorry that you feel this way when you are just months away from graduating.

Take care...

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Specializes in m/s.

i know the idea of LPN then bridge to RN is a very appealing choice, with less school down time prior to work transition... consider this though- many hopsitals are NOT hiring LPN's (or LVN's for that matter). i recently graduated and licensed via ADN 2yr program... and hunted for a job for 4 mos before getting in... most of the reputable hospitals in my area prefer to hire BSN educated new grads for internships without experience. so while i admire and respect ANYONE that takes the time to get their education or do healthcare, i strongly urge them to go for no less than an ADN education, with the expectation to return to school in 13-18 months to bridge and obtain a BSN. on a side note, don't let programs tell you "you can't work and attend this program successfully" mine did, but i worked my tail off; had no social life and little to no personal time, but continued to work full time and support my family- we all pulled together and sacrificed short term to get to the long term prize. i truly hope that you are able to achieve your dream.

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Specializes in School Nurse.

I'm not sure even job shadowing would give you the complete picture on nursing due to its diversity.

There are so many other areas you can work if one area isn't for you. I started out working in a nursing home, then on a med surg floor (hated it), then was able to get a job in psych - which I thought was my niche. Come to find out I'm not a really good psych nurse because i don't handle emergency situations (had a patient attack me and another co-worker. I froze). So I joined a nursing agency. Love, love loved home health. They also sent me to a couple clinic/doctor's offices. Did home visits - loved that too, but my kids were getting to be school aged, so I decided to do that (school nursing). I pretty much had a new job every year or so in my first 15 years of nursing, but have been a school nurse for 5 now. I expect to keep doing it until I retire, although budget woes have me worried. So have an ARNP in the back of my mind also.

But on the other hand, nursing really isn't for everyone. One of the Occupational Therapists I work with now was an RN many years ago and quit to open a travel agency, then went to school for OT :)

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TO: Heide the Nurse (and anyone else interested)

The question was, "are there Hospital Based RN schools?"

The answer is "at least one".

Mercy Hospital in Miami Florida offers the LPN & LPN-RN programs.

If you already have an LPN degree... you can just do the LPN-RN program.

The LPN-RN program is ONE YEAR/12 months.

The hospital is quite nice. It is directly on the bay.

(My sister-in-law gave birth there and I attended

pre-requisite classes. MDC.edu (Miami-Dade college) has some of their

professors hold classes at Mercy Hospital (and other surrounding area hospitals).

It is on my list of possible schools to attend.

But sometimes wonder about "how it works" if/when an ADN-RN wants

to get a BSN. Mercy Hospital is not a state-accredited college institution.

Just my .02 cents (or .05 cents considering inflation)

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Well in reply to what I hate....I find that for the most part, the nurses on the units that I have been on for clinical are miserable, mean to each other, mean to student. They make nursing look awful. It seems that speed is the focus, not necessarily safety all the time, and you don't really get to spend much time with your patients. I do agree with another poster that there is job diversity in nursing but most places want one to two years of med-surg before you can move anywhere and I don't think I could do two years of med-surg.

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