CNA first then RN?

LorenW28 · Jul 25, 2015

I was thinking of doing the same thing to help me get accepted into a nursing program and gain the experience. To increase your chances of getting in, if you don't have excellent test scores and a high GPA, then yes go for it. The experience will be very valuable for you as well. I was accepted into a program, and in our orientation they highly recommended it just so you can practice what you are learning in school. It will help you pass the NCLEX with all the practice you will get. Apparently it doesn't really help you that much with getting a job after graduation simply because the nursing industry is in such a high demand. Landing a job won't be difficult. Good luck!

Cream and sugar LPN · Jul 25, 2015

"I was accepted into a program, and in our orientation they highly recommended it just so you can practice what you are learning in school. It will help you pass the NCLEX with all the practice you will get."

Sorry I have to disagree with you!

What you learn in nursing school you cannot practice as a CNA. Becoming a CNA before you start nursing school will give you a leg up in clinical as far as transferring patients, and bed baths but that's the extent of it. CNA school will not help you understand how to think critically, only nursing school can do that. As far as NCLEX...50 years of practice as a CNA will not prepare you to answer those questions. Do not fool yourself. Only the constant exams and blood sweat and tears of nursing school can prepare you to take the NCLEX. On the other hand I recommend buying a book on NCLEX and start learning how to break down those questions and learning the rationales.. That might help!

Dahliadiaz · Jul 25, 2015

I've always wanted to be a RN but since I am a mother of 2 and it takes a awhile to be RN since there are waiting lists here where I am at I want to get an okay job that works with patients meanwhile I go to nursing school.

Cream and sugar LPN · Jul 25, 2015

I've always wanted to be a RN but since I am a mother of 2 and it takes a awhile to be RN since there are waiting lists here where I am at I want to get an okay job that works with patients meanwhile I go to nursing school.

Then for that reason I say go for it. But keep in mind from the first week in school you will be doing approximately 4 hours of studying and homework every night..you will have between 2-3 exams a week that depending on your school you will need to pass with anywhere between a 75-80 to pass the class. I've seen people fail 3rd term with 74.9 and believe me once medsurg and pharm roll around you'll never be so happy to score in the 80's even if you had straight A's early on. Nursing school will put you through hell and back. But once your done you'll look back and realize you met some incredible people and you'll defend that license with a passion. So if you have to work, just realize school is priority. It will demand your full attention in order to succeed. You can do it!

Dahliadiaz · Jul 25, 2015

Thank you so much! My passion is to help and care for people. I know this is what I want to do.

xxdiscoxxheaven · Jul 26, 2015

Woah chill!! Nursing school was rough (I know, I'm a recent BSN grad) but it didn't require much of what you were saying. I never spent 4 hours a night on homework and hardly ever had three exams a week. I went to a well respected, very old nursing program that required a 77% average. The amount of time you will study will depend on the kind of student you are. Period. If u struggle, study more. If you got, then you got it. Above all things, nursing school requires DEDICATION. You have to be dedicated to stay up late writing care plans, wake up at the Crack of dawn for clinical far from your home, deal with nurses who hate students, teachers who tell you to deal with it or quit, etc. I never thought nursing was academically challenging but more so a challenge of spirit and persistence.

Best of luck to you!!

Cream and sugar LPN · Jul 26, 2015

Woah chill!! Nursing school was rough (I know, I'm a recent BSN grad) but it didn't require much of what you were saying. I never spent 4 hours a night on homework and hardly ever had three exams a week. I went to a well respected, very old nursing program that required a 77% average. The amount of time you will study will depend on the kind of student you are. Period. If u struggle, study more. If you got, then you got it. Above all things, nursing school requires DEDICATION. You have to be dedicated to stay up late writing care plans, wake up at the Crack of dawn for clinical far from your home, deal with nurses who hate students, teachers who tell you to deal with it or quit, etc. I never thought nursing was academically challenging but more so a challenge of spirit and persistence.
Best of luck to you!!

I kid you not! My LPN program had us taking 2-3 exams a week! We often felt like we couldn't come up for air! So yes, 2 hours of homework and 2 hours of studying took approx. 4 hours at night to complete. Certainly my school cannot be the only one! We also went the duration of the program with only a week off in between terms. School was m-f 8:30-4:00 and no summers off. I wish I had time to ChillðŸ˜‰

Dahliadiaz · Jul 26, 2015

How was your LPN program? Would it be better to go LPN then RN or CNA then RN ?

Cream and sugar LPN · Jul 26, 2015

How was your LPN program? Would it be better to go LPN then RN or CNA then RN ?

Lpn is obviously quicker but it's a very condensed program so it's usually 35 give or take hours a week. Depends on your state. I've heard of them as short as 10months and up to 18 months long. It varies. The shorter the program the more crammed the subject matter will be. You can take a bridge to ADN but it won't shorten the program that much in terms of time. You can also start by getting the Lpn and then take an online Lpn-BSN. Around here LPN's make decent money. The ADN programs are run 25% by top choice the other 75% is lottery. Many are wait listed.

If you want to start working as a nurse sooner go for Lpn. You'll here all this hype that they can't find jobs.. That they are being phased out, etc, etc. It's all baloney. I know many Lpns. They all found work right out of school. Many in LTC, sub acute and hospice.

Whatever you choose just make sure you have trustworthy child care. These programs are timed. You start with X amount of time. You cannot run over or you will be dismissed. So have a plan A and a plan B in place!

As far as lpn- RN yes experience can help you. If you go to a state run school credits may transfer. Private run lpn programs will not.

Cna-RN will not really benefit you. CNAs are not nurses. There are no credits to transfer and experience will only help you in terms of ADLs and transfers. You'll learn all that very early on in fundamentals your first few weeks of the 1st term.

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Jul 26, 2015

Here's my viewpoint, if you need to work while going to nursing school, get your CNA. This will help you bring in the money you need to pay your bills, give you some experience working in a patient care environment, and in many cases, after you work there for so long, tuition reimbursement. Usually the pre-requisites will take about a year and then there is the issue of a wait list so in most cases, your nursing school tuition might be covered by your employer. I worked in retail until my last month of nursing school. I had to fight for hours to pay my bills and was stressed out about where the next dollar was going to come from because my hours were cut. When I went to work as an aide I made more and had a set schedule where I was employed. It got me used to doing patient care on several patients. I wish I had this when I was doing clinicals in LPN school, because it would have sped up my efficiency and caused less stress during school, at least how I handled it.

LPN school can be very fast paced as it is not typically set up like RN programs are set up. It's usually a specific time block, usually anywhere from 6-8 hours a day, 4-5 days a week, and anywhere from 12-18 months, depending on how many hours are required by the BON for that state. The shorter the program, the longer the day, typically. So if you go to class 4-5 days a week, there could potentially be a test 3 or more times a week during the theory portion of it anyway. I remember putting in about 3 hours a day in LPN school.

Now, in RN school it's college. You register for your classes (my theory is online and I go in for tests) and either sit through a lecture or go through an online module. My program is accelerated and I have 12 week quarters for 18 months. Most students are taking 2 or three classes. I do not spend 4 hours a day studying. I would say I spend at least three hours a day going through the modules and studying combined, a little more if an exam is coming up, but then again, I don't have a classroom lecture to attend. We have anywhere from 4-6 tests for each class. Depending on what type of student you are will determine who much you need to study. I've done fine so far and I'm almost there.

I would not recommend getting your LPN first if your ultimate goal is to get your RN. The only credit that I saw transfer from my LPN program was that I did not have to take fundamentals. Med/surg and everything had to be taken at the RN level. Another down side to having the LPN first...schools want you to do things there way. There can be more than one way to perform a skill correctly, but they will want you to do it thier way for the practical...I waited 15 years (not the original plan) and it's hard to teach yourself to do it differently than what you've been doing every day for years. Also, like many sciences, what you learn about in your disease and disorders for your LPN may very well advance before you get your RN...so you will have to learn the new correct information based on evidence based practice...your text book will be your best friend and your prior knowledge can conflict with it so it's like starting all over, only you have to forget some of what you were earlier taught.

Good luck with whichever route you take.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Jul 26, 2015

Dhaliadiaz, you've received lots of contradictory advice already, so I'll add yet another opinion based on my experience. I took several RN prerequisites and then attended a 30 day CNA course.

I did it because I needed a job and work as a Cna allowed me to continue in school because I could work odd shifts like over nights, weekends, Etc scheduled around my pre-req schedule.

While some people believe CNA work has very little to do with nursing, I wholeheartedly disagree. I was smart enough to apply my knowledge base to CNA tasks which made me understand why certain CNA tasks were super important to good nursing care.

I did not earn a good wage as a CNA, but the experience working with nurses, patients and their families was invaluable to my later nursing practice.

I decided to become an Lvn because, like I said, my CNA wage just wasn't livable. I knew Lvn wages would be and prereqs were taking me for.e.ver. To finish!!

I attended an accelerated 1 yr Lvn program, obtained a job and finished my remaining rn prereqs. I worked as an Lvn and finished my prereqs in just over a year.

I was then accepted to an Lvn to RN bridge program, which I'm currently enrolled in. This program is only 1 yr, rather than the normal 2 yrs to become an RN.

While I never would have planned to get here step by step by step, I am grateful for my experiences as a CNA and Lvn because I do believe they aide my nursing practice.