Concorde Career Inst.

txgal34 · May 5, 2009

yuliwannabanurse...there were people in our class that work at the private hospitals already that were told they will keep them and they will work as an rn, but are required to sign paperwork stating that in a stated period of time they will return to school to get their rn.

oops...i meant they will keep you as an lvn, but are required to ....etc,etc,etc.

yuliwannabanurse · May 5, 2009

yuliwannabanurse... i think they push the ma school because it brings the school a good chunk of change and they start those classes more often. i chose the evening, though it takes a long time to finish, it was timing for me. the hours on the evening program were better and with nursing being so much info this was a little less stressful. there is a pay difference. i know a few ma's and they make about $5 per hour less than an lvn. if you are going to spend the big bucks to go to school, then i wanted nursing where i am licensed and then you have something to build on. true, people will pipe in with how our classes don't transfer...and they don't but there are bridging programs. there are no bridging programs for ma to lvn (at least none that i know of). as for ma's (and please know that i am not insult anyone who is an ma) half our class were ma's. my job is in an ltc. though i have to say i was a cna about 15 years ago for a year ... i just ended up changing careers for awhile ... and when i started nursing was sure i didn't want to work in an ltc and only wanted to work in a hospital. after clinicals, i completely changed my mind. i loved the ltc and i loved the ltac, but very surprising to me i did not like the hospital. maybe it was the facility, but it just wasn't what i thought it would be. though everything had changed in an ltc from 15 years ago. back then there were no med aides and lvn's basically were med aides. and the skilled pt's were on one wing which was always under the rn. the lvn role has changed drastically. while at the ltc we did catheters, g-tube meds, wound care, insulin...etc. iv's got started, though while we were only level ii students at the time weren't allowed to do an iv as that isn't until level 4. while there are meds occasionaly given iv, i didn't see much of that at the ltc. at the ltac (long-term-acute-care) hospital most nurses are lvn's and they do iv push (except cardiac meds), start iv's a lot because of the enviorment it is. while i am starting at $18 per hour, i have two friends who got jobs at $19 and $20 per hour who also have no prior medical experience. i have another friend who is an ma who got a job at an ltc for $23 per hour. it is not impossible to get a hospital job, but is challenging as most private hospitals hire mostly rn's. i have been told though that if you are determined to work at a hospital as an lvn your best bet with the private is to get a job at one of their sattelite clinics to prove yourself. there were people in our class that work at the private hospitals already that were told they will keep them and they will work as an rn, but are required to sign paperwork stating that in a stated period of time they will return to school to get their rn. lvn's do start iv's, as i said earlier we are taught that before we start level 4 and at my level 4 clinicals i have actually started iv's. it is true you will not be trained on phlebotomy. lvn's do it, but concorde does not teach it therefore you will never do it while you are a student. as for ekg's...they are fairly easy to do and while we are not "certified" on them in the lvn program i have done them at level 3 and 4 clinicals. don't get pushed into doing something you don't want to do! if you want to talk to me privately, just give me an e-mail and i will e-mail you. hope that helps!

:uhoh3: i figured as much... i know that since their ma program is starting this month and they probably havent met their "quota" they are pushing it but yes, i just needed to read such encouraging words from someone that recently graduated from their lvn program... gosh that is so great! ... and i've heard the ltc facility vs hospital story many times but did they bother to mention it? of course not... so i will stick with what my insticts were of going thru their lvn program... am 25 and ever since i graduated high school i've wanted to be a nurse and i actually started the nursing program back in denver, co but couldnt finish it... and since then i've wanted to and i think this is my perfect opportunity, i cant beat the hours although the $$ is high but the no pre-reqs i think make up for it... also, not only would i love to be a nurse for the satisfaction but ofcourse the $$ is involved and $18 isnt bad ... am going to keep my fingers crossed (lol i guess i should start the program before i think about anything else lol) ... well, you have no idea how much i appreciate your detailed resonses :yeah:and would love :heartbeat to talk to you privately if its ok with thank you so so very much... hope to talk to you very soon....

tiffanyyy1390 · May 21, 2009

Hey Hey, so you just graduated this past month? first of all CONGRATS TO YOU!... may I ask what type of facility hired you for $18/hr (like you said for a new grad thats VERY good) ... I actually visited Concorde after work today and they are pushing the Medical Assistant program on me... which is irritating I really think they are doing that because their May Medical Assistant program is about to start and they dont have enough people registered... or so I hope thats the reason why, anyways... so It seems like their price goes up EVERY year? I was quoted $25K+ for their evening class that takes almost two years... the lady at registrations kept telling me that the MA is the way to go because as an MA I will get alot more "hands on" patient care activity than the LVN (to me it doesnt make a bit of sense) ... that short assessment or "chadwick" or whatever they call that test they give you they require a 17 score on it.. I scored a 29 so I know they arent trying to push the MA program because they think I am not competent I just think its because they dont have enough people in it and its coming up really soon... Sorry I keep going on and on... I was just wondering if you could really talk to me (one on one if you can) about this program and your experience and what type of facility you got hired at.. I would really like a clinic or hospital setting and they said for this I would have to be an RN
they made it seem like I would be doing what a CNA does... no IV, no Phlebotomy (like they say their MA does) and they also kept telling me the MA program you are certified in EKG... and so on... gosh, they are trying to convince me to do something I really dont want to do.... please say that the LVN program is the way to go even if its 22 months long....

I COMPLETELY AGREE!

I went yesterday and the admissions guy made me feel VERY uncomfortable forcing MA on me! Saying things such as, "Nursing is going to be extremely difficult for you since you have no medical experience and you're only 19 years old" I was VERY disappointed that he was forcing that upon me, but I still chose the VN program. He definitely made me feel like he didn't think I was capable of doing nursing. On the assesment test I got 23 correct and he seemed to loosen up once he saw that. I'm not going to let him change my mind about nursing though! I also chose the night course and I take my NET next Saturday!!!! I'm soooo excited! Good luck to all of you!! Maybe I'll see some of y'all in class! = ]]]

txgal34 · May 21, 2009

tiffanyyy1390, i am glad you are going for it! don't let them make yourself think you can't do it. i gradutated concorde with a 4.0 and saludidictorian...and no, i wasn't a 4.0 student 15 years ago in high school! ...and i had no medical background. level one was the most challenging for me because for those in the medical field seem to know most of it and those of us not were being introduced to a whole new world! i graduated second in my class, and that is figured on the whole vn graduation of day and evening so that means second out of 94, even though 75% of the class were ma's or cna's. when it comes down, how well you do has nothing to do with whether or not you work in the medical field and completely to do with your studying habits and determination. i also excelled at clinicals. to be honest, i think procedure wise it is easier for us with no previous med experience because you have a very structured way to do and be tested on procedures. when you don't have a clue, you do as taught. some people with the med experience had to put more effort into the skills as they learn the bad habits which go on in the "real world" but are not the acceptable when you are doing skills check off. for example, a friend of mine who had been a ma for 20 years failed the skills check off the first time at the end of level one for breaking sterile field. she deals with it all the time at work and know it. "technically" even when you throw something in the trash hands must be away from body and above waist. during her cath skills check off her hands were at waist level when dropping trash into can. though hands were away from body and in the real worldas long as you hands were kept sterile you would keep going, however for concorde skills check off that is breaking sterile field and a skills check off failure. just like on tests.... i have seen people with previous medical knowlege answer questions wrong because that is the lab value they use at work, or the med they use for that disease, etc. so sometimes have no previous knowledge and starting from scratch can make it easier. i know this first hand as i now am working as a nurse and i see the huge difference from the "testing procedures" to how we actually do it in the facility! good luck!!!!!!!!

Tatertot · May 24, 2009

I was laid off from my job on the rail road and I am considering starting the day classes in June at Concorde. I have everything done except the financial aide part of it. I am lucky and I don't have to work through this but I am still intimidated because of my age and I have never worked in the medical field before. I really need to get back to work as soon as possible, that is why I chose this program. I am also looking for something with job security. I do have a bachelors from 17 years ago in Criminal Justice but I was far from a star student. I don't want to get in over my head here. Can anyone offer any guidance?