Absolutely nobody around me wants me to be a nurse. I am currently a Realtor and everyone thinks I should stick with it. I HATE REAL ESTATE! You don't know where the next check is coming from, it is SO expensive to get started and keep going, I have to work from home so I feel like I am always working, it is cut-throat, greedy and most importantly, I get no satisfaction from it.
I have wanted to be a nurse for three years now and was suppose to start LPN school last fall, but I got pregnant and the school requested me to not start b/c the baby was due in the middle of the program. That worked out b/c he ended up a preemie. But they saved my spot for this year.
I have had to do everything secretly. My financial aid, I am studying up on A&P, I even have a second job to carry me through paying off the credit I had to use for real estate so that I can use that credit for books and such.
Did anyone here ever have to go up against anyone to become a nurse? I really want this, but I don't know how to handle it. When you are doing something as tough as nursing school, you need support. No matter what I am going to school...that is one thing I am sure of.
But you called my real estate a real career and that was only a 45 hour course.
I am NOT trying to get in the middle of one of the oldest debates on this board, I am asking your opinion b/c I have seen the RE side but I have never seen the LPN side (obviously, b/c I am not one). But I would bet my house on that the one year of vocational school was a lot tougher for them than my 45 hour course for me. So why is it not a professional career and RE is?
Thank you.
ok, so maybe real estate isn't so great. honestly, i don't know much about being a realtor. but LPN is slowly but surely being phased out across the country. yes, you can be a great nurse with an LPN -- and there are many great LPNs -- but you will always have a ceiling preventing your advancement, and you will be limited to the amount of nursing work you are able to perform.
if you really want to be a nurse, i would strongly suggest that you get an RN. the BSN-RN would be preferable, but even an ADN will still give you the full license as an RN, and most places don't discriminate between the ADN and BSN... yet.
20 years ago, maybe LPN was a viable career choice. but i really believe you will find yourself constrained by the limits the LPN license puts on your career as a nurse. true, i'm not a nurse, and merely being married to one does not make me any kind of expert. but if you have the option available to you, why would you want to limit yourself to the lower level?
I am understanding a little more where your opinion is coming from. I forget that people in other carrers are always looking for advancement "up the ladder" Nursing is a service provided and in order to provide the best service possible, those is the profession must do what they do best. It is not about climbing the corporate ladder... it's about being the best fit for the role you take on. It is a profession where what you do and how well you do it is your reward. That has to be the criteria for deciding what path to follow. I graduated LPN school in 1974 and our teachers were then warning us that LPN's were going to be "phased out". Well here we are 31 years later.
Nursing is a service provided and in order to provide the best service possible, those is the profession must do what they do best. It is not about climbing the corporate ladder... it's about being the best fit for the role you take on.
well put. i always forget that part.
I graduated LPN school in 1974 and our teachers were then warning us that LPN's were going to be "phased out". Well here we are 31 years later.
Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.
FF if you are going to be an LVN I think that's great. LVN school here is 1 year but you have to be a CNA first to get in. If one wants to become an RN after that they are put on a waiting list for one year and then can do LVN to RN transition which is one full year. I live in So. CA After meeting several LVN's that treated me kindly and drew my blood I gained so much respect for the profession and realized it was a real career. Several of the women were older and after being in their calm presence it got me to thinking in the direction of nursing.
When my husband asked me why didn't I go back to my previous career as a pre-school teacher I said very loudly, "Because the thought of it makes my skin crawl!" :chuckle (The kids were sweet. It was the administration and the system that I hated.) That shut him up quick and he knew never to ask me again. When my friend asked my why I don't just go back and do hairdressing I told her I could never go back. I could never do that again. I knew that I could never do anything again that made me feel uncomfortable. If RE is not for you, if it makes you uncomfortable in your own skin then get out ASAP and don't waste your time doing it one minute longer than you have to.
Also, my husband went to his work and told his co-workers that I wanted to be a nurse and he said that he and them all agreed that I didn't have the right personality for it. What the heck has he been telling his co-workers anyway? LOL What a bum! I had to let that one roll off my back!
Have you looked into school yet?
Here there are the private schools for medical careers like MA and LVN etc. and then there is the free public one that I guess the state pays for becuase all you have to do is pay for books and stuff. All schools here give their students excellent educations because they have a reputation to keep up so there is no difference between public and private. I just wanted to point out that one could pay to go to school or not depending on what school one attends. That's all. I did read a post here that said LVN school was no piece of cake. Again, it just gives me reason to respect the profession even more.
This is my second post on this-to the OP, I really think that you should go for it; regardless of what people think, but also why not keep licenses current to help fund school? Please let us know what you decide-don't lose faith in yourself, or what you dream of doing.
To DoggieDaddy-I honestly think that you meant well, and were trying to encourage OP to really "Go For It"-but maybe used your "Mars" language in a primarily "Venus" kind of place. Please don't flame me for sounding sexist-I'm not!
This is my second post on this-to the OP, I really think that you should go for it; regardless of what people think, but also why not keep licenses current to help fund school? Please let us know what you decide-don't lose faith in yourself, or what you dream of doing.
To DoggieDaddy-I honestly think that you meant well, and were trying to encourage OP to really "Go For It"-but maybe used your "Mars" language in a primarily "Venus" kind of place. Please don't flame me for sounding sexist-I'm not!
:uhoh21:
Nah--I'm from Mars, and I still know better. That was clearly never-been-smacked-by-an-LPN language. But I agree, it was probably well-intended, and it sounds like his wife has given him a quick course in doesn't-want-to-be-smacked-by-an-LPN-again language. Which is what I speak.
This is interesting, though. A friend from work is currently torn between nursing school and real estate. I'll have to show her this thread, although I'd hate to talk anyone into nursing who wasn't pretty committed. LPN or ASN or BSN, it's all hard work. Worth every bit of it, but still hard.
Nah--I'm from Mars, and I still know better. That was clearly never-been-smacked-by-an-LPN language. But I agree, it was probably well-intended, and it sounds like his wife has given him a quick course in doesn't-want-to-be-smacked-by-an-LPN-again language. Which is what I speak.
This is interesting, though. A friend from work is currently torn between nursing school and real estate. I'll have to show her this thread, although I'd hate to talk anyone into nursing who wasn't pretty committed. LPN or ASN or BSN, it's all hard work. Worth every bit of it, but still hard.
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS because no one else will follow them for you!
We have a lot in common. I had been a real estate paralegal/ title insurance underwriter for years - was good at what I did and knowledgeable in my field, but had this big empty hole where I just did not feel fulfilled by my work. After losing my job in a corporate restructuring, I was a stay-at-home mommy for 2 years, but as much as I love my children I still felt so much unrealized potential.
....So I decided to go back to school for my nursing degree. I was in my late 30s at the time. My husband thought I had lost my mind and vowed that if I was going to do it I would do it without him...(and thats the least of what he said). Well, I just happen to be the sort who doesnt deal well with being told she can't do something. I forged ahead, and arranged my own childcare and financing. Lo and behold, I started doing really well in my program and found out that hubby was going around bragging on me to others!! It took him awhile to admit to me that he was proud, though.
I have had some bumps in the road since starting my nursing career, I won't lie about it. But anything has bumps in its road, I think. My kids have endured sacrifices of not having me there for holidays and some functions, but they are proud of me and what I do.
Most of all, I now feel fulfilled in what I do, even on a "bad" day. I really feel like I can make a small difference. That is a feeling that I never got in my years in the legal profession. And my whole going-back-to-school experience has helped me find the spine I never had. Where I once was practically a doormat for my controlling spouse, I now stand up to him and he respects me so much more - our relationship has improved hundredfold.
Plus - as a nurse you can get a job ANYWHERE. we got ready to escape metro Atlanta and I quickly found a job in our new destination. Our family has made a relocation/lifestyle change that would never have been possible if I did not have such a flexible career.
The ironic thing is now I am starting an FNP program with my husband's full blessing and support.
So go for it...but if at all possible I would look into RN programs. I have the utmost respect for LPN's but as an RN you would have so many more options.
I will keep my fingers crossed and say prayers for you!!
My grandpa tried to talk me out of nursing school a while ago, his sister was a nurse and she hurt her back so badly she couldn't work. He's spent a lot of time in the hospital with grandma the last few months and now he's concerned about my health saying "we haven't seen one shapely nurse the whole time we've been here." That could be a whole different topic!
Specializes in PICU, Nurse Educator, Clinical Research.
Nope. They know better than to try and talk me out of ANYthing by now.
I returned to school as an adult learner and a very determined young woman who gave my parents and anyone adverse to my goals a run for their money.
No one really tries to talk me out of anything----sometimes, that can HURT. rofl.
:yeahthat:
LOL! We must be cut from the same cloth!
Seriously, I think proving your nay-sayers wrong can go a long way towards giving you that extra push when you have to get up at 0500 AGAIN to start your millionth 18-hour school/work/homework cycle, or when you start thinking about how shooting for a 78 average wouldn't be *that* bad....
Here are some of the quotes that p*ssed me off enough to make it through nursing school:
"I don't see Rachel running around, taking orders from doctors and getting them coffee" (my ex-SIL)
"You're so smart...why don't you go to medical school? Nurses don't actually have to use their brains." (my ex-FIL, a dentist)
"Nursing isn't that hard....I mean, it's basically in the same category as being a secretary or a preschool teacher..." (my ex-husband- see the pattern?)
"Maybe you can find yourself a doctor to marry" (my mother :angryfire )
"The first time you have to touch someone's poop or vomit, you'll quit" (my best friend)
"you'll quit and go back into marketing when the economy turns around; you'll miss making a good salary" (pretty much everybody)
"you'll flunk out of school because you won't drive 100+ miles a day for 3 years" (my mother again)
"your life is too complicated right now with work, surgery, marriage issues...you should just take some time off from school and continue working here" (my unit manager in my CNA job- of COURSE she wanted me to stay there!)
I guess my point is this: having a *positive* reason for going into nursing is wonderful, and crucial. However, the drive to prove all your critics WRONG can keep you going when you really, really, REALLY want to quit.
Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.
Did anyone try to talk me out of becoming a nurse? Yes....interestingly enough it was registered nurses that I knew who tried to talk me out of going to nursing school and felt they had long hours, the work was hard, the pay is low, etc., and a doctor who frowned and said "A nurse...why not become a PA instead and you'd even get to give injections (as if that's why I wanted to become a nurse).....
But I had other nurses who felt I should be a nurse, one with a PhD who enjoyed what she did and had even travelled to teach nursing school overseas, and another who thought nursing was hard work and yet felt it was a calling for anyone to want to be a nurse and encouraged me to go for it, and my husband who encouraged me that if that's what I wanted to do, to go ahead and try.
And so I've been a registered nurse for a whole year tomorrow. And yes, the work is hard, the hours are long, some days I hate what I do, but some days I actually enjoy it. There's so many different areas of nursing that I know the opportunities that come with having an RN are numerous. :)
What a bum! I had to let that one roll off my back!
:uhoh21:
doggiedaddy
26 Posts
ok, so maybe real estate isn't so great. honestly, i don't know much about being a realtor. but LPN is slowly but surely being phased out across the country. yes, you can be a great nurse with an LPN -- and there are many great LPNs -- but you will always have a ceiling preventing your advancement, and you will be limited to the amount of nursing work you are able to perform.
if you really want to be a nurse, i would strongly suggest that you get an RN. the BSN-RN would be preferable, but even an ADN will still give you the full license as an RN, and most places don't discriminate between the ADN and BSN... yet.
20 years ago, maybe LPN was a viable career choice. but i really believe you will find yourself constrained by the limits the LPN license puts on your career as a nurse. true, i'm not a nurse, and merely being married to one does not make me any kind of expert. but if you have the option available to you, why would you want to limit yourself to the lower level?