dont kno what to do! lvn? surg tech? bsn?

Nurses General Nursing

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ok so im 23 and ive already finished all of my pre-reqs for nursing school and have been waiting for about 2 years now to get it. as you all kno getting into nursing school is very competitive and a long wait bc its so impacted. anyway-im tired of waiting, so i was considering going to school and becoming an lvn by next year ($33,768 will be the cost for the school). but i was also considering becoming a surgical technician as well ($24,450). then my sister kept telling me to go to a private school and do their bsn program for $100,000(which is just wayyy tooo much if you ask me).

i was really gungho about doing lvn but after hearing what my family had to say now im just confused and feel like im more making their decision and not mine. anyway-i dont kno what to do now. any input??

thanks!

anna

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Moved to the General Nursing Discussion forum.

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

If it were up to me I would follow your sisters advice.

Although the up front costs for BSN seem high, you will earn significantly higher income as an RN with considerably more career flexibility. If you compare the difference of 100,000 cost spread out over a 40 year working career it is not that much.

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Do you have a nursing program that lets you test for your LPN after one year? My program was two years (the nursing portion)..after the second semester we were eligible to take boards for LPN then I worked as an LPN as I finished the final year of school. You gain valuable experience and make money while you are finishing school.

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ocankhe: you have a great point. i will definitely keep that in mind. i just didnt want to be stuck paying off the loan for so long.

thekid: i didnt kno they had programs like that. i will have to do more research and look for something like that.

thanks everyone! definitely making me think differently.

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Specializes in Certified Diabetes Educator.

Anna,

I would not spend $100K on any education right now. That is not to say that I disagree with getting a degree for RN. I think you keep checking out various programs that are more reasonable if this is the route you want to take. Patience.

I would not do the Surgical Tech because of the limited jobs available and the cost of the school. This is an entry level position and I think you would soon be sorry you went this route.

There is nothing wrong with being an LVN and then progressing to a LVN to RN program. I would see what other schools/programs are available. $33K is a lot of money to spend.

Then, also think outside the box. The growth in healthcare will be in the IT area, and if Obama's healthcare revamp goes through, nurse practioners are going to replace a lot of positions that a MD once held. At your age, you should be thinking of a BSN that focuses on medical records/computer systems for the medical field or getting a MSN for a nurse practioner.

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Anna,

I would not spend $100K on any education right now. That is not to say that I disagree with getting a degree for RN. I think you keep checking out various programs that are more reasonable if this is the route you want to take. Patience.

I would not do the Surgical Tech because of the limited jobs available and the cost of the school. This is an entry level position and I think you would soon be sorry you went this route.

There is nothing wrong with being an LVN and then progressing to a LVN to RN program. I would see what other schools/programs are available. $33K is a lot of money to spend.

Then, also think outside the box. The growth in healthcare will be in the IT area, and if Obama's healthcare revamp goes through, nurse practioners are going to replace a lot of positions that a MD once held. At your age, you should be thinking of a BSN that focuses on medical records/computer systems for the medical field or getting a MSN for a nurse practioner.

thank you so much for your input. im just so frustrated and disappointed in myself because i was irresponsible and missed the application date for a community college. you have to apply consecutively and on your 4th app you get in right away if you havent already. this one would have been my 3rd so i was so close as you can imagine and now i have to start all over at square one. i did this to myself and im trying to fix it.

everyone's replies are making me think a lot more on the subject and im doing a lot more research. i just hate being me right now. lol

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Specializes in Certified Diabetes Educator.

Anna,

You don't have to waste this time. Look into other courses that would count towards a bachelor degree. Take a higher level science or english course. Keep going to school with the idea that those courses will count in the future. Not everyone has to apply 4 times to get into the nursing program. It is just that if you have applied 4 times, they let you in. Work hard and get your GPA up and take more courses. Show that you are a very serious student and that you really want to go far. You just might be surprised that for you, 3 times is a charm.

Charlee

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