first time user

[Norberto]

I would like to know, the best way to get into nurseing. I am going to cna class in a month' that consist of 6 weeks of training that has 160 hours of schooling. I am a hispanic male my goal is to become a rn, I am starting out late in life - older. Am i wasteing my time with a cna certification? Would a pct job lead me to a rn?....Please help.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the nursing careers forum

I don't think it is a waste of time

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Welcome to AN! The largest online nursing community!

Concentrate on your spelling :hug: and education is never a waste of time. Many schools have extensive waiting lists to get in. You should probably start with some of the prerequisite courses. Math, English, Anatomy and physiology, microbiology. Check with a local school by you.

Be sure you want to be a nurse. Nursing is a hard job. School is even harder. Going to school will not guarantee you a job. New grads in some areas have been looking for employment after school for over a year.

A friend of AN ruby Vee wrote this.......Do you want to be a nurse? There's more to it than a calling. Here are some questions to consider. https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-advice/those-considering-career-653061.html

Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

It is that time of year again. Graduating nursing students are preparing to take the NCLEX and are looking for their first jobs. This year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.Reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.

These new RNs entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. They were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.

So what happened? Has the nursing shortage--that we've heard about incessantly for years--suddenly gone away?

The short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there.

The recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. Nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. They are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy--and their portfolios--pick up.

Many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. Some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.

In addition, many hospitals are not hiring. The recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. Help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in July, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.

Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

The Big Lie?

Without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."In other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a BSN later on. Who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? Whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. The jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.

Medscape: Medscape Access requires registration but it is free.

Knowledge is power. Proceed with knowledge and you will have power. good Luck!