CNA Before LPN and then RN

[GraceyB]

Hello All,

I have applied to a CNA program in NYC only one block from home. I have an interview and exam on March 21. Can anyone tell me a bit about the program, like exactly what is done. I know it's called the 'grunt' work but what are some things that you have personally taken from the program that you value? If there are links detailing this please point me in the right direction. I am applying for my LPN but wanted to start working because I just don 't know when the 'accepted' or 'rejected' reply will come.

[MelRN13]

Congratulations! I also started as a CNA, and than transitioned to LPN, and am just finishing my ADN. I thought it was a valuable experience and helped me decide to continue on with nursing school.

Best of luck to you!

[eddy]

Originally posted by sjoe

My suggestion would be to go directly from the CNA to an ADN or diploma RN. You could do that in the same time frame that you could get an LPN.

Agreed. If you want to "test the healthcare waters" grab your CNA. But go for your RN after that if you decide you like the field. Many good friends of mine regret having gone for their LPN, now to have a family a job and no time to take classes for their RN.

Just my opinion...

[hogan4736, BSN, RN]

I never met an RN that wished she had gotten her LPN first...

I've never met an LPN that wishes she were an RN...

You do the math...There is no right answer...Do what's best for you.

[Ortho_RN]

I think it is a personal decision.. But I do agree with SJoe about going from CNA to RN...... Being a CNA "should" give you enough of a view of nursing to realize whether you want to do it for the next 30+ years... Not enough of a difference between the LPN and RN schooling except one is shorter and usually doesn't deal with IVs (at my school anyways)...

But in the end you are the one who has to make the final decision....

[lateblumer]

i think that the cna program gives you the hands on experience needed to be an good lpn. all acpects of nursing involve some type of patient care and a cna is a good place to atart. you get to see the levels of nursing without all the responsibility until you are ready to step up. the experience of an lpn will prepare you for the next step as an rn.

[MPHkatie]

Unless LPN pay in your area is different from most places, you won't make much more as an LPN than you would as an aide with advanced certifications (Nurse Aide II and such). So, I'd skip the entire LPN program- actually, personally, I'd just enter the ADN program, most allow you to certify as a CNA after the first semester... so you have a semester of school under your belt as well as your CNA certification, rather than just your CNA certification.... There are some LPNs who are new grads who are only making about 1.00 more than the nurse aide twos...

[ainitfunny]

For what it's worth here is my experience. My daughter was struggling to make it with two little children and a minimum wage job. She had good plans but the low wage made doing anything but just surviving impossible. I convinced her to try to get into a SIX MONTH, in hospital, training & certification program to become a pharmacy tech. (This was 7 years ago) Her wage jumped in six months from the minimum wage she was making to a starting wage of $12+ per hour as a Pharmacy Tech. This gave her the kind of wages that allowed her to proceed toward her actual goals. I sprang for the very minimal tuition and babysat.

She became a newspaper reporter, then editor and now owns her own business all the while working as a pharmacy tech to reach her goals faster than she was getting there flipping hamburgers.