Hello to everyone..

hello, i am new to the site, and wanted to check in.. happy holidays to all.

i have been an lvn for 7 yrs, trained in the midwest and working in california. a bit befuddled on how to continue my education in rn, since the colleges here don't appear to understand one's need to work and go to school.. does anyone know of a part time rn bridge program?

i am glad that there is a place like this one, online.. i always enjoy reading your posts..

bobbielvn..j

great to have you with us. happy holidays to you as well.

enjoy the forums, bobbielvn.

Hi, Bobbie! Don't know where you are in California, but I am in a Los Angeles suburb. I know of only one community college in California that has nursing classes in the evening. Do you know what the RN programs are around where you live? Do you know how to find them through the Board of Nursing web site? It's going to be like shopping for a car. You're going to have to talk to people at the individual school nursing programs about what you are looking for. In general, the way most bridge programs work is for the student to finish all the pre-requisite courses--the same ones everyone else takes (anatomy and physiology, biochemistry, chemistry, human development). You can do those at your own pace. Once you are ready to do the actual nursing classes there are one of two ways it is done. Either you are evaluated and/or given credit for your LVN training and experience and mainstreamed into more advanced nursing classes rather than starting out with fundamentals again. Or, the school has a specially designed bridge program in which they have specific classes for the LVNs to start with. Even if you do take only one nursing class a semester, it is usually a class packed with a lot of learning activities and clinical time. It is nearly impossible for the schools to break those up into smaller units.

What you are going to have to do is plan things out and set money aside. When I went back for my BSN we were allowed to take the non-clinical nursing courses at our own pace. Once we started the clinical classes we were expected to complete them in a specific sequence quarter by quarter without stopping. I did all my pre-reqs and left the clinical nursing for the very end. When I started my clinical classes I went on part time status at the hospital where I worked. This only obligated me to 2 days a week of work and it was the weekends. What hospital won't jump at the chance to get a nurse who will work every weekend! It left me free to work extra days when my classwork was not so heavy, but gave me the time off if I needed to complete all the writing assignments we had as I progressed through the classes. My heaviest classloads were toward the end of a quarter rather than when it started. In my original ADN program I was able to work almost full time until my last two semesters. Those last two semesters were pretty intense learning-wise. Don't know where you are working, but I'd sort of nose around to see if there is extra work like that available if you are only working part time. Nursing homes are usually good places to find weekend work and a few extra hours here and there to cover their people who call off sick.