Help!

If money is tight, you might want to consider taking a CNA (certified nursing assistant) class. These classes are offered by community colleges and sometimes nursing homes. You can then apply for a part-time job at a hospital, and then they will reimburse all your tuition/textbook expenses. You might have to pay for them up front, but at least you get the money back. In the meantime you also gain valuable patient care experience and you make money while doing it.

LPN/LVN means Licenced Practical/Vocational Nurse. These nurses graduated from the first 2 semesters of nursing school, or a special LPN school. They have mainly the same responsibilities as RN's do, however their scope of practice is more limited. LPN's usually work in long-term care facilities and earn less money than RNs.

Once you get your CNA and you work in a hospital, you can take about 3 classes at a time and get your pre-requisites out of the way. These pre-requisites differ from community college to community college, but usually include biology, anatomy/physiology, English, math, chemistry, and psychology. Once those are done, apply to the actual nursing program. Community college will allow you to receive an Associate's degree in 2 years. You'll probably have to wait to get in, depending on where you live and what school you are applying to. While you wait you can get the co-requisites done and start working on the BSN (bachelors) pre-requisites.

Most employers, especially hospitals, will reimburse your further education. BSN, MSN, it's in their personal best interest to do so. Some hospitals may even offer special partnerships, for example let you skip the waitlist or their own nursing program, if you commit to working for them a number of years.

Let me know if you have any more questions. And good luck to you!