How do I convince my parents to let me go through an LVN program?

[RockyRamona]

Hey everyone! I need advice for something. I'm almost done with my nursing prerequisites and I'm considering going to the LVN-RN pathway. I've heard from my nursing parents that if I go on this path, I'll be wasting my time because hospitals are phasing out LVNs. I understand that to be true but I plan to advance to becoming an RN ideally after I've worked for a few years. I say ideally cause I've been advised that if I choose to become an LVN first, that I'll probably be an LVN for longer than I think. I've weighed the pros and cons of it and I'm leaning strongly towards becoming an LVN first. (Any additional pros and cons are welcome as it is a huge decision and it'd be helpful to consider.) However my parents want me to go straight to RN and they're the ones paying for my education. I know that people who go through the LVN route do so out of economic necessity, but I have reasons. I wanted to become an LVN first so I can get work experience to make myself more hirable( yes I'm aware that I have to be creative about it, in terms of adding it to my resume but I think it helps more than just me getting a degree and having no experience), and to save up so when I get my ADN, I can move out once I get a nursing job and start living independently. Basically, I'm doing it to become financially stable in the long run. With that said, how do I convince my parents to financially support my choice to become an LVN first? They responded adversely to me suggesting it, despite me saying several times that I was going to continue my education to become an RN. I understand they want the best for me, but I have definitely thought this out. It's a matter of how they'll recieve it, which I can't control. Worse case scenario, I'll be forced to just become an RN. That isn't bad, it's something I can deal with. Ideally though, I want to become an LVN and then come back to school to become an ADN. Any tips on how to convince them?

[OcMurse93]

As someone who lives in SoCal. If you do your CNA, you will only be able to work in a nursing home, if you are lucky. No one will hire you as a CNA in a hospital without experience, and that is what I dealt with. Additionally, CNA work is considered first semester RN experience because that is the first thing that you cover in an RN program. It might not increase your chances as much as you might think working as a CNA.

I never landed a CNA job prior to nursing school, but I worked my butt off for my ADN, made sure to have my ACLS and NIHSS before graduation and only took me about a month to get a job at a very reputable hospital.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

If your parents were cutting you off if you chose nursing over, say, engineering, I would encourage you to follow YOUR aspirations.

However, your parents are encouraging your desire to be a nurse -- even paying for your schooling. I remember my sister's high school boyfriend's father telling our father that he wouldn't be contributing to K's schooling, because he "would value it more if he paid for it." And how many young people's families can't afford to help then!

I also think the LPN path is a great option for some people, e.g. as llg said those who are paying their own way.

BUT, ADN programs aren't much longer than LPN programs. I'm not a financial expert, but it seems like any financial advantages to getting your LPN first would be outweighed by your parents' financial contribution.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I think you've gotten good advice so far. I couldn't help you convince your parents that you should do the LPN first because in all of your posts you haven't convinced me that this is a good idea. LPN experience is not the kind of experience that employers are looking for when they are looking to hire experienced RNs. If you're a new grad RN who was an LPN, you're still a new grad RN.

I also think you're misunderstanding the friend who went back to get her LPN after getting her bachelor's. I cannot think of any reason that someone with a BSN would go back for their LPN unless they couldn't pass NCLEX-RN. A BSN prepared RN not finding work but finding the LPN market better? Sorry, not believing that for the life of me.

In your situation, I'd try to go straight for a BSN. I would imagine hospitals in that area are highly coveted employers and can require BSNs for their new grad RN hires. I moved out of my mother's house and got my own apartment as a new grad BSN prepared RN. Saved enough to buy a house on my own in 4 years, too. And my mother didn't even fully finance my education- I graduated with almost $90k in student loans.

[PS121myhelp]

I was reading through all the comments, and I have to agree with going ahead and getting the BSN. There are very limited LPN jobs. Most LPNs that even have hospital jobs have them because they have proved themselves or have been there for years. The most economical thing you could do would be to go ahead and apply for a BSN program. Take it from someone who did the automatic four year path. If you go to a good school, yeah it will cost money, but you'll be a RN, BSN. Less time in school and easier to pay off. Is it hard. YES! Keep ice cream handy. It would be a waste of time to start lower and have to slowly work up. It doesn't make sense to get a LVN first. Start off training to be an RN and skip the LPN. Don't worry about the getting hired on part as an RN. Tons of hospitals have specifically designed new nurse residency programs- at least on the east side (I've dealt with NH, NC, and FL), and I have a lot of friends that I graduated college with that went back to California and had no problem getting jobs as new nurses with a BSN, RN. Yes, you will learn things out of school that you didn't learn during your four years, but nursing is constant field of learning. I was able to get over 900 clinical hours in college, but that came with a BSN program. Trust me and go for the BSN program the first round.