How long will RN take verses LPN going to school part time?

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I am 30 years old married with 3 kids, 11yr old 7yr old and a 1yr. I have decided to go back to school to become a nurse. I am not going to lie I am scarred of going back to school specially now that I have a family they require so much attentions from me. Because I have to work full time and have a family I have decided to go to school part time. However I am undecided and I would love to get peoples opinion, I would like to go for my RN part time but I have been told to get my LPN first. What do I do? How long would it take me part time to get my RN? and how long would it take me if I decided to get my LPN part time instead? I also have to take all my Gen-Ed pre req before entering the nursing program so I know that it will add on to the time I have to be in school. The reason I want to go for my RN is because I know school is going to take away a lot of time away from my family but hopefully once I am all done with school I will be able to get a job working for a hospital 3days a week 12hr shifts, which will then give me plenty of time to be with my family again. .:confused:

It all depends on what school you are going to and where you live. Here in TN if you do LPN school part-time(which is 4pm-8pm 4 nights a week and then 8-3 on saturdays) it will take you 18months, but no pre reqs are required here; you just have to pass a NET exam or a Compass. The RN program here is two years full time plus an extra year or so if you need to do your prereqs. I'm not sure how the part time RN program works.

You could always do lpn first and then bridge over to RN which takes some of the schooling for RN off( cuts of 6months worth of RN classes in my area). However, you would still have to complete your pre reqs before you bridge. But at least you could be working as an lpn while you go to school and usually the place where you work as an LPN will pays for most/all of your tution to become an RN.

I'm getting my LPN first then plan to bridge to RN b/c of having young kids. Plus I need to start having an income within the next two years. But, this is just what works best for me; you should always call around and check in your area for info about how long it will take you and then decide what's best for you and your family...Good luck with whatever you decide :redbeathe

ITA with ChasingRain, it really depends on where you live & what's offered. I'm also 30, married with child & working full-time. Here there's a night program for LPN no pre-reqs, takes 18 months. But there's also an evening RN (ASN) program that takes 22 months & is comparable in cost. So it's basically 4 months more to save another year in a lpn-rn bridge.

If there's something like this in your area, than maybe RN is the better course for you since you already have a FT job. I hear that the LPN & RN 1st semesters are the same so either way it'll be the same courseload. Good luck in your decision! :up:

Even though you have to do your gen ed requirements first, I would go the RN route, it really doesn't take that much longer and there is more opportunity for jobs as an RN. (From what I've seen at hospitals in my area)

You can get a lot of the gen ed requirements done online which will expedite the process. I found that I have a lot more free time with online classes because of the flexibility of it. Since you work and have a family this could be a good suggestion.

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