I'm 17 and I need some advice! please!

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hello everyone from all nurses! Well I just had some questions i'm graduating from high school in June I live in Los Angeles and I want to become a registered nurse. I was just wondering if any nurses had some advice or stories on how they did it. I was thinking of going to Lacc or Elac and do the general education and pre-reqs...But now i'm so dicouraged from still wanting to become a nurse becuase I hear there's long wait lists and it's very competitive. My last resort i'm thinking of doing is to attend a vocational school like American career college and become a Lvn do you guys think that would be a waste of time and money? and do people who go to that school get treated diffrently? I feel very confused... I would like some advice please thank you everyone for reading my post.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.

I don't know why people are telling you to work as a CNA first. I didn't. Work on your prerequisites. Get them all out of the way so when you get in the nursing program you can concentrate on just that. Also, don't work if you don't have to. I had to. If you are planning for your RN, don't stop at LPN. It's so hard to come back to school. Good luck and take your time.

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I agree with jill48 if you want to be RN dont stop LVN or CNA because it's very tough to come back to school and even if you can get yourself to come back to school you will have retake many classes(bare in mind that most science classes expired 5 years after you have taken them).To me, you sound like you have a solid goal in your life and I think you should pursuit them. If you really want to be RN I think you can do it. This is what I did: I went to community college and take all the prereq course and transfer to nursing school. I'm not too sure if you are from California but if you are most of the state schools have nursing program. The things that you have to be aware of the most is that different schools require different classes. I'd recommend you to first find the school that you want to go to the most and follow their pre req. Also, I want you to be aware that certain classes have pre req, for example: in some school you cannot take microbiology until you have taken chemistry and you cannot take anatomy until you have takee microbiology. Knowing when to take what class is very important when you are community college and don't forget to get good grades because it is a stairway to nursing school.

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I don't know why people are telling you to work as a CNA first. I didn't. Work on your prerequisites. Get them all out of the way so when you get in the nursing program you can concentrate on just that. Also, don't work if you don't have to. I had to. If you are planning for your RN, don't stop at LPN. It's so hard to come back to school. Good luck and take your time.

I didn't do CNA either - went back to school at 38, did pre-reqs and then applied to nursing school.

Don't wait - it is very hard to come back to school later.

Good luck!

steph

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I think that it's very important to take the information about schools often giving preference or maybe even a 'guarantee' of admission if you take prereqs there some important consideration. In a time when it's so very hard to get in to a school of choice, you will really want to inquire about this possibility and take it in to consideration.

I also agree not to spend time doing the LVN or perhaps even a ASN/ADN program....shoot for the BSN at your young age and be done with it. Once you have that degree, it's a pretty quick step on to your MSN and then you will have tons of options in your career -- educator, management, etc.

If you will be working during this time, getting a job as a CNA or a patient tech or anything in a hospital is not a bad idea. You will see right away what the job entails and know if it is right for you or if you are pursuing this degree for all the right reasons.

Best wishes!!

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Im 17 and currently in an LVN program.. my advice, do the LVN 1st cause at least you get to have the experience nd because of the long waiting list, it will take you forever.. :) then after i graduate, ill do my pre reqs nd then i'll jump to the RN program.. i wanted to do my pre reqs before the LVN but most colleges will take you only if your 18 (well thats the college thats closest to me but..)

this works for me cause i really really want to be an RN or go on futher, but its still up to you to decide..

so gud luck and congratulations!!=)

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Ive known alot of nurses that went to the LVN route at the age of 17, and are still LVNs. They way i see it, by the time are an LVN, say at the age of 18-19, you will be making good $$ for your age. ($13-16/hr). You are going to want to work more because the of $$ and for the experience, and eventually will be a part-time student delaying your chances as an RN. Ive been told by alot of LVNs that its hard to go back to school. Im not saying this cascade of events happens to all LVNs, but from the hand full i know, it did. There is no rush to get hospital experience because as an RN, your going to get it!!! And recently, alot of hospital dont hire LVNs, a lot of them work in SNFs.

I graduated HS at 17, went to a cc, i did my nursing prereqs for the cc and a calstate (majority of it are the same)...I applied to both cc and calstate nursing programs. While i waited about a year, i did the rest of my general ed/transfer courses. By the time i got accepted to both nursing programs all my general ed and calstate transfer courses were done and ended up getting my BSN at a calstate by the time i was 23. It took a total of 5 yrs to get my BSN (my first year in the cc i was a bio major) and it went by sooooooooooooo fast.

If you know from the start that you want to get your RN, just GO FOR IT!!! :) I know at 19 i was getting mad jealous at my friends that were already LVNs. But when i started nursing school at 20, I was working as a student nurse making as much as they were while getting hospital experience. (And some hospitals will allow RN students do "RN" duties). But everything is a personal choice, GOOD LUCK! and whatever you decide, CNA, LVN, ADN, BSN, MSN...youre still on the right track by helping people :)

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I totally agree with Suzanne4: get your BSN. Get as much education as you can while you are still young. The 4-year degree will mean a lot to you as you progress in your career, as you can do more things with it in the long run, such as go into management, research, and get a masters degree if you should choose. Education is something you will never regret, and it will make you that much more competitive out in the real world. Do well in school, and you should not have any problems being successful. Good luck with everthing.

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Specializes in emergency surgery.

Well, Nat I decided to be a nurse when I was 12 years old and when I finished school at 16 (England!), I decided to do two years working as Nursing Assistant to see whether I liked nursing or not. I loved it from the first day so as soon as I was 18 I applied to do my nurse training and began at 18 and a half. I qualified at 21. I am now 23 and have a job waiting for me in California.....just going thru immigration and awaiting NCLEX results!!! :uhoh21:

I am sure your systems are different there and you can probably do certain stages and different times to me.....but I think it is a really good idea to start young! Studying was so much easier for me than others in my class coz I had not long been out of school (some in my class were in the 30's or 40's.)

Make sure you find out first if nursing is for you - some people think so but then cannot cope with sick or diarrhoea or the many other things we see as nurses!! :rotfl:

Anyway, hope this helps a bit and good luck!!

Angie. :nurse:

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my 2 cents would be like that of scallywags, you are still young, if you dont have to work, enjoy college take your pre-reqs for the RN program, and pursue it, vocational schools will put you in debt, avoid it by all means, if you want to work get your cna, it will benefit you, if you go on to be a RN, you will understand the cna job, since they would be working under you. I wish I was 17 again, I would run to college to get my RN. Iam looking at a vocational school only because of my age, I dont want to, but I will be over 50 by the time I get accepted at my local college,:angryfire no joke. If you were my daughter, Id say get your RN at your local college, its lot cheaper. thats the wise choice. You won't regret it!!!besides alot of lVNs end up going back to school get their RN, because some find they do almost the same thing, but they get paid less. Thats what my teacher who is a Lvn said to our class, go for the RN.

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