In need of advise..please help!!!

[Kyara3O5]

Good morning to all,

I am 32 y/o unemployed mother of 3 living in Miami, I have worked in the medical field for the past 10 years (clerical work) but always wanted to become an RN. I have been unemployed for about 2 months now and I am thinking about getting my LPN license (to start) but I am undecided.

Can someone give me some information about it such as how long is the program? Is it hard? Can it be done online? What salary can I expect once I graduate? how hard is it to find jobs? Is an LPN limited to work only for a home health agency? What is the difference (other them $$$) if I go to a technical or private school or to a community college?

I've tried to do some research but I will love to hear it straight from the source, if there anyone who can answer my questions I would appreciate it.

Please help me decide if this is the right path for me.

Thanks

[EmmyBee]

I live in Miami too, but did my LPN in the military. My program lasted 12 months. While I have known people who took the course here, I'm not too familiar with how they work. Have you checked into some of the local schools? You can find some names here:

http://www.florida-nursing-schools.com/LPN-Programs.php

Then just e-mail or call for a packet from the ones you are interested in. You can compare the curriculum and prices, and see which ones suit your needs.

As an LPN, I have worked at hospitals (many don't take us now though), nursing homes, home health, home visits, hospice, HMO/insurance, chart reviewer/coder, school nurse, and in clinics. So there is work out there. And depending on where you work and what your experience is, the pay isn't that horrible. On staff, I have made about $19/hr, and through the nursing agencies I've made anywhere from $17/hr to $26/hr. It just depends.

You might also want to explore different RN programs, to see if you would fare off better going straight for that. Hope this helps some. Good luck!