Is being an lvn really that great?

[cookie123d]

(I'm in California btw. I'm in my 20s and live with my single mom).

My mom got sick and a young lvn home health lady comes to our house. She knows I want to be an RN and I'm taking my pereques (I have physiology and Microbiology left so I'll be done sometime next year). She said I should be an lvn first, she went to American career college which is a for profit school and paid $30k (according to Google) which is a lot to become an lvn. I said that's a lot, other places charge 5k, she said well trust me once you graduate and get a job you'll be making so much you won't even care about the loans! I was like WOW!! I didn't know lvns had it like that. She's like trust me you won't even wanna be an RN after you already have a job and stable as an lvn. She said she didn't even spend years taking prereques like I am now, she didn't have time and wanted to get money fast. I said well then after that I got to find an lvn to RN bridge program which will be a pain, and I heard some schools don't accept American career college, she said yes they do it's accredited, etc. (I know west coast accepts it but that's also a for profit school so it would make more sense just to go to their RN program).

I don't know who to get advice from, my grades are average so I don't know if I can compete with others to get into a California CC ADN program. I still have 2 science courses left, but each semester is 4 months, so that's like 8 months that I'll be wasting on classes just for a hope to get in somewhere, when I can go to lvn school for a year and get it over with... I'm kind of discouraged because on this blog I see a lot of people complaining about how hard it is to find lvn jobs, to find lvn to RN bridge programs, and how they wish they just went straight to RN... But then at the same time I see her in her Mercedes telling me how she's so happy being an lvn so I dunno...

Anyway I'm just confused LOL, I would appreciate some advice ?

[Lynker, LPN]

2 hours ago, cookie123d said:

Oh thats so great it worked out for you! Do you work in a nursing home or what kind of job do you do thats per diem? I heard bad things about nursing homes and I am worried

I do work in a nursing home! It truly does become like a family thing though. You get so close to your coworkers and patients. I love it so much. Originally I was full time but I went back to school very soon after starting.

There are some downsides, which include heavy (yet doable) workload, emotionally taxing, and lots and lots of charting. But again, if you love the environment you'll deal with it. Heck, today I stayed almost an hour late to finish up. But a good side of nursing homes is the money! I hear they typically pay a bit more than clinics and such.

[scribblz, BSN, CNA, LPN]

I worked as a CNA for 2 years to pay for my LPN from a community college, very affordable, graduated with minimal debt. I worked as an LPN for 10 years, got married, had a couple kids and bought a house. 7 years in I joined an LPN to BSN bridge program. Now I've been working as an RN for the past 3 years. As others have said each thing was a stepping stone to the next thing. Whichever path you take I recommend being an aide in the environment you hope to work in whether that's a medical assistant at an office, a tech in a hospital or a CNA in a nursing home. It's good to develop a reputation of good work ethic early and to know what you are getting in to. They don't pay us well as nurses for nothing! You have to also enjoy some aspects of the job or you won't last. Best money maker for your time: LPN agency nursing (you will need some experience at least 1 year first before doing this).

Best of luck to you!

[Mintezia]

30K is a HUGE amount of money for an LVN program. Most places it's less than 10k. On either coast and especially around the major cities the cost for schooling will be greatly inflated. The cheapest LPN program I've seen is around 2k and that is in Virgina. I met an LPN in clinicals that got her license there and told me that's what she paid for her program.

I'm not gonna lie some LPNs do become complacent and remain LPNs or take longer to get an RN. Schooling for RN can also be costly and time consuming, especially when one adds a full time job, kids and pre-existing loans from other degrees. If you want to work primarily in home health or LTC there really isn't a huge incentive to go on for your RN because the pay difference isn't too significant. Where I work the hourly pay difference between RNs and LPNs is only $5. Some places I've seen only a $2 per hour difference.

8 months is a really long time for pre-reqs. I've never lived in CA but I imagine competition is that fierce for nursing programs. It's quite similar in nyc too. If you really want or need to make money why not try your hand at an LVN program? Generally no prereqs are needed. I've met a few LPN students in clinicals that actually failed out of RN school or dropped out and got into LPN school.

LPN school can be challenging because the amount of time spent on subjects and clinicals is condensed. My program was 10 months long. That's about as short as it can get (unless there are shorter programs that I don't know of).

LVN is a good career path especially right now. Many of us were fortunate not to lose our jobs in the last few months. And it's pretty hard right now to automate nursing.

For now start small. Start and finish an LVN program before even thinking about a bridge progran should you decide to go. Good luck!

[cookie123d, CNA]

4 hours ago, Mintezia said:

30K is a HUGE amount of money for an LVN program. Most places it's less than 10k. On either coast and especially around the major cities the cost for schooling will be greatly inflated. The cheapest LPN program I've seen is around 2k and that is in Virgina. I met an LPN in clinicals that got her license there and told me that's what she paid for her program.

I'm not gonna lie some LPNs do become complacent and remain LPNs or take longer to get an RN. Schooling for RN can also be costly and time consuming, especially when one adds a full time job, kids and pre-existing loans from other degrees. If you want to work primarily in home health or LTC there really isn't a huge incentive to go on for your RN because the pay difference isn't too significant. Where I work the hourly pay difference between RNs and LPNs is only $5. Some places I've seen only a $2 per hour difference.

8 months is a really long time for pre-reqs. I've never lived in CA but I imagine competition is that fierce for nursing programs. It's quite similar in nyc too. If you really want or need to make money why not try your hand at an LVN program? Generally no prereqs are needed. I've met a few LPN students in clinicals that actually failed out of RN school or dropped out and got into LPN school.

LPN school can be challenging because the amount of time spent on subjects and clinicals is condensed. My program was 10 months long. That's about as short as it can get (unless there are shorter programs that I don't know of).

LVN is a good career path especially right now. Many of us were fortunate not to lose our jobs in the last few months. And it's pretty hard right now to automate nursing.

For now start small. Start and finish an LVN program before even thinking about a bridge progran should you decide to go. Good luck!

Thanks and actually I checked lvn schools here and the 30k one doesnt require any prereques. But alot of the community college lvn programs do actually require some prereqes and require you to have your cna license and nutrition class done and statistics class done and they look at your GPA ?

[Mintezia]

Gotcha.

Would you have to take out loans for all or most of that? And all LVN/PN programs require you to have a CNA. If GPA is an issue it would be good to try for a program with no prereqs.

Good luck!

[Lynker, LPN]

On 7/1/2020 at 12:03 AM, Mintezia said:

Gotcha.

Would you have to take out loans for all or most of that? And all LVN/PN programs require you to have a CNA. If GPA is an issue it would be good to try for a program with no prereqs.

Good luck!

Not around me, for my LPN program I didn't need my CNA, nor my RN program at another nearby school.

[Qwerty3]

RN here that started as an LPN.

I’m not trying to discourage you and I’m by no means saying not to get your RN. Get that RN, get that money you worked for, open up all those endless job opportunities.

I think being an LPN first is GREAT experience and a great way to learn. I was happier as an LPN. As an RN, I feel like I just have the title to have nonsense, paperwork, and responsibility thrown on me. Starting as an LPN gives you time and the chance to learn the how’s, what’s, and whys behind things. LPNs are important parts of the team and there are so many that can “run circles” around the RNs for lack of better words. Just like there are some LPNs that make you question how and why they managed to get a license. Same goes for RNs. What I’m saying is title does not indicate skill or knowledge. The thing with LPNs is that you’re not expected to walk into your first day knowing everything. As soon as you have your RN, you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of messes you were never trained for solely out of expectation that since you have that title you know what you’re doing. Regardless of school time, you still need adequate training and support, which I feel like you get more of as an LPN. Right after I got my RN, I was thrown into a supervisor spot that I’d trained 30 minutes for. As an LPN, I had a mandatory 3 weeks training. Again, this is just my experience. But I loved my years as an LPN. And don’t let anyone give you that crap about LPNs being phased out. One look at indeed shows me that there are more jobs open for LPNs than RNs. Mostly because they’re cheaper, but still, where I live, LPN pay is dang good.

edited to add: the year of LPN was HARD. Like 30x harder than my RN bridge. But it gives you a good idea of what you’re in for. I thought I knew what I was signing up for when I was in nursing school and a CNA. Nope. Being an LPN first, you’ve only got a year invested and you can decide where to go from there after you’ve seen what you’re dealing with.

[Qwerty3]

On 6/18/2020 at 3:26 PM, caliotter3 said:

Of course she is going to defend her choice regarding how to pursue the career. You do you. Continue on your path to RN. Should you need to step back to become an LVN first, you will have the LVN to RN bridge option. It is good that you realize the obstacles that may be in front of you. That outlook will help you to approach this in a rational manner. And anyone can buy a used Mercedes. Actually I find it rather foolish to try to maintain a Mercedes on close to (soon to be) minimum wage.

And I agree with this. LPNs (some of them) are always going to tell you to stop at LPN whether it be out of insecurity of their choices or genuine love of their job. There are pros and cons to both. Do what you think is right for YOU.

[cookie123d, CNA]

12 hours ago, Qwerty3 said:

And don’t let anyone give you that crap about LPNs being phased out. One look at indeed shows me that there are more jobs open for LPNs than RNs. Mostly because they’re cheaper, but still, where I live, LPN pay is dang good.

yes OMG! I just went to job searches and there are a bunch of LVN (we call em LVN here in California jobs) and people say they're being phased out in CA the most which is not true, I saw a few hospital lvn openings too.

[Qwerty3]

7 minutes ago, cookie123d said:

yes OMG! I just went to job searches and there are a bunch of LVN (we call em LVN here in California jobs) and people say they're being phased out in CA the most which is not true, I saw a few hospital lvn openings too.

My mom started as an LPN too. She graduated 20 years ago and at that time people were saying LPNs were phased out. They’ve been saying it for 20+ years, it’s yet to happen and I don’t think it ever will.

[cookie123d, CNA]

8 minutes ago, Qwerty3 said:

how long did it take you to get into the bridge program? now that you're an RN did you get an RN job right away and do you get paid alot more?

[Qwerty3]

6 hours ago, cookie123d said:

how long did it take you to get into the bridge program? now that you're an RN did you get an RN job right away and do you get paid alot more?

I personally didn’t go back for 3 years, just because I wasn’t mentally prepared to do the school thing again. But after doing my prerequisites I was able to start the bridge at the start of the next class my college had. So from the end of my prereqs to the start of the bridge was about 4 months. At the hospital I was going to work at, I was going to make about $8 more an hour. But in the place that I worked as an LPN, I only got a $2/hr raise for getting my RN. I’m working in home health right now and I’m making $1/hr more than I made as a LTC LPN. So basically in my experience, you do get paid a lot more if you’re in a hospital setting. If you plan on going to a nursing home, home health, etc, I wouldn’t expect a big pay raise from what you’d make as an LPN.