LNA to RN

U.S.A. New Hampshire

Published

What is the quickest way to go from an LNA to an RN?

Thanks!!!

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There is no quick way:uhoh21: I am a LNA and have been for 5 years. It does not cut any of the schooling out. I would suggest taking chemistry at your local high school if you haven't had it in the last 5-10 years (depends on the school) and apply NOW to a nursing program. Most have extensive waiting lists due to the shortage of instructors. Get an NLN ( a test you will have to take before acceptance into a program) study guide from your local bookstore and study!!!! You must get a minimum of a score of 101 but I don't have anyone in my class that scored below a 110. Good luck!!! Keep us updated.

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Where in NH are you?

I never took any of the prerequesites required for the Nursing Program while I was in High School. I decided to take them instead at the college level for a few reasons:

1. I could get financial aid for a college course but not for a high-school course.

2. Some prerequesites also can be used toward my degree requirements (intro to Algebra was one). Also, ALL can be transferred to a higher degree (Bachelors, etc) program once I complete my Associates so it is giving me a jump.

3. I got to know the professors and thier teaching styles as well as helped me get acclimated to the school. I got involved in activities after my first semester was done as then I was not so scared of doing badly.

The most economical schools would be the community colleges in NH. Check out www.nhctc.edu for links to all the system schools. I attend Laconia and absolutely love it there! Some offer LPN programs as well as RN programs. You will have to take the NLN for entrance, but all schools are different as far as scoring for entry. Also, some schools only let you take it 1X a year and others as many as you need to.

Getting in is not impossible, but is very competetive so you must try your hardest to get great grades to show you can make it through the Nursing Program. I was accepted on my first try and start the program in the fall.

There is a lot of aid and scholarships out there so it pays to look around!

Good Luck!

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I am in Nashua and I am attending NHCTC- Nashua. (Graduate with ADN 2007). They require you take chemistry and they do not offer it at the college. The high school was cheaper (only $110.00) for the class includes lab. No chemistry or A&P would be accepted without a lab component. Intro to Algebra is a noncredited class at NHCTC-Nashua although I did have to take it before taking statistics. I know that all of the NHCTC programs run alittle differently from each other. I guess your best bet is find the college you want to attend and find out what THEY want and expect and beat thier expectations to ensure you get in on the first try like the two of us did. Good Luck to all! And congratulations kukukajoo on your acceptance into the nursing program!!!!!

P.S I was not IN highschool I had to go back and take an adult ed class. I graduated high school in 1997 but because I did not take chemistry then they required that you take it now :(

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Thanks ina2rn!

Yes, every single tech program has different requirements for their degrees. It seems like Laconia may be the easiest as they took my Algebra from the college and do not require a lot of the courses the Concord requires (took 'em anyway though for knowledge and in case I decided to apply there). By the time I applied though, I had my feet planted firmly at this college and the community that I can't yank myself away from the place!

Abt advice you can offer a greenie?? I am starting to get all my stuff now that I know I need.

Take care and good luck!!!

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.

Like everyone says, there is no quick way to an RN program. Being an LNA is a great jump up on a lot of procedures and patient care, but you still have to do all the required nursing and science courses.

I've heard that some nursing programs want prospective students to already have an LNA license before they apply, but none of the places I applied had that requirement. I actually got my LNA license after completing my first semester of the RN program I'm in now. It has really helped to work as an LNA on a Med/Surg floor during nursing school.

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Thanks ina2rn!

Yes, every single tech program has different requirements for their degrees. It seems like Laconia may be the easiest as they took my Algebra from the college and do not require a lot of the courses the Concord requires (took 'em anyway though for knowledge and in case I decided to apply there). By the time I applied though, I had my feet planted firmly at this college and the community that I can't yank myself away from the place!

Abt advice you can offer a greenie?? I am starting to get all my stuff now that I know I need.

Take care and good luck!!!

Advice for greenie....UMMMMM. IDK I still feel like a greenie myself. I guess I would suggest 3 things:

1. In clinical do not let anyone see you sweat. You will sweat and freak out at times but do not let anyone espescially the pt see you sweat, or fake it till you make it. :lol2:

2. If you are not already an aid when you get your liscense work perdiem at a hospital. Prefrably one that will float you to deifferent floors so you can get a sampling of what is out there and what you like while improving your clinical skills.

3. Your grades are not that important in the real world of nursing. It has been said many times to me from unit managers "Do not kill yourself getting an A. We would rather hire a B student who has strong clinical skills than an A student who doesn't know how to ineract with patients".

I hope this helps and have fun !!!!:biggringi

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Reading ths board has made me aware of more of what to expect so I am not so freaked and I am fairly composed. The only thing I may have a problem with is nasty pts and jerks. I have to figure out how to calm myself when someone is treading on me in a professional setting and be diplomatic about it. I even took critical thinking to help me with that!

I nanny now making WAY more than I would as an aide so working as an aide may be out of the question. I take care of newborns, preemies, and mulitples (my specailty!!) BUT I already have an LPN job lined up for next summer (same co does home health and nursing placements) as I can get my LPN after the first year of program completion. I was lucky as the job fell into my lap and it will be making huge money for me- more than most I know are making as an RN up here and the experience also will be worth more than money can buy.

I am a single mom putting myself thru school as well as my twin 19 year olds (one decided to transfer to a 28grand a year school next year!!!) so money is a big driving force while I can make it. I work all summer like a dog midnites and then have a bazillion other little jobs here and there. I am trying to make it so I don't have to work at all next school year as I just want to dedicate my time to school but my dd I think blew that theory for me! (eeekkkkk!). Somehow I will manage- I did not come this fat to fail!

Also, I WAS worried about my grades, but now that I am in, I have relaxed some. I still owrk my butt off but the test I bombed last week did not make me cry!!!! I still study my butt off but I am not going to kill myself in the process of trying for that A in NS, as hard as that is! I will do 110% and accept my grades. If low, I will study it again but life goes on!

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Reading ths board has made me aware of more of what to expect so I am not so freaked and I am fairly composed. The only thing I may have a problem with is nasty pts and jerks. I have to figure out how to calm myself when someone is treading on me in a professional setting and be diplomatic about it. I even took critical thinking to help me with that!

I nanny now making WAY more than I would as an aide so working as an aide may be out of the question. I take care of newborns, preemies, and mulitples (my specailty!!) BUT I already have an LPN job lined up for next summer (same co does home health and nursing placements) as I can get my LPN after the first year of program completion. I was lucky as the job fell into my lap and it will be making huge money for me- more than most I know are making as an RN up here and the experience also will be worth more than money can buy.

I am a single mom putting myself thru school as well as my twin 19 year olds (one decided to transfer to a 28grand a year school next year!!!) so money is a big driving force while I can make it. I work all summer like a dog midnites and then have a bazillion other little jobs here and there. I am trying to make it so I don't have to work at all next school year as I just want to dedicate my time to school but my dd I think blew that theory for me! (eeekkkkk!). Somehow I will manage- I did not come this fat to fail!

Also, I WAS worried about my grades, but now that I am in, I have relaxed some. I still owrk my butt off but the test I bombed last week did not make me cry!!!! I still study my butt off but I am not going to kill myself in the process of trying for that A in NS, as hard as that is! I will do 110% and accept my grades. If low, I will study it again but life goes on!

Well Kukukajoo we have been talking alot;) You are probably right about the Nanny making more than an aide. Here is some more options as perdiem you could work 1 day a month. Or only during break from school. My place of employment pays for $8000.00 worth of schooling, which because I attend NHCTC, my tuition is paid for. I have to work as an RN there for 2 years then I am free to go where I want . I currently make $13.50 an hr., after 7pm it is $15, on weekends it is $18. Oh and if you just can't bring yourself to do aide work there are nurse externships at alot of the hospitals in NH. I know Elliot does it. Look into it. All of these options would secure yourself a job too. (with benefits)Right now the nursing field is desperate, you can pick your hours and pretty much do what you want.

I have kids too, 2 girls, I was a single parent and going to school for behavioral sciences and it was tough. I am married now but school with kids and a job is very tough. If you can manage to do it without working that is the best way.

Oh BTW do you go to school in the summer? The board of nursing said I couldn't get my LPN until after 3 semesters of school. You might want to check into that. If they changed the rule would you let me know? I would like to work as an LPN for the next year .

Well anyway before I edit this thing 100 times my girls are freaking out

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.

We were also told that we could sit for the LPN exam (those of us in the BSN program) after 3 semesters. I think it depends on how many clinical hours you have done though. If a program does more clinical hours in their semesters than another program, that might be the key. The BON site might have that info though.

It is tough to work and go to school! I'm recently divorced and have 4 kids. Luckily my oldest 3 are able to babysit my youngest (who turns 10 next month) and my oldest will bet taking driver's ed this summer, so hopefully by winter she'll have a license, which will be a big help. I'm fortunate (and unfortunate) that my mom died a couple of years ago, and with the money she left, I've been able to buy a house and live frugally while in school. But I've also had to take out a LOT of loans for nursing school. I only work 4 hours a week now as an LNA, mostly just for skills. I'm going to even just cut that to per diem, because the cost of gas to get to the hospital I work at for what I make (a whopping $10.20 an hour, plus differential because it's weeknight) isn't worth it. My schedule is also changing AGAIN with my psych rotation starting at the end of May. I know I could make more money serving fast food than doing what I'm doing! LOL

Nasty pt's? OH YEAH!! I've had MORE than a few of those! I've never had a really bad one in clinicals, because patients can refuse a student nurse, and most of the nasty ones do, but at my job, I've had some doozies. An interesting story, which is long, but I'll try to shorten it:

About 2 months ago we had a pt come in. He was total care due to a progressive neuro disease, but had all of his mental faculties. VERY demanding. He had one-on-one care at home, even with wife and older adult kids. He demanded to have his own nurse and LNA in the hospital, and this was denied, but they did bring an extra LNA on during day and evening shifts so "his" LNA would only have 3 or 4 pts instead of 10 or 11. I was that lucky LNA!

Anyway, he was soooooo demanding where every little thing was put, how he was cleaned up after a BM, where his pillows were placed (even how they were fluffed up!) and especially how he was fed and how his food was prepared (total care and needed to be fed pureed foods). On the first day I cared for him, after about 1 hour of his verbal "abuse", I said very politely to him, "You know, Mr. So-n-so, I respond much better to people's requests when they say please and thank you to me. If you do that, I think we'll get along fine."

It worked. He was nice TO ME from then on, still demanding from the nurses and other staff (which I thought was weird because he was a born-again Christian and liked to preach Christian values, so his attitude to me seemed very un-Christian-like). He would let no one else feed him, bathe him, turn him, place his pillows, etc. Only me.

We really got to know each other well, and I genuinely grew to like him as a person. I learned a lot from caring for him, not in the technical skill sense, but how to deal with overly demanding people. I came to realize that with his progressive loss of use of his body, this was the ONLY thing he could control - people. But I think I taught him that while people like myself DO want to help him, he can't bark at people and expect them to honor his every whim and wish. The whole honey/vinegar/fly thing is very true, and he had a lot of gifts to share with people, but he didn't need to share with a nasty attitude!

Anyway, my nurse-manager was really impressed that someone had gotten through to him. I wish the same could have been said for his wife, who used to dress-down the whole staff on a regular basis, the funniest being when she STORMED into the nurses station and DEMANDED to know why no one told her her husband had been to surgery that day! LOL He hadn't been! The surgeon had come up to inflate the balloon in his trach (all it takes is a syringe with sterile saline!), but she made a complete a&& out of herself by ASSuming instead of ASKING what happened. Mr So-n-so quickly set her straight about me though, and she never had a cross word or anything for me.

Long story here! Sorry!

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Ina- I wouldn't mind the LNA work at all! I am not one of those that think ANY job is beneath them!! At the moment I am making 18 an hr plus travel exp doing the nanny thing and I love everything about it except the hrs!

I just realized though, I KNOW I cant do this after the fall semester starts so I had better keep my options open to find something very part time and flexible. I have this fear of approaching people saying I want to work but i cant work that much!

The NH Board of Nursing has a website page that lists externships and I have found their site helpful!

3 Semesters?!?! Here is from our Catalog:

""After successful completion of Level I, students are eligible to take the National Council for Licensing Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) in New Hampshire based on comparable education, and have the option of exiting the program or returning for the second year (Level II). Licensure by comparable education may not be recognized by the licensing agency in every state. Applicants who are Licensed Practical Nurses enter the program at Level II. Students who successfully complete Level II are eligible to take the National Council for Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).""

Level I is the first year of the program.

WannaBE- you definatley already have a way with Pts!!

I have to say- I am excited that there are more NH nurses on here now and that you are all so supportive and informative! sometimes just having a sounding board means everything when you are a student, never mind being a single mom!

BTW- my kids are older (19, 19, 15) Twins are college students, my 15 year old probably would not mind id she didnt see me for a month as long the internet & phone still worked and there was good eats and sodas in the house!! lol!

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Ina- I wouldn't mind the LNA work at all! I am not one of those that think ANY job is beneath them!! At the moment I am making 18 an hr plus travel exp doing the nanny thing and I love everything about it except the hrs!

I just realized though, I KNOW I cant do this after the fall semester starts so I had better keep my options open to find something very part time and flexible. I have this fear of approaching people saying I want to work but i cant work that much!

The NH Board of Nursing has a website page that lists externships and I have found their site helpful!

3 Semesters?!?! Here is from our Catalog:

""After successful completion of Level I, students are eligible to take the National Council for Licensing Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) in New Hampshire based on comparable education, and have the option of exiting the program or returning for the second year (Level II). Licensure by comparable education may not be recognized by the licensing agency in every state. Applicants who are Licensed Practical Nurses enter the program at Level II. Students who successfully complete Level II are eligible to take the National Council for Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).""

Level I is the first year of the program.

WannaBE- you definatley already have a way with Pts!!

I have to say- I am excited that there are more NH nurses on here now and that you are all so supportive and informative! sometimes just having a sounding board means everything when you are a student, never mind being a single mom!

BTW- my kids are older (19, 19, 15) Twins are college students, my 15 year old probably would not mind id she didnt see me for a month as long the internet & phone still worked and there was good eats and sodas in the house!! lol!

Thanks for the info on LPN! I will definetly bring it up with my director. I will update you with what she says.

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