LPN or RN???

[pendulum9]

Hi all! I'm new and just started pursuing an associates degree in nursing. A few days ago, I was disappointed to hear that it usually takes 3 to 4 years (as opposed to the 18 months I was originally told) to get the degree due to slot availability, pre reqs and so on. My husband will be getting out of the Army in two years to train for a federal law enforcement job. I will have to be out of school and employed at that time!

So I thought I would get my LPN and then work through bridging to RN while employed. Today, several of my calssmates said "don't do it!!" I heard that all the women that say they'll go on to get their RN after LPN never come back.I need to know the real pros and cons to doing it this way. PLEASE help--registraion for next semester is the 6th and I'm so undecided!:uhoh21:

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

pendulum9,

If you have a 'hard stop' of 2 years - when you have to be employed instead of in school - you may be better off going with a 'sure thing' LPN. You didn't mention whether you had already completed all your RN pre-requisites, but even if you have, it will take some time to get acceptance into an RN program. Of course there is always a slim chance that you could get right in, but this is not something you should bet money on!

A lot of people move from LPN-RN. In fact the number of schools that have a 'multi-entrance, multi-exit' curriculum is growing each year. This is designed to facilitate exactly this type of career mobility.

Good luck - keep us posted on your progress.