LVN to RN bridge program

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2012

I'm wondering how the LVN to RN bridge program works in Cali. I will be starting the LVN program next week with the ultimate goal of eventually becoming an RN. I have no anatomy, physio etc... Do I have to take those classes before I can go into the RN program or are they taken in the LVN program?? Im talking about all the pre-reqs needed for the Rn program?? THe LVN wouldn't seem worth it after 17 months of school if I needed to go back and take 2 more years of pre-reqs for the RN bridge...

Yes, you will have to take at least Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology before applying to an RN program. Different schools have different additional criteria for admission, so you would have to check with the schools that you're looking into to see what additional pre-reqs must be completed before admission. For example, some schools may require Developmental Psych to be completed before admission while others may just need it to be completed before graduation. And, no, they are typically not taken as part of your LVN program. I know of people that took their pre-reqs while enrolled in their LVN program, but they were not part of the LVN curriculum.

For me, it was well "worth it" to become an LVN before doing my pre-reqs. In the 2 years it took me to do my pre-reqs, I was working as an LVN, so by the time I finish my RN bridge program, I'll have 3 years of nursing experience already under my belt.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2012

If you are attending an LVN program at a private trade school that grants 'clock hours' instead of transferable college credits, then yes, you will need to take prerequisite courses such as A&P, micro, and anything else required by the RN bridge program.

I attended a well-regarded LVN program at a trade school in southern CA and still had to complete prerequisites because the school did not grant college credit.

Twinkle007, LVN, RN · Nov 30, 2012

yes, you usually have to take those , as well as ENG , PSYCH , I am done with psych ,sociology finishing my math, MICRO and PHYSIO will finish next sem, also need to do one more sem of english , thinking about LVN and RN bridge. Few of my previous classes are transferrable from oversea's , evaluated to American B.A. (I have originaly M.A. in Social Sciences minor in Psychology)