LVN to RN HELP!!

[Doxi]

Hello everyone!!

I am completely at a loss. I'm beginning to lose all my hope as a nurse. I graduated LVN school August of 2012. I had a plan for a certain school to transition into RN but life happened and I had to move to Dallas. I hve put so much time and effort trying to research schools and get applications together but it seems like I am missing one thing from almost everywhere and it is pushing me back even more. SO here is my question: I have an associate degree in applied science. I also have my LVN license. Is there anything I can do with these two? Can they be combined? Can this get me a bachelors faster somehow? My plan is to do an LVN to RN (or completely start over and do an RN program) and then take a BSN program. So is there anything I can do with my associate in applied science? Or was that a complete waste?

Please help!!!

Thank you

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

If your AAS is not in nursing, there will be nothing you can do with it in nursing, per se. However, the college that I graduated from, Excelsioir College, offered an AAN and a ASN degree, with the only difference being in the number of general electives required in specific categories. Just as an example, your AAN degree may have required one psychology course whereas my ASN degree may have required 3 progressive levels of psychology, which was a total of 9 credits as opposed to your 3 credits. But the total amount of credits may be balanced out because you may be required to do more free electives than my ASN required.

All that being said, look into programs that offer an AA in nursing. Most of your credits should transfer. As far as the LPN education, you will definitively have to take microbiology if you haven't already and depending on the type of A&P, you may or may not have to repeat it or take an exam (as I did with EC) to make sure you have credit for a course that covers all body systems. But check for this soon, as acceptance into most of these programs require that the sciences are not older than 5 years if your hoping to not have to repeat them.

The short answer to your question is probably no, but you really haven't provided enough information to explain what you're wanting or hoping to combine them to do. For job purposes, you're only licensed as an LVN. So working as such is all that you can do in nursing with that. I definitely would not start over from scratch if becoming an RN is the goal. Talk to an advisor, have them assign your credits wherever they may fall, take the couple of additional courses or exams and begin the LPN-RN bridge. Once that's done sooner than you think, depending on the program, take the NCLEX and move on with an RN-BSN program.

It is definitely possible that in 2 years from today, you could be a BSN RN. Good luck!

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

Depending on what classes were taken with your AAS, you may be able to use them to transfer for classes in the Associates or Bachelors RN programs.

In my area there are two ways an LPN can go to RN. A)do an LPN to RN bridge program, however the only approved programs by the state are associate degree programs or B)Start from the beginning in the BSN program. None of the LPN classes that are taken transfer except for the nursing classes. We got no credit for A&P, psych etc because they were not 'college' level classes. You only get transfer credits if they were taken at a college/university. So my English, Psych 1 and II, Algebra, Sociology etc were available to transfer.

Since I was not willing to start from square one with nur 101 etc, I opted for the LPN to RN route and now I'm currently enrolled in an RN to BSN program.

My only advice is to look at the options availale to you in your area, some States don't offer an LPN to RN option. Then get in contact with someone who could advise you better Best of luck