New Guy here, I'm considering nursing as a profession

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

Hi Nathan. Lots of nurses go the LPN to RN route. While being a LPN is an honorable profression, there is much more money and opportunity in getting your RN asap, as it's definately worth the extra time and money.

A license in one state can transfer to another, but you have to go through the new states boards and pay for/apply for another license, but it's a relatively easy process.

I'm glad to hear the nurses that took care of your father inspired you.

Good luck in all you do!

bcjams · Feb 22, 2005

and being an lpn makes it much easier to get accepted into an RN program. a low starting gpa is why i went lvn first. (1.3) I made 4.0 in my prereqs and about 3.5 in my rn courses. overall I brought it up to a 2.7. anyway the moral of the story being was that my low gpa would have prevented me from ever being accepted into any program without first going to lvn school. there are a lot of techs i know who are still waiting to get in because the lvn's are being taken first....and there you go...now back to studying for my RN boards...2 weeks till T day

MHN · Feb 22, 2005

Hi Nathan ,If you are not sure that you will like nursing take the shorter course and see i,m in Australia so I'm not sure of the difference between lPN ect .by starting at the bottom so to speak you will learn all the basic stuff that forms the platform of care that will be of benifit to your patients if you go onto further studies.

Dougb61 · Feb 22, 2005

Sorry Nathan, I've been an RN for the past 13 years and would not suggest nursing as a profession to my worst enemy. Sure the pay is pretty good but there is a lot more to life than money. First off if you do become a nurse get ready to work in a thankless job. 12 hour non stop shifts, cleaning up feces and urine and everyother body fluid, Few breaks and no lunches are often expected of you. Endless and often redundant paperwork galore is the nursing standard. After just a couple of years in this thankless profession you'll start to look at your fellow human with a complete new set of eyes. You'll come to expect the worst out of people before you ever meet them. You'll stand in line at the supermarket and start to size up people based on their mannerisms. The human race will eventually make you sick to be associated with it. Synical?? Oh yeah I'm synical, people are needy. 12 hour shifts of endless needieness over the years will change your entire perspective on people, society and life in general.

Hi guys. I am currently working as a barber/stylist in Louisiana but I am very unhappy with my job. I love the people & the atmosphere but I hate being self-employed, the instability of not having a steady paycheck and no benefits, but most of all I am not helping people when i know I have so much more to offer. I have several customers that are doctors and they really love working in healthcare and I know I would be a great nurse. I called the local technical college today and their LPN class begins in June and i am seriously considering joining it. Ideally I would like to work in ER or perhaps cardiology. Would it be wise to start as a LPN and later become an RN? I am still relatively young(29 years old) and would really like to go straight intto an RN program at Louisiana Tech but financially that isn't possible..I was a previous college student there and goofed off so much that my GPA is too low for financial aide, but I can get pell grants at technical college. Also, I live in Louisiana but I am single/no kids so i can relocate anywhere...if I get licensed in Louisiana what would be required to work in an other state? I appreciate any advice y'all could offer and thanks for the great work y'all do. My father had a heart attack & quadruple bypass surgery in October(on my birthday to be exact) and the work done by the nurses & doctors amazed me and inspired me.

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Feb 22, 2005

Sorry Nathan, I've been an RN for the past 13 years and would not suggest nursing as a profession to my worst enemy. Sure the pay is pretty good but there is a lot more to life than money. First off if you do become a nurse get ready to work in a thankless job. 12 hour non stop shifts, cleaning up feces and urine and everyother body fluid, Few breaks and no lunches are often expected of you. Endless and often redundant paperwork galore is the nursing standard. After just a couple of years in this thankless profession you'll start to look at your fellow human with a complete new set of eyes. You'll come to expect the worst out of people before you ever meet them. You'll stand in line at the supermarket and start to size up people based on their mannerisms. The human race will eventually make you sick to be associated with it. Synical?? Oh yeah I'm synical, people are needy. 12 hour shifts of endless needieness over the years will change your entire perspective on people, society and life in general.

Wow. :stone

Welcome to Allnurses, Nathan.

You're going to hear it ALL here. And yes, there certainly are the cons to this profession, as well as the pros. Can't deny that. We ALL get highly frustrated at times, but since there are so many of us who stick with it, I'd say the pros certainly outweigh the cons. Stick around and read here... you'll find the answers you are seeking.. but the real answer lies within yourself. Follow your heart. :)

As for working in another state, you can now use your license to work in other states in many areas without having to pay for a new license in that state or taking that state's boards. These are called compact states and it is becoming the norm in many areas of the contry.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

12 hour shifts of endless needieness over the years will change your entire perspective on people, society and life in general.

You should probably be speaking in the first person. It changed you. It doesn't change everyone, mercifully, in this way. But your opinions, concerns and frustrations are valid and I in no way want to invalidate what your saying. Just that you speak only for yourself, not the profression and nurses in general.

arbley · Feb 22, 2005

Hopefully, Dougb61's cynicism and unhappiness are not evident to the patients he cares for. Sadly, feelings like that are hard to hide.

As a couple of others have said, there are certainly pros and cons to any profession. Please don't let a few negatives change your mind. Nursing can be a very rewarding profession in many ways. Another nice thing about nursing is that there are so many career options available to you. I became an RN at age 37, worked a little med-surg, lots of ICU, cardiovascular research, long-term acute care (administration), more ICU, cardiac step-down (administration), more ICU. Then I made a really big shift, away from the hospital setting and the ICU (where there are lots of men working in nursing) to a position as Director of a home health agency. I love it! My point is not really to advertise my relatively frequent job changes, but rather, to show a few of the MANY options available to you with a nursing degree.

If your heart says "go" - please listen - you won't be sorry.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

The pros definately outweight the cons for me. No job is perfect. Nursing is flexible and well-paid (at least for me). We need more male nurses. I would go for your RN from the git go. I've been an LPN (26 yrs) and now an RN. The difference is well worth the effort!

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Feb 22, 2005

My LPN graduating class in 1977 had 1 male nurse. Ten years later he acheived his RN and works in our local ER. My BSN class of 1982 had 4 male grads, all still practicing today.

"The sky's the limit if your heart is in it!"

Good Luck in your decision.

Owen · Feb 22, 2005

Hi Nathan, Nursing is a very big step and thru forums like this one and looking yourself in the mirror you will be able to decide if its for you. I had a friend who joined my rn class and then decided that he wanted to remain hca (uk equiv as lpn), nursing has many options. The post of dougb61 is to be taken seriously I've seen too many bitter and twisted nurses on the job. Remember tho if you get to that state please leave nursing, the patient is bound to suffer from your cynical views. At the end of the day, no matter what technology and fancy gizmos we have in work, cleaning of a patient of many bodily fluids and waste in their hour of need is one of the core core nursing skills required. And many a time i have received lots of emotional and heartfelt thanks from them.

NicoAust · Feb 22, 2005

Hi, My name is Nick, I am in Australia, currently doing a working holiday in the Northern Teritory. Have been working around Australia so much job opportunity being a nurse. I highly recommend the profession. I strongly recommend being a RN and working towards Critical Care. I have done 1 year on the wards then 7 yrs in ICU and 5 years in ER, currently working in ER with the aboriginals. You see so much, do so much. I was also working with CareFlight Air medical retrievals - that was a great job flying all over the place collecting sick patients, stabilising them (intubating, inotropes etc). The only con I found was working with some female nurses that rock the boat, that is everywhere you go. Just ignore all that bull ****, working with guys so much better. Good luck.

Nick