Mississippi LPN's???

[GreenIdGurl]

hi everyone...i'm new to this site but am loving it so far. i will be entering lpn school in jan. 09. i live in jackson, ms and was wondering if anyone out there is from the central ms area and can give me some ideas on some concerns i have. let me say this too, my plan is to bridge from lpn to rn. these are my concerns:

1. i've recd info from a local hospital, ms state hospital, they will pay you monthly while you go to school and in return you sign a 2 year contract to work for them after you graduate. and the benefits are great. this is a great incentive for a single mother like myself because i've never not had a full time job. but you cannot work full time and go to nursing school. and with talking to the nurse recruiter i told her that i plan to bridge to rn after i graduate, she went on to tell me that the starting lpn's normally get the 3rd shift and it's hard for them to bridge because you bridge at night. so, i'm not sure about that anymore either! i'm afraid to sign a "contract" to work with anyone because if i want to move to a different dept or what have you i want to be able to do that; or if a better opportunity arises at another facility i want the freedom to take it. i need the money for sure but would much rather concentrate on my studies.

2. when you graduate from nursing school and you go to work at a hospital, do you automatically get the low end of the totum pole as far as schedules go? in other words, do you automatically get the night shift? i understand that you cant go into a new job and expect to have the best of all jobs, but i've heard so many "stories" about some employers will let you make your own schedule to work around everyone's family. which is a great thing but i'm constantly thinking how can they do that because i don't know anyone who wouldn't want to work in the day time and be off on the weekends. ya know? not sure if i'm really getting my point across on this one...

3. does anyone know the starting pay, here in the jackson, ms area, for hospitals vs. clinics?

sorry this is long but these are just a few of the many questions that i have. i've been reading in this forum for hours now but no one seems to be from ms so i thought i'd ask. regardless of where you're from, i would love to hear from anyone who may or may not be able to give me some insight on the above concerns.

~greenidgurl~

[crystalclear]

Hello everyone, I will also be entering the lpn program in Jan 09. I work for the Hudspeth Regional Center which is right across the street from the State Hospital and they have the exact same program. I am also a single mother and it would benefit me to the fullest to get in one of the programs being that you get paid and have state insurance at the same time. I just dont want to sign a contract with them for two years and not having a say in what shift I recieve after finishing school. I know a couple of nurses out there that went through their program they said it was ok. One nurse is a single parent and when she got out they put her on c shift 11pm-7am and in order for her to to get on day shift she had to write a letter and wait for a position to become open. So she went from C, B, to A shift in about a year. So GreenIdgurl thats some of how it works at the Hudspeth Center not sure how it goes at Whitfield after you finish. But i am going to go to the DON and talk to her myself and she what options if any that program has. So If that doesnt bother you I think both programs are great and I say do it. I'm trying to come up with some other options i so when i finish i can at least have a say in something. Not sure what but i know i need to come up with something quick. School is going to be demanding enough.lol

By the way GreenIdGurl I live in Jackson to and was wondering what program you got into. I got into HindsCC Vicksburg campus. The Jackson campus waiting list was tooooooo long so I took the shortest list they had available.

I graduated in Aug 05 from Vicksburg campus(LPN). It is actually the best campus, not so many different teachers and only about 35 students. No one to tell you it is too many of you like I was told about the Jackson campus (they try to weed you out). I just graduated from the LPN to RN bridge program Aug 1, 2008. Only one instructor in class(a good thing only one personality to get to know). Bye the way I think Jackson takes at least 50 students(LPN).

I used grants and student loans for LPN school. I used WIA for RN schoool. Think about where you probably want to work and see what they offer for tuition assistance for LPN school, hospital is best. I went to a nursing home afterwards for 19.50/h 3-11 shift. The hospital would have helped me more for LPN to RN bridge. I still made it thank God, waiting to take boards.:imbar

[MsTn81]

I graduated in Aug 05 from Vicksburg campus(LPN). It is actually the best campus, not so many different teachers and only about 35 students. No one to tell you it is too many of you like I was told about the Jackson campus (they try to weed you out). I just graduated from the LPN to RN bridge program Aug 1, 2008. Only one instructor in class(a good thing only one personality to get to know). Bye the way I think Jackson takes at least 50 students(LPN).

I used grants and student loans for LPN school. I used WIA for RN schoool. Think about where you probably want to work and see what they offer for tuition assistance for LPN school, hospital is best. I went to a nursing home afterwards for 19.50/h 3-11 shift. The hospital would have helped me more for LPN to RN bridge. I still made it thank God, waiting to take boards.:imbar

I had heard that the Vicksburg campus was the best. I was working in a nursing home as a cna and a lpn told me that she transfered from jaxon to vburg because of the way the teachers treated the students. I've been thinkin about where i wanted to work and still dont have a clue. Good luck on your boards i'm pretty sure you are gonna pass.:wink2:

[ceribeth]

Bump. Does anyone know if this program, the Educational Advantage Program through Mississippi State hospital, is still active? Thanks for any info. I will be starting LPN school in August, so I am looking for funds.