mother of 3 undecided for continuing education.

[LPN1038]

hello everyone! i'm not sure how to start this so i guess i'll begin by introducing myself. i'm an LPN and mother of 3 (9yr, 3yr and 3mo old) kids. i became a nurse to be able to provide for my kids and was lucky enough to find a profession that i love. with the flexible hours, i can work all i want and not feel like i'm not home enough for the kids. well, a year and half ago i had a PE due a protein S difficiency, a year later a ruptured spleen followed by a car accident a week after i was discharged from the ICU. on top of losing my car in the accident and due to all my medical problems i've lost my house and am back at my mother's for the time being. i'm on an extended maternity leave right now but find it difficult going back to work due to the new baby.

i want to go back to school for my RN but i'm so discouraged and am unsure how to go about it right now. my mother, great lady that she is, is willing to help me go back to school with a place to live. my in-laws are willing to watch the kids while i'm at school but that may mean my two youngest will have to stay with them 4-5 days a week (my eldest already started school). i guess that scares me the most..being without my kids that long. is the sacrifice worth it in the long run? or should i just go back to work as an LPN and try to save up in the meanwhile to prepare to move out.

also, i want to be an RN and this may be my last chance at least in the foreseeable future to go back. what should i do?

and if i decide to go back to school...do you guys know where i can go for an LPN-RN bridge program?

[Kay28]

if you go to allnursingschools.com you can go to "find a school" and it will let you put in the type of nursing program you are looking for and a location. hope this helps!

[AmandaLPNtoRN]

Hello,

I'm a mother of three also (21 mths, 5, 7) and I haven't worked since I had my baby almost two years ago. I understand that it's hard trust me I do but if you really want to be an RN some day then like you said this seems like the perfect opportunity. After I had the baby I decided to stay home and go to school, had her in Jan and started school in Aug. I only wish I had in-laws to take care of my kids while I went (my mother-in-law died and father in-law in too bad health). Anyway you have to decide what's best for you. It sounds like you have a pretty good support system. Where do you live? I'm in Tn and the community college that I go to has an LPN-RN program that I'm trying to get into hopefully next year. I really really want to be an RN too. When I started I had no pre-reqs done so I started from scratch. I usually go to school 3 or 4 days a week and no more than a few hours a day. I don't really feel like I have missed that much because I only go so few hours, actually I kind of feel like a get a little vacation each class day. It's just hard to study at night when the kids are getting ready for bed and homework, but I feel like I'm setting a good example for them by trying to accomplish my dreams (with three kids.) I hope that you make the right decision for you and your kids. Good luck with your career.

Amanda LPNtoRN (someday):wink2:

[OUBobcat94]

Hi! I am a single mother of 3 as well (ages 9, almost 6 and almost 4). I am in my 3rd semester of a 4 semester RN program. I say if you have the support of family to go for it. I am living with my parents right now and they are a great source of support for the kids and I. My kids are in daycare/school during the day when I am at school/ clinical. You would be gone as much as if you were working. I know at my community college the LPN to RN program is 1 to 1.5 years. It's a lot fo work, but it can be done, especially with the support of family.

Good luck in whatever you decide. :)

-Bobcat

[Alpha13]

its all about sacrifice...

[Alpha13]

[LPN1038]

thanks a lot for the reply. i've been feeling very discouraged and racked with guilt over this. i guess i've been stuck focusing on all the negatives that i didn't give myself a chance to think of the good things and the kind of example i would be setting for my kids. thank you!

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

The time will pass anyway. You might as well be working towards your goal.

[StayHomeMom]

You go girl. All the basic support system you need to move toward reaching your goal is there. You can really count your blessing. First of all you are blessed with a good state of health at this time inspite of what you have through that qualifies you to become a nurse one day.That's the first step. So you are in the best position to decide to go for it.

Do it for your kids' future. Look to the future like five years or ten years from now and imagine yourself already a full pledge nurse and how your kids will be so proud of you knowing your sacrifices will have given them better opportunity for a great future themselves in terms of college education as well as just the sheer example of the importance of pursuing success in general through sacrifice and hard work. That there are no short cuts in life, and we need to teach that our kids right now. There are however some exception to the rule of course. Someone winning the lotto or other huges awards, or if you are born into wealth. But for most of us we know it's all about determined hard work. So that's what most of us have done are doing or will do on a daily basis. "May HIS face shine upon you and your decicion to go forward".