Need Urgent Advise!

[jakecruz17]

hi! this is my first time posting on this message board. i am looking for some advise on what to do with my career. i started to study nursing back in 1998 but due to my pregnancy of my 1st child i had to stop after the 2000 fall semester. i then went back for the summer semester of 2002 but had to stop due to my second pregnancy. i already completed all my basic classes (english, math, sciences, psychology, etc.) and i completed a few concentration classes. i did all of this while i was in puerto rico. my husband is in the navy and we now live in jacksonville, fl. will they validate my credits from puerto rico here in florida? now that my son is going to be 3 yrs old and my daughter will be 5 in two-weeks i have decided to continue my nursing career. currently i am planning on taking a certified nurse assistant (cna) course and getting my state license 2 weeks after i am done in order to gain some experience. but i am interested in finishing my associates degree and continuing on to my bachelors. my question is: is it a good idea for me to get my cna? what do i need to do in order later to convert from a cna to a lpn? if you were i what would you do? i have been told that if i am working i can complete my associate degree and my bachelors degree online. is this a good idea? any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

thanks,

awilda

[mart18642]

my question is: is it a good idea for me to get my cna? what do i need to do in order later to convert from a cna to a lpn? if you were i what would you do? i have been told that if i am working i can complete my associate degree and my bachelors degree online. is this a good idea? any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated."

cna is a good starting point......but that it converts into lpn; especially in jacksonville, fla. don't think so. the only thing that cna will get you is pct(patient care assistance tech), and with that you will be train to do, almost, what a lpn does, even some type of meds, and that depends where you work( at least that is what i remember from 9 years ago). in jacksonville lpn have to have a year of an accredited school of nursing, pass the pn-enclex ,and then you will be able to practice as a lpn. also you mentioned an associate degree online. it can be done,i'm not sure what to tell you about that i have been a lpn, rn now bsn (all were done at a local university) and i will try to do my master online........may be others with online degree experience might be able to guide you on this....

well good luck.

martrn

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

How long will your husband be in Jacksonville? I know the frustration of moving often (every two years with my then-Air Force husband) and repeating courses again and again. I would do whatever you can do in the time you have left. It is hard to transfer from one program to another.