New Here - Think I'm finally ready to pursue my dream!

[nursedesire82]

Hello Everybody!. I am new to the board and thought I'd come and share my story and tell you a little bit about myself :). My name is Lindsay and I am 29 years old (will be 30 in June). I am a mom of 2 young boys and in a relationship with a great guy. I currently work full time at a daycare center as a Pre-K teacher, as I received my CDA (child development associate) degree back in 2003. Even though I do enjoy working with children in daycare settings, that is not my true career dream. My dream, since I was 6 years old, has been to become a nurse. When I was 4 years old, I was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL) and ever since I was old enough to remember, I have had a strong desire and dream to become a nurse....but have never gotten close to fulfilling my dream. I've always felt that I'm not smart enough to do it. That I would probably just end up failing....but then there is a part of me that has in the back of my mind "I bet I'd surprise myself and would be able to do it".

In high school, I was horrible in science and math and I know those are two very important things needed to become a nurse. I also was in special ed. classes (so to speak) in high school and didn't learn any advanced mathematics (algebra, etc...), so not only was I not so good in math, but it was simple math at that....but on my defense, that was also over 10 years ago and I have grown up A LOT since then.

Recently, I was back in the hospital (actually this past Friday, the 13th) for a scheduled surgery and had to spend the night. After being taken care of that night, my desire became even more strong (which iI didn't even think was possible) when I was being taken care of by all the nurses. I've only been out of the hospital for not even a week now and I'm already seriously considering finally starting my journey to become a nurse.

What I'm thinking however is that I was to go up the ladder. I want to start off as a Patient Care Technician, then go for my LPN and then go for my RN. Or maybe go from a PCT to an RN. Not entirely sure quite yet. But one of the questions I have for everybody is, does anybody know how to become a PCT?. I've done a little bit of research and from what I can tell, a PCT is a CNA but with phlebotomy and EKG. Does anybody know if that is true?. If it isn't, can anybody tell me how to become a PCT?. I've googled PCT courses/training in my area, but nothing comes up.

Can anybody here also tell me exactly what it is like going through nursing school?. The reason I want to go up the ladder so to speak is because I don't want to overwhelm myself. I know that nursing school can be very difficult and challenging and I just kind of want to take it slow and go at a slower pace and not just jump right into RN schooling. I figured I can become a PCT, start working at a hospital and then while I'm working at a hospital, go for my RN. Like I said, I do have 2 small children (5 and 3) and....I just have so many questions!.

If anybody has any advice to share or anything regarding my questions, I would REALLY appreciate it! :). Thank you so much in advance for your help!

[perioddrama]

First off, congrats on wanting to become a nurse!

I'm not familiar with the term PCT. It's entirely possible to go from CNA to LVN/RN. Lots of people do.

I'm going to address nursing school, since that's what I'm more familiar with (old new grad at this point). Nursing school was do-able if you were determined to stick with it. All that matters is passing your classes and then passing The Big Test (NCLEX). I remember a few of my classmates had children. Heck, one was pregnant and had two little ones at home, plus she worked. She was determined to get through nursing school, and she did.

There are many nursing school options, from the cheaper (money-wise) JCs, CSUs to the UCs. Then there's the private schools. Lots and lots of options.

It also depends if you want to get the LVN license before the RN. If you go that route, there's even more options for you. Lots of online bridge programs, hybrid programs.

Whatever you decide, good luck! I'm sure you'll be an awesome nurse. :)

[AnonRNC]

PCT is Patient Care Technician - may or may not be a CNA, usually does CNA type work.

My suggestion is to keep your daycare center job, contact a nursing school advisor to find out what prerequisites (math, english, sciences) you need. Start by taking one class at a time and see how it goes. I suspect that your poor high school performance may be due to both immaturity and loss of school time due to illness.

I LOVE being a nurse and I think it's a great career. :)

[OncRNMichelle]

[color=#66cc66]congrats on wanting to become a nurse. you will not regret it!!

i agree with anonrnc about meeting with a school counselor. i did my classes backwards (because i did not meet with one). had i met with one i could have finished nursing school 2 years sooner than i did. take it one step at a time. you will get to the end in due time. good luck!