New here, looking for advice

[Cyquis]

Hi everyone,

I am a 25 year old, former soldier who, after a trip to the hospital for IBD and learned more about that illness from the LPN that talked to me than the doctor who was helping me, that I want to become a nurse.

I sat down with my wife (Biology Grad) and we made a plan. I am just looking for feedback from the community here on my plan.

I work a job that requires me to be on-call once a month so I cannot keep my current job and go to school.

1. Was offered a job at a local hospital as a phlebotomist (They do cert on the job) that pays about what I make now and has a very set schedule, which will allow me to go to school.

2. Go for my LPN, this way I can get some experience while working in the field.

3. Do a LPN to BSN Program.

I have my GI bill so I will not really have to worry about paying for school but will need to work at least part time while in school.

If anyone has any advice or sees anything wrong with this plan please please let me know.

~Cyquis

[NVhike]

your best bet would be to go for an associate's degree rn (there are part-time programs around, you just need to check), it's almost impossible to work while working towards a bachelor's degree in any of the schools (public or private). majority of students working towards a bachelor's degree do not work. the clinicals required alone are exhausting!

if you go for your lpn, i guess you can do a program less than 2 years, but then, afterwards, you'd have to still work towards nursing pre-requisites before you can even apply to any rn nursing program. i've thought about taking this route before but i also know that, even if you're an lpn, you're just not exempt from taking pre-req classes! it's just sort of double work for me, maybe it'll work for you. goodluck.

[bluemalibu]

Ditto the RN suggestion...

Here in California our RN program is four semesters, vs three semesters for the LVN. That extra semester nets a pay check of more than double that of the LVN.

There is no difference here in pay between RN and BSN... but look at the added expenditure in time and money:

0 to LVN to BSN - 3.5 to 5 years, plus the additional cost of the second school.

0 to RN - 2 years.

[just_cause, BSN, RN]

It really depends what options are available in you area.... if 'everything was possible' I'd recommend the p/t work in pleb while attaining your ADN... and upon graduation and working at hospital get your BSN paid for through a hospital (or state..) ADN to BSN program.

v/r

[cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP]

I'm going to disagree with what some of the other people have said and here is my suggestion. Take the phlebotomy job, it sounds pretty stable and it gets you into a hospital which is good. Personally, I would skip the LPN route and go right for my BSN especially if you have the GI bill to pick up the tab. I say this because you shouldn't have too much trouble taking the BSN route and working part time (especially in the beginning) and if you think its getting too difficult to do both, then at that point you can speak to your employer about changing your schedule or taking a per diem position but at the point you will already have your foot in the door. I disagree with someone who said the ADN is easier to do while in school, although the program is shorter then the BSN I think that the clinicals become more condensed in an ADN program because they are going to get that same RN as the BSN students but they have less time to learn all that information and get that experience. I think that with the BSN you have more options then with the ADN and if you have the GI bill to pay for it then why not get it now? Getting your LPN and then going back to school to get your BSN will end up costing you more money and taking more time then if you just get the BSN in the first place. Plus, finding LPN jobs is getting more difficult unless your going into LTC (for the most part.) Trust me when I say, take the phlebotomy job, let them know of your plans to go back to school for your RN (which most hospitals love and are willing to work with) and go to school for that BSN. Good luck!

!Chris

[woknblues]

i'm going to disagree with what some of the other people have said and here is my suggestion. take the phlebotomy job, it sounds pretty stable and it gets you into a hospital which is good. personally, i would skip the lpn route and go right for my bsn especially if you have the gi bill to pick up the tab. i say this because you shouldn't have too much trouble taking the bsn route and working part time (especially in the beginning) and if you think its getting too difficult to do both, then at that point you can speak to your employer about changing your schedule or taking a per diem position but at the point you will already have your foot in the door. i disagree with someone who said the adn is easier to do while in school, although the program is shorter then the bsn i think that the clinicals become more condensed in an adn program because they are going to get that same rn as the bsn students but they have less time to learn all that information and get that experience. i think that with the bsn you have more options then with the adn and if you have the gi bill to pay for it then why not get it now? getting your lpn and then going back to school to get your bsn will end up costing you more money and taking more time then if you just get the bsn in the first place. plus, finding lpn jobs is getting more difficult unless your going into ltc (for the most part.) trust me when i say, take the phlebotomy job, let them know of your plans to go back to school for your rn (which most hospitals love and are willing to work with) and go to school for that bsn. good luck!

!chris

i agree completely with the above, also i would add that along with what i highlighted in red, the army and military nurses are required to have a bsn. right now, you might not be thinking about it, but there are lots of pretty happy officers in the military nursing forum that are there in b/c of bsn. take the job now and the bsn, i say. great deal.

[guest239592]

I agree with the top two. I'm in a BSN program right now, and while i do not work part-time, many ppl in my class do, and many also have families to juggle. I agree with Chris in that LPN programs will just delay your overall goal and it's very difficult to find those jobs other than long-term care. Whatever you decide either BSN, ADN etc. I would seriously stay away from the LPN program and get your RN license

[Lilloman]

Definitely go for the phlebotomy job. Not only does it give you the money/schedule you need, but will put you in an environment will other benefits while you go through nursing school.

I agree with the others that there is no reason to get your LPN. BSN would probably be the best choice, but you'll have to see what is available in your area and find the best fit for you and your family.

Welcome to the club!!