New here...LPN first?

[cindy0624]

I've just made the decision to go to nursing school. I live in South Florida (broward) and the wait is very long for the RN programs. Is it beneficial to become a LPN first and then do a LPN to RN transition program?

[wwnurse]

Hi! My husband is doing RN and I am doing LVN (LPN). I have looked at several programs in various states and it really looks like you waste a lot of time doing the LPN first. I am only doing LPN so I can afford to pay my way through school for Social Work. One cool thing I heard about LPN to RN though, is if you are an LVN you can do your RN through an online or correspodance type school (like Excelsior). My friend did that and it took her less than a year to finish (including passing boards).

[luv4nursing]

I dont think you waste time doing your LPN first. One thing I would suggest though is to take your RN pre reqs before or during LPN school so you can go straight into the transition program after that.

I actually saved time because I just got my LPN license, while if I were going to the generic RN program Id STILL be waiting just to start and then it would take two years from start to finish. Now I can get my RN in just one more year of school and make decent money/gain experience in the meantime.

It just so happened that the timing was off for the application deadlines to start RN school in January (it was right after our graduation, but u had to be licensed to apply), so it would be next January before I could start. Since I dont want to wait that long, Im gonna start Excelsior within the next month and get my RN that way. I estimate that it wll take me a year start to finish and the best part is u can do it on your own time. I plan to take on some home care work and that way I can study while Im working during downtime.