Nurses, I need advice

josinda421 · Sep 4, 2010

girl, if you really want the whole college experience, just go to a four year college that's offering a BSN nursing degree. You'll finish with your bachelor and don't have to worry about going back to school from LPN-RN-BSN.

mochamocha · Sep 4, 2010

i would suggest taking the LPN classes. you can still go to college and become an RN and while you're at it, you can try working at the hospital as part-time. When you graduate from college, you'll already have the LPN experience and that will help when you apply for any RN jobs for the future.

VeronicaWileyRN · Sep 4, 2010

Go on and do the LPN classes. After you finish and start to school for you BS in nursing, you will have a better idea of what is happening. Good luck.

kstain · Sep 4, 2010

will i have enough time to hold a job and go to school at the same time? i was doing research online and everything is telling me that LPN's have "no time" and the best bet is to finish up online

kesr · Sep 4, 2010

Since it costs you nothing and fills your high school time, I'd do it. The knowledge will be priceless since you need to take something for the next 2 years anyway.

Best wishes future nurse!

mamamerlee, LPN · Sep 4, 2010

Take the classes. You can still go to college for your BSN, and you will be better prepared than most of your peers.

HiHoCherry-O · Sep 4, 2010

will i have enough time to hold a job and go to school at the same time? i was doing research online and everything is telling me that LPN's have "no time" and the best bet is to finish up online

Exactly what type of research is this? What site? Who is providing this information?

I would suggest you take the LPN courses. You will have a good idea if this is really the career for you. As mentioned above, you will have experience when you complete college, and this will only work to your advantage (not to mention work to your advantage while in nursing school). There are many benefits to taking the LPN courses now. You will have better earning potential upon graduation from high school whether you decide to pursue a job as an LPN or just focus on college. You will have applicable experience and exposure to nursing when you start your college courses.

diamondmeadows, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2010

Do it! It won't hold you back; it can only help you. If you want the college experience, you can still have it. I was in a traditional BSN program, and there were some LPNs among us. Plus, the option to complete a bridge program instead will be open to you if you change your mind.

nyteshade, BSN · Sep 4, 2010

I did my PN program in HS, graduated with my diploma, and got a LPN license after my boards that summer. You CAN have the college experience after. In fact, you will make more than "fresh" college students. You will have an advantage.

I finished up my RN at school during the day, and worked part-time in the evenings.

I don't regret it one bit...my PN program was free.

***Don't turn down free education***

Rabid Response · Sep 4, 2010

Whether you complete that LPN program or not, you should definitely go to a four year college and get a Bachelors. College is about more than just finding a job when you graduate. The first two years of your four year degree are spent taking general education classes, most of which have little to do with how you will spend the rest of your life, but they are incredibly broadening and enlightening. I don't know how many times I complained about having to study certain subject matters that held no interest for me, only to be incredibly grateful later on that I had taken those classes. The only way to grow intellectually is to be forced out of your comfort zone.

Your college years are a lot of fun. For most students it's their first taste of independence, a kind of training wheels for adulthood. The social scene is much less stressful than high school, and you will make friends that you keep for life. College is where your lifetime of networking kicks off! College alumni associations can be a great resource throughout your career.

You are blessedly young with a million possibilities before you. It is entirely possible that after a few years of nursing you will decide that you'd rather pursue a different career. Having a four year degree will make that immeasureably easier for you. You will be marketable and promotable in fields outside of nursing and can apply to a variety of graduate school programs.

Do not pass on the opportunity to go to a four year college and get a Bachelors in nursing or anything else! It may seem practical to do so at this time, and you may earn more money than your peers during the first few years of working as an LPN, but in the long run it won't be worth it. After four years, those BSNs right out of school will be making more than you are while you toil away and spend your precious free time trying to bridge to RN. Taking classes online while you work fulltime (at eighteen? ugh) is not anything close to the education you would receive as a full-time student. Mostly, I think you would always feel that you missed out.

Sorry for such a long and disjointed post. I was just imagining what I would tell my own daughter if she were (God help us) considering NOT going to a four year college when she graduated high school.

Best of luck to you!

Oh yes--what high school classes would you NOT be taking in order to take the classes for LPN certification? If you are substituting any of these LPN classes for college prep classes, I would advise you not to do the LPN program at all. Getting into college should take precedence over a vocational program.

brina8615 · Sep 4, 2010

I say go for the LPN! You will definitely be able to work and go to college... most college students work at least a part time job, and this way you'd be making a decent amount of money (I worked at Starbucks getting like $8 an hour during college) and getting amazing experience for the future. You could work 1 day a week at a hospital and work more during the summers or pick up extra shifts during the holidays, etc.

I wish I had that opportunity.