Nursing Career

Sour Lemon · Feb 14, 2017

Good evening, I have been in healthcare for over nineteen years. I am a Certified Nurse Assistant in many areas. ( Telemetry, Rehabilitation, Oncology, IMCU) to name a few. I am now back in Hospice but, am looking forward to expand my education. I learn differently. I am more of a hands on individual rather than book learning and this makes me afraid in moving forward. I do notvlike using that Afraid word so please for give me. Should I go into the Nursing program for RN or Practical Nursing

Some things to ask yourself:

What are the requirements of nursing programs in your area and are you a competitive candidate?

How will your education be funded?

If you'll be taking out loans, will you realistically have a long enough working life as a nurse to pay them back?

How long can you afford to go to school? Are you able to cut back on working hours if you need to?

What job opportunities exist for LVNs, ASNs and BSNs in your area?

That's just a start.

crazin01 · Feb 15, 2017

I second sour lemon's response about examining many factors of your personal situation (money, family, geographic location & so on).

Being you have so much experience in floor/clinical settings with patients, you definitely know what is expected of a nursing career. Often times, pre-nursing students or very new nurses post, contemplating if nursing school was 'the biggest mistake of my life' and other similar situations, only going to school because family is making them, etc. I think I'm safe in saying that you have seen both the best & worse nursing has to offer and are still wanting to further your career.

Another positive aspect is your significant experience as a CNA. Depending what type of program you would start, you have a great advantage over other students completely new to nursing. Just wanted to make sure you add those to the 'Pros' side of comparing different nursing programs.

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 15, 2017

To choose between LPN and RN ... the big question for you is, "What kinds of jobs are available for LPN's in your area?" Are those the kinds of jobs you want? They types of jobs available for LPN's vary from region to region. Your first step is finding that out and deciding whether or not you would be happy with those jobs. If not, then you have no real choice but to go for an RN.