hello, i am 19 years old, and i want to become a nurse. i became a cna to work in the field and make sure nursing was for me before i made the big decision on starting to go that way. i have been working as a cna for four months and have decided nursing is right for me. i will be starting prereqs next semester and will work my way through an aa in nursing to then transfer to a university to get my bsn. since i will have to pay for my education without my parents' help, i thought it would be good to do an lpn program and work part time as an lpn to be able to pay for the university's tuition and other expenses, and also gain some nursing experience. well the lpn program has a waiting list of one year so i would be working on the aa in the mean time, and working as a cna. well once thay call me to tell me to start the lpn program i would probably be doing that and either pause the prereqs for the 14 months or onl take like one class per semester. what i'm wondering is if this is like a waste of time in any way, some people tell me i should just do the asn at a community college and then do an rn to bsn program. i just want to know what other nurses and nursing students have to say about all of this. i know that in the end i make my decision based upon what's good for me, but some imput from people who have been through all of this would be greatly apreciated.thanks :)
Guest 360983 1 Article; 357 Posts Feb 3, 2010 It would be faster (and cheaper!) to go straight for your RN at the community college, unless you go to one of those colleges where everyone gets put on a 4 year long waiting list. LPN school is usually 18-ish months, then another year to bridge to RN, while RN school is just 2 years (and a few more pre-reqs). You can keep working as a CNA part time in RN school, and don't forget about student loans.
