Please~~~~~

wasted-enough-time · Aug 9, 2007

ANYONE?????

Please!!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TruDivaRN, BSN, RN · Aug 10, 2007

Well, I'm a second level RN student. At the nursing home I've been working at for 10 years as a CNA, some of the new grad LPN's have been started off with b/t 17-18. So I guess if you have experience it would be more, and thats just base pay with no shift diff. By the way I'm in Tarboro NC.

wasted-enough-time · Aug 10, 2007

Thanks!!..."soon-2-BE-RN"!!!!!!!!!!!!

I live in Wilson by the way...and was kinda ( well ok...Very worried, LOL) if indeed the potential income/starting pay was worth it, because you see, I am currently working private duty and making between $10.00 - $13.00 per hour, which around here is good for CNA's.

What concerned me was I was thinking that the average starting pay would be just about the same or at least very close to what I'm making now. Someone ( another CNA) told me it was a mere $12.00 per hour. I was a little down about that, but....I want to obtain my LPN SOoooooooooooo badly that even if she was right,..I still think it will be worth it!! I too have been a CNA for 10+ years...

Anyway Thanks again..oh and best wishes in school!! :balloons::balloons: Where do you attend?

TruDivaRN, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2007

i attend halifax community in roanoke rapids( i graduat in may):monkeydance:. its a long drive, but worth it. imo you should go back to school for your lpn, if you have the desire, drive, and determination, you will do just fine:kiss. true, in this area hospitals rarely hire lpn's and when they do its about 12.00/hr:madface: :down: :banghead: :cry: . imo not enough money for all that responsibility. most lpn's that i know have decided to work in ltc because the starting pay is way more for lpn's. most nursing homes start lpn's out with the high teens:yeahthat:.

RNSuzq1, RN · Aug 11, 2007

Hi - Wasted-enough-time,

You said you're in Wilson. I live in Clayton, Graduated in May/06 with my RN from Wilson Tech (it was worth the long drive - Great Nursing Program). My best friend from school went through their LPN Program and is now working at "NC Special Care" - there in Wilson. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it - it's around the corner from the College. It's a State run, long-term care facility - large majority of the pt's have psych issues. We did a few months of Clinicals there - sadly, we were told that quite a few of them were "dumped" there by their families that either couldn't or didn't want to care for them.

It's not a Psych. hospital like Cherry - there were lots of younger pt's that suffered permanent brain damage from auto accidents and this was where they ended up (to live their lives). My entire class was totally depressed the first week we were there - but fell in love with the residents and shed a lot of tears the day we left. It's the kind of place you either love or hate working at. 3 of my classmates ended up loving it and have been there for the last year.

My LPN friend took a position without health benefits because her husbands job covers their family. She said she started at $21.00/hour - plus overtime if you want it. Considering most RN's in the area start out at $20/hr - that's excellent pay. I worked at WakeMed for 6 months, from what I heard, they're sort of phasing LPN's out and no longer hire them, but I could be wrong. I now work at JMH in Smithfield - we have quite a few LPN's on my floor. I think they start out at about $16/hr, but not positive. I know JMH is paying for most of the LPN's on my floor to go through the LPN to RN Bridge Program. You commit to 2 years of work as an RN when you graduate, which is a good deal if you planned on staying at JMH anyways.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted you to know there are lots of options out there.

biker nurse · Aug 11, 2007

i was making 16/hr in LTC with 10+ years exp by whilmington

wasted-enough-time · Aug 11, 2007

Thank you..

biker nurse, SusanNC and Soon-2-be-RN.....

I value all your replies!!

SusanNC, ..guess what? I used to work at the NCSCC...back when my son was still in diapers...and now he is almost 16. I was a HCT and worked on 5th floor. I worked there almost 2 years and actually liked it to some extent , however my hubby worked in Raleigh at the time and with my working nights ( 11:15-7:15) and him working a regular 8-4, plus adding an additional hour+ each way for travel etc... well we hardly saw each other.... I later on got PG with our daughter and after a while it did not work out for us family wise....Its not a "happy place" to work, but overall I honestly enjoyed it and might even consider going back once I have my LPN....

I've put off going back to school for a LONG time...I tended to put others and other things first... but I decided a while ago...NO more!! It's time for ME to reach a few of my goals...hence my user name..'Wasted enough time"... My Hubby is ( finally :uhoh3: ) behind me 100%, so are my kids...I'm a little stressed about my not working for a year ( I may do 8 hours of private duty a couple of weekends per month, but not much more than that) Anyway we went over our budget and altho it will certainly be kinda tight,..its doable.....Hubby said we will tough it out for a year and then I can work PT as an LPN and hopefully bridge over to the RN program...

Anyway salary wise, I wanted to share that I finally got up enough nerve to ask one of the LPN's where I work ( my private duty patient is living in a LTC facility) ..Anyway I asked her what was the average starting salary there and To my surprise she was very open and shared with me that she is making $18.00 hour and has only been an LPN for one year. She works 1st shift, but said that 2nd & 3rd shifts ( shift-diffs) pay more, also said that the weekends is where you can get plenty of OT if ya need it. she was very encouraging on many other Nursing factors as well....

RNSuzq1, RN · Aug 14, 2007

Thank you..
Hi Wasted,
About money for school. If you're going to the Tech in Wilson - make sure you talk to someone at NC joblinks. Even if you don't qualify for financial aid/Pell Grants, I found out half-way through school that a bunch of people in my class were getting help from NC Joblinks. If you're going back to school to improve your families financial situation (as long as your husband doesn't make a ton of money), they'll help with tuition, books, gas, uniforms, etc. They were even paying childcare for a few of the students. Ask in Admin, I think there's a workforce/job links rep at the school - if not, go to NCjoblinks.com to find the office in Wilson. I don't know a lot about it, but do know that they helped quite a few people in my class pay for their education - so definitely something to look into.
I'm a Navy Vet (served during the years not covered by the new GI Bill), so the Navy didn't help with my education. I've never asked Uncle Sam for a dime and was shocked to hear about all the tuition assistance programs my classmates were receiving that I didn't know anything about. They don't advertise these things - so do yourself a favor and ask around. Like you, I always put others first and put off school for a very long time (20 years to be exact). Although I regret not going back to school sooner, I don't think I would have been as focused on studying when my Boys were younger, so it probably all worked out for the best doing it when I did.
Best of Luck To You, Sue