charmiso

You don't have to change your major if Nursing is what you really want to do but I can see how it can be frustrating. I personally would not take it a 5th time right away, sometimes it is ok to wait but don't give up. You may also consider looking at other school options that require other entrance exams like HESI or consider other schools that may take a lower score of the TEAS. Don't give up!

I didn't think it was a waste of time when I did it, it also depends on your situation and in your situation I think becoming an LVN first can benefit you financially if you want to move out asap, you can complete your LVN and get a job and start working on your RN. There are LVN to RN programs all over Texas colleges, and LVN to BSN programs too that you can pursue after you finish. If you are not worried about working in a hospital then you can work in a nursing home, clinic, rehab facility, assisted living facilities. I am in Dallas and there are a lot of LVN jobs here, some people like to have 3 prn jobs and almost every nursing home will have prn nurses, you can also do home health. However, I always advise people to just do the RN program and not have to worry about the whole application process all over again because it can be tough and extremely competitive to get into the bridge program, but like I said, it all depends on your situation.

If the facility did not want to hire an RN for that position that they are letting you cover then they should at least hire an LVN just to be on the safe side. At least an LVN/LPN can take MD orders, do focused assessments, put in orders on the MAR etc. It's probably all about the budget, facilities will do this to "stay in budget" but this is unacceptable and I'm actually more worried for the RN that's working there and delegating her tasks to you (if that's what she's doing). Good luck to you.

Congrats on passing the NCLEX, that's awesome! Sometimes you just have to keep trying and not give up. I passed mine 2 years ago on the first try but I have a friend who took it more than once, he was very anxious about having to retake it, sometimes you know the content but nerves can really get the best of you. I studied the NCSBN 5 week program as well, I barely studied the Kaplan and the tree was confusing to me. I also used the Saunders book and a website called Nurselabs for practice questions, my main focus was on answering as many practice questions as possible and studying the rationales. Very encouraging post, enjoy your nursing career :-)