Spring2015

Hey, LVN in CA here (Bay Area). I paid $30k for an accelerated LVN program where A&P were included, and earn $70-80k/yr. I took this route because I wanted to move out of my parents house ASAP after high school, and I wanted to be a nurse but couldn't wait 4+ years to be out of my own. A lot of my class was just trying to be independent quickly, not doing LVN out of it being perceived as easy, because honestly it was quite challenging! That being said, once you are done with LVN it can be REALLY hard to get into an LVN to RN bridge program here, because you end up on a waitlist for someone to drop in their second semester of nursing school to essentially take their place. There is no guarantee you will ever get off that waitlist. Non-waitlist schools are so competitive in CA that you need excellent grades and TEAS. During this time that you are waiting to get in, your prerequisites are expiring. Private LVN to BSN can be quick to get in because they are less impacted, but can still cost a small fortune. So if you do LVN, you may end up either staying an LVN or eventually "restarting" and doing an ABSN or ELMSN. All that being said, you asked about the status of LVN. Some family members/friends (who aren't in healthcare) have given me a hard time for not getting an RN right away. Funny thing is that I have never received any negativity from about it from anyone who is actually in healthcare, and have met so many RNs that were LVNs or CNAs first. Being an LVN is absolutely a great career and I love it, but that's my honest answer. I would still 100% do it again, but now I'm 31 and doing ELMSN, which is what I'd recommend to you because while its still competitive I felt like I got in faster because ELMSN put more emphasis on life experiences in the application process. I hope this helps answer your question about LVN status/indirect paths to RN. You still have a long career ahead of you, 20+ years as another poster stated. You could even go to an ELMSN-NP Program. Good luck!

Hey! Fall ELMSN '22 here, wondering if anyone would be willing to chat about the program? Just wondering how it is, a little bit of what to expect? Any tips would be greatly appreciated ?

Hey! Just found your thread and wondering if you went and how it was if so? Thanks :)

Hi! I'm in the same boat, except I've only been an LVN for 7 years, and took off a couple of those when I had a baby. I'm starting from scratch in an ELMSN program (I spent 1 year re-taking all prerequisites (Chem, Anat, Phys, Micro), and now I'm about to start the 2 years program to get an MSN and take the NCLEX-RN). People discouraged me from the longer route, too, but the LVN-to-RN waitlists in my area have no guarantee when you will ever get in unless you go private and spend the same $ as an ELMSN. The time works out to about the same, too, if you plan to go to MSN eventually.