sunnymilo

I am an LPN but in my county I can only work as a CRA (Clinic Room Aid). This is not using my license. Only an Public Health RN can be a school nurse in Fairfax County, VA.

You have got that right ALL THE WAY!

I am a clinic room aide as well as an LPN. As an assistant in the school I am not to say or use my license as a nurse but I am really practicing under health department county guidelines as an assistant with a public health nurse supervising. The nurse has several schools she oversees and makes her rounds daily and is there for all of her assistants via pager as needed, and during visits to the school. I have the BEST PHN! SHe is really helping me to grow in many ways as this is my first "real" job with any responsibility; I have been a stay home "Mom" for close to 16 years, with very limited experience in the work force with most of my time spent taking classes and caring for my family. The truth is, I want to like my job as a clinic assistant, but I get really worn out and frustrated by the misuse of the clinic, the "demands" of some teachers and instructional aids, as well as the questioning of my judgement! I have been put in positions very aggressively by other teachers/TA's to the point where I second guess myself when I should not be!!! I get really down about that alot. I felt very unappreciated the first couple months of working and people just seemed to want to challenge me on everything! It is even more frustrating when you have a nursing education, and I'm really not supposed to make that known, and so most of the time people think you are just sitting in there as a bonehead layperson with no experience! Whether one has a nursing background/ EMT background, or nothing at all, our country really trains our CRA's well and we are offered a great program! The disrespect to the clinic aids is so terrible sometimes, I mean, it is as if~ no matter what, the teacher thinks they need to go home for everything! I have even had teachers/IA's bring kids down, drop them off with backpacks, demand that I call the parents because they think the kid needs to go home. One IA refused to leave the clinic until she "heard" me call! I think I need to definitely toughen up or this will wear on me. These people will walk all over you if you do not stand your ground early one. I turned the issues with the challenging kindergarten staff over to my Prinicpal who even agreed that the friction I was recieveing was inappropriate. I hope this helps let Public Health RN's/School Nurses/ and LPN's or CRA's to know to stand your ground early on and do not let the staff break you! Be confident in your abilities! Your calls will not be 100% all of the time, but most of the school issues are quite minor and get blown out of proportion very easily.

I know this is kind of an old post but I graduated from the Williston State College Practical Nursing Program (the first class to go through), back in July of 2005. Mt husband is in the AF and we were stationed at Minot AFB. I attended the LPN program at St Joes/Trinity over the IVAN network and had clinicals in the hospital with a group of 11 other gals. About two weeks after graduation my husband got a new assignment to Fort Belvoir, Virginia. I MISS NORTH DAKOTA! It is a great place. We were stationed there twice- from 91-96 and 98-2005. I think we may come back for a third time in another two years. I hope so. I would like to get my RN there at my old college vs. here in Virginia. Just wanted to say hey! I saw North Dakota on your name heading and got a little "homesick"! Take Care! :monkeydance:

Hearing people's replies that say they realize there are other careers that would suit them better, well I appreciate that! I feel the same way. I think it is okay to be able to realize that and it took me a while to not feel bad for it (family and friends asking why you don't want to be a nurse or why you are being so wishy washy). There are people that try alot of different things in life and that is their way of finding their niche. I think it is okay to try different things and it is even better when you find your true self by tring these different things, no matter how crazy the traditionalists think people like us are!:balloons:

I am an LPN and I have about 110 credits toward a Bachelor's degree. I can transfer to an LPN to RN program but I am thinking about going into psychology with my BA instead and then hitting grad school. The wait is too long to get into an RN (I've tried a few times and the wait each time has set me a back another year in college), not necessarily my grades (I have about a 3.2 and had a 3.8 in LPN school). There are just so many people applying and limited space. My favorite part of school was the psyche rotation and so I think I may pursue psyche as my next degree. I am tired of waiting to get into RN school and tired of paying on student loans for a BS I haven't finished because there has not been space for me in an RN program each time I apply. I am giving it another shot for summer of 2008 for the next LPN to RN to go through and while I wait for that yet another year, I will continue to work on my online BS in Psyche just in case. I am tired of waiting for the space for RN. I chose nursing as a major in college my second year. I was really an undeclared possibly art or science major but not sure. I chose nursing because I wanted to help people. I find I really enjoy psychiatric studies though and I am glad I have the choice to change majors now, even though I have not gotten into an RN in a timely fashion. I will give RN another go and then if I don't get it the goal is Clinical Psychology.

There is no way you are wrong and don't let anyone talk you out of becoming an LPN!!!!!:welcome: I tried to get my RN from a 4 year University twice, after being in the university and completing all of my undergraduate pre-requisites including pre-nursing. The first time I applied I missed the cutoff (18 students being accepted and I received a note saying I was "second alternate"). Well I never got to that point, no one dropped out or failed out so I had to re-apply. This time I did not get in again, but it was a good thing because my Dad died from cancer about 6 months later, and I really needed that time to myself and being in a nursing program would have been difficult. Well a year later (because the nursing college only picks candidated every fall), and a year behind in school and entering my last year of college, I felt really bad like I was just wasting precious time and money. I took foreign languages, humanities, arts, computer, religion, anything to keep me in until I got into this stinking RN program. I pretty much was 20 or so credits away from a Bachelor of Liberal Arts/General Studies! I had no idea where I was going and really felt like it was not meant to be for me to be a nurse and that I made a big mistake even thinking about pursuing it. By the way, I was also a non-traditional aged student- I started college at 28 and I am now 34. While digging in my garden about a month after my Dad's death (that was now June of 2004), I said "God, what am I supposed to do with myself and this education path I am on; I feel like I am wasting time". I later went to check my mail and I had an invitation from a 2 year state college on the western side of our state that was starting this new LPN program and they were inviting me to apply! I was just beside myself! I could not figure out how they had gotten my name. I was active as a pre-nursing student on my University's Student Nursing Program, but I have no idea how they got my name! Well I took a chance, and I decided to apply to this junior college LPN. I had to get CNA certified so I put myself through CNA that current summer and I was accepted into the new LPN program and started it that fall! I transferred out of the University and I took a 3 semester LPN certificate program. I don't even have an associates degree but I can tell you I have my license to practice as an LPN, and I am very proud of that! I also want to tell you that the best education I have had has come from this little state college. That year of nursing was hands on from the get-go, very fast paced, and I learned so much and had the best time and made the greatest friends! I had the most wonderful teachers that were so supportive and patient and kind. I felt like I came out of that 1 year program knowing everything I needed to know about becoming the nurse I wanted to be. I will never forget my friends and my teachers and some of the mentors at the hospitals/nursing homes as well. There were times when many RN's, RN students, and their instructors treated us really poorly and looked down on us while we were on the floor. I seriously wanted to write a letter to the hospital at one point complaining, but I didn't want to get our DON at the college in trouble. I just told myself that I would never be like that or treat any students that way when I had my license. There were also some very appreciative and helpful RN's we met and all of the LPN's we came across were very appreciative of us. When we graduated, one of our instructors/teachers who was a very DYNAMIC person, as well as a Certified Nurse Practitioner came over the webcast (we did some online courses as well), and she said to all of us: "Congratulations!!! You are the first certificate LPN program in this state and you are our first graduates". "This is is major milestone"! This very instructor once told us: "I started off as a CNA, became an LPN, got a 2 year RN, BSN, then a masters and now I am a nurse practitioner/college professor"! "I have climbed all the way up the ladder and it took a long time and I finally got up there"! "Hey you guys, don't ever let anyone put you down because you are an LPN"!!! "All of these levels and people are important to the health care team and no one should ever tell you all that you are "just an LPN"! "Everyone has to start somewhere and you are all off to a great start"! That professor was on of our best! My educational experience was invaluable at this little 2 year college and I will go into an LPN to RN bridge program through another community college in the state I live in now (I am a military spouse) just because of the satisfaction I had with the "vocational" type of experience. I wish you well in your LPN program. You can never know where opportunities like this may lead, and you will find out so many things about yourself, especially areas you would like to work in! You will experience many things and LPN is a fantastic way to start! There will be many volunteer opportunities, hopefully a more laid back environment, and you can bridge into an LPN-RN program when you get your license, or just work for a few years and gain experience. I am glad I took a chance on the LPN program!!!!! You will be too! :balloons: Good luck and many prayers go out to you~I wish you all the best and you have my support as another LPN! Please write if you ever have any other questions or need a friend to lean on!!!!! Very Sincerely Yours, Kristy