tmmcbrady

I've been an LPN for close to 30 years. I'm very happy being an LPN. My career took a different turn and when I decided I to continue my education, I pursued a counseling direction

Unfortunately, we nurses tend to be our own worst enemies. I have heard it said that nursing the only profession that "eats it young" I just try and do my best to stay out of the fray and focus on what I need to do next. Good luck!!

I worked on a medi/surg floor my first year out of nursing school. I found it a very valuable experience in learning how to impliment the skills I learned in nursing school and setting priorities etc... Not sure if I would have done well in a speciality area. I ahve also worked 8 hr, 10 hr & 12 hr shifts ove the years. I have found I don't have the ooopmh to do the 12's anymore. Good luck, only you can decide what's best for you.

I was a CNA for about 3 years before starting school. I thought it gave me a real edge in the beginning. I worked 16-24 hours a week while in school & hated every minute of it because I was always tired. I was married and had a small baby at the time. Good luck

Good Luck---enjoy the experience. Take care of yourself!!

My thoughts are: ---Take the exam! Even if you decide not to work as a CNA, the experience of taking the exam will be good and look at it as practice run on dealing the stress of the NCLEX-PN --- I don't know what the rate of pay is for a CNA in your area so I wouldn't dream of venturing a guess --- Right now, I'm not sure if taking on new stress while you're in school is the best idea but only you can decide that. --- Being a CNA is hard work and can be pretty stressful but it's good hands on experience of learning how to juggle patient assignments and set priorities that will be useful after you finish school. Good Luck!!

Technically I think it can shut off at 85 if there was no hope of passing but I highly doubt it. My guess is that if it shut off at 85 it's because you did a good job and no more questions were necessary to prove your competence. GOOD LUCK!!!

I am currently teaching in the program in addition to having a small private alcohol & drug counseling practice & helping the school I work in jumpstart and LPN Program. The CMA cirriculum is very skill based. The A&P is minimal and the health issues content is slim. It's more about getting them prepared to walk into an office, take v/s, room patients w/o much depth in what they are doing. For example, I teach the technical skill of doing an EKG but they have no concept of what it means. Everything they learn is based on "what does your doctor want you to do in this situation" I am in no way degrading them because like I said in a previous post. They are hard working and this gives them a chance to get into the field and start making a living in a hurry. But, it is NOT NURSING!!!!

I am an LPN and have been one for almost 30 years. Currently I teach in an MA program. The difference is night & day. MA's are not licensed in my state and therefore do not have a scope of practice. The education an LPN receives is head & shoulders above that in an MA program. I have worked in clinics side by side with MA's and they are fantastic people and good workers but they do not have a nursing background. They are taught the bare bones basics of how to function in an office setting. It may look similar on the outside but trust me it's not.

I began working in the addicitions field in 1988 in a hospital based detox. I then worked in a men's residential treatment program (half-way house) in 1990 as a case manager. I started doing trainings & college course work toward my Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor credential through a a federal program called PACT (project for addiction counselor training) which has long since gone by the wayside thanks to the wonderful views on addiction & treatment the current administration holds. I became credentialed as a LADC in 1994 and in 2004 earned the CCS (certified clincial supervisor) license. I was a program director for that half-way house until last year. Now I am teaching in a small career school in both their alcohol & drug counseling program and their medical assistant program. The school is also working to begin an LPN school. My primary credential has been and will always be as an LPN. Feel free to shoot me an email if I can be of any assitance. :smiletea2:

I think that any certification you get will enhance your credibility. The first thing I needed to do was find my passion and follow it. I have worked in addictions for the past several years and am now a licensed alcohol & drug counselor and a certified clinical supervisor. But, my primary credential is LPN, has been for 30 years and always will be. Good luck

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

I have been an LPN for close to 30 years. I have also returned to school a variety of times to enhance my knowledge and skills. No education is a waste of time. I am very proud to be an LPN and I think of all the crendentials I've earned, it's been the foundation of all my knowledge. If some one wants to advance in nursing, great! If their interests are in a differnet direction, also great! GOOD LUCK!!!

I would suggest checking NFLPN. The website is nflpn.org It's the professinal organization advocating nationally and in a variety of states exclusively for LPNs NFLPN uses NSO but at a group rate.

HO-HUM I graduated from LPN school in 1978, that was all the talk back then. Right now, I work in a career college teaching in a Medical Assistant program and our school is in the process of developing an LPN Program. I'm not going anywhere. I've done a lot career wise and always my 1st credential I put down is my LPN. Very proud to be an LPN