hennesm81

Thank you!

I'm sort of following this path backwards... I had always wanted to be a doctor and was pre-med in college. But I learned about the healthcare crisis and decided I did not want to practice medicine in the current system, and thought I might be able to be part of a solution by going to law school and practicing health law. Now that I'm almost finished with my JD (I'm only 13 credits away!) and my Health Law Certificate, I'm discovering there are many JD/MDs and JD/RNs in health law with the same goals as me... So now, I'm applying for the Spring '08 PCA Program at DCCC and I'm going to try to work my way up through the Nursing track in stages, part time, along with my health law career... Any guidance you could give would be so very much appreciated!

Food for thought...

Good luck to everyone here!

I would love to hear an answer to your question, as well... I'm beginning the nursing journey myself, and will likely have to do it all nights and weekends. I'll be starting a PCA/CNA Program in Spring '08 (if all goes well), but intend to go as far as I can in nursing over time, in steps... So it doesn't hurt for me to start thinking about my LPN and/or RN now, either...

This is much appreciated! I will be taking a PCA/CNA course in the Spring of '08, and I am sure this will come in handy! I may even start watching them now to get a preview! How kind and thoughtful of you!

I will definitely be looking into the DCCC PCA course, as well as all the other suggestions made here. Thanks so much! I'll keep everyone posted as to what I wind up doing...

Are CNA night classes in the area? Or LPN night classes? Also, are there any shorter LPN programs in the area, like an 8 month program? I'm having some trouble finding programs that fit my schedule and time frame. Maybe it would help if I explained my goals and my background a little: I'm a third year law student who has only 13 credits left to finish before earning my JD and I was pre-med in college. I took most (but not all) of the pre-med classes. As you all know, the pre-med requirements are not exactly the same as the RN requirements. I have earned a BA in English Lit and a Minor in psych. So chances are, if I were to take a BSN2 program, all the English and Psych requirements will have been completed, and many of the science classes. However, I have not taken classes like Nutrition or Microbiology because those were not required for pre-med. So I would have to take a few prereq classes before I could begin a BSN2 program. I will be going into health law and have also nearly completed a Health Law certificate at my law school, which I will receive when I graduate along with my JD. Now here are the monkey wrenches: I'm taking some time off from school (from now until the end of May). Then I will be going back to law school from May until December to finish up, and I will only be attending part-time. I would like to earn a degree in nursing and be able to work in a hospital at nights or on the weekends, and I think having the degree and the experience will greatly help me with health law and enable me to make a real difference as far as the healthcare crisis. I think it would also be really nice if I could give something back to the community by working as a nurse around my legal schedule. To that end, I would like to get as far in nursing as I can between now and May. Then, I can finish the balance in nursing after I graduate from law school and take the bar. In other words, I am hoping I can earn at least a CNA and possibly an LPN between now and May, and then finish an RN after law school. That being said, I will also need to work between now and May, either in a legal or nursing job, in order to pay bills, student loans, tuition, etc. I am not under any illusions that this will be easy, but it is something that is very important to me and that I would really like to accomplish. Any help or advice anyone could give as far as programs that might be available in the Chester County area that couild fit into my life and help me achieve these goals would be so greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for all the advice and info!

Thanks so much for all the encouragement and helpful advice! I have found all the info I need to enroll in a CNA class and take the test, and I think that might be a good place for me tostart, since I can at least "get my feet wet" relatively quickly via that route... However, that being said, I'm wondering if maybe I should look into starting out as an LPN...Does anyone know of LPN programs in/around Chester County? Are there part-time LPN programs in my area so that I might work at the same time? Does Brandywine School of Nursing have an LPN program? What about West Chester U.?

Hi! I'm looking into nursing programs in Chester County, and I was wondering if anyone in my area might be willing to take me under his/her wing and provide some much-needed mentoring/advice...

Hi there! I just wanted to introduce myself and ask for some advice... I'm a 3rd year law student (nearly an attorney) specializing in health law. I'm taking some time off from law school and looking into the possibility of getting a degree/certificate/diploma in nursing during my time off. I was pre-med in college and wound up in law school because I became frustrated with the healthcare crisis. Since being in law school, I've sort of come full circle in that I've found that some of the best minds working on solutions to the healthcare crisis have degrees in both law and medicine/nursing... I'm also interested in serving the community by practicing nursing, perhaps evenings or weekends. I guess I'm looking for some advice on where to start... For example, is it a good idea to start as a CNA and work my way up from there? Should I be looking into an LPN program? What would my options be if I were only able to go to school at night? Any help/advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!