nancywong

Hi, I didn't go there yet. It's a long term proposition now; have to just work awhile and try to get out of debt. I'd still have to quit working to attend even part time school, so it'll be awhile. Good luck!

NCP Vocational in Hayward and So. SF - better one, 1 year Unitek in Fremont - Not as good I heard, but is 11 mos. Very stressful. I don't know much else about them, but good luck!

I, too am wondering about becoming an LVN. Is there a lot of unsafe lifting expected? I have bad knees and an ok back - not good not bad. I have learned some body mechanics and they helped, but I still have bad knees even if I keep my back straight. I suppose I could get knee braces - do they help a lot? I have all prereqs and have been in RN school but had to quit because of my family. I just never spoke to them anymore, and it wasn't worth it. (I know, maybe I should've at least finished the semester, but I was ALOC all the time and didn't think of it.) But there are programs that are shorter or part time for LVN where I live, and I'm considering it. Another concern, in nursing homes, do you wipe butts all day? I don't mind a little, but all day? Or do the aids do most of it? I don't feel above it all; it's just not my goal in life. Thanks, Nancy

Hi I am looking into NCP vocational for the 1 year LVN program. I had to drop out of my RN program, sadly, because I never spoke to my kids anymore and was mad if they wanted to eat! Since I was doing this for my family long term, it made no sense to pretty much disown them for even 2 years. I'd go 6am to midnight full bore 2-3 days a week, and then just a little less the other days. This includes cooking, etc. I may have had a nervous breakdown if I had kept going. My kids are very high maintenance (health problems, special diets). I did have help, but still had to do a lot. So I thought of the NCP program. Is it the same intensity for the 1 year track? Keep in mind some others didn't have to work as hard even in Chabot where I just quit, but it was still a ton of work for them. (Some who had medical backgrounds seemed to struggle a lot less.) My grades were good, but I always have to put in the hours (and hours and hours). Just wondering if I could do NCP if I couldn't do Chabot. I really liked the patient care and miss the health care world. What do you do if you miss a day because a kid was sick? Do you have to make it up? Also bad was that I only got 1 credit out of it, because I left after about 2 months. https://allnurses.com/forums/images/smilies/added/banghead.gif Perhaps I should've finished the 1st semester anyway, so I'd have those units to transfer. Another idea is to get the certification for MA for now, work awhile, and then think about doing LVN or RN later. I'm 48 though, and might be happy in a doctor's office being a CMA, making less but with less debt to start with. Our debt is a key factor, so I'm worried about another year of no income as well, so that's why I'm not interested in NCP's part-time program at this time. Thanks, Nancy

I too am thinking of ncp. For those who went, how many hours a day or week did you study after school and clinicals? And was that everyday? Did you ever take a day off? I am wondering, because I had two high-mainenance kids and so I removed myself from the Chabot RN program, which was too much. I now think going for LPN, then RN later on, may be better for family life. Anyway, I was working about more than 50 hours/week, that was ok, but it increased by a lot, and this was the light semester!