rissa87

I am in nursing school to become an LPN. After I am finished with the LPN program, I am transitioning directly into the RN portion of the program. Enough about me now... My question is this: What is the best way to go about my dream of becoming a surgical nurse? Are there any extra classes I'll need to take? I do have to take Medical-Surgical Nursing classes in my program. But is there any special kind of certification that one has to receive in order to work in the OR? I was reading something recently about a perioperative nursing internship at a particular hospital. Is this necessary or could I simply apply for the position at a hospital after I graduate and pass the NCLEX? Also, can I do it once I have my LPN or do I need to wait until I have my RN? I am from Ohio, in case the area I'll be working in makes any difference...

Hi! I saw your post and I wanted to let you know that I will be attending Hondros College next month and I just got my financial situation worked out. They DO accept federal aid, so if you are considering applying there you might want to get your FAFSA sent there so you'll be a step ahead. The only problem I am having is that there are still costs that the FAFSA does not cover for me and I am having a hard time finding a private lender with Hondros college on their list. I'm not sure why, but lenders don't seem to know this school even exists. The only one I have found is Sallie Mae and I have heard some terrible things about them... I am still looking, but it's hard. The school seems like a greaat place to study though. It's a great program and they enroll every quarter, so there's no waiting list! There also aren't pre-requisites like many other nursing programs. Everything is built into the program and you take it all there. Also... They have a 2 step program where you can get your LPN in a year and continue to get your RN. Meanwhile, you can be working part time as an LPN while you work on your RN... I like this because it takes the same amount of time to get your LPN, but you get to take a little pause in the middle and get your LPN and make more money rather than going through the whole program with nothing until you graduate with your RN. I also asked about their pass rate on the boards. The admissions counselor told me they have only had 1 class go through the program (it's a new program) and that 23 out of 25 in the class passed their boards. He said he knew the class personally and one of the people who didn't pass was an ESL student and the other one had test anxiety, but has continued on and is doing very well in the RN portion of the program... just didn't pass the LPN boards because of the test anxiety. So... I think it sounds like a great program and I can't wait to get started! I just need to figure out who I'm going to borrow the remaining $3,000 from