kendra1978

emsmom1, I do not work in LTC. I work in a hospital.

Okay, I always thought I would love being a nurse and it was always my goal to go back and finish a nursing program at some point. However, I recently began working as a patient care tech in a hospital and I have to say-I am shocked by what nurses really do, and I am not so sure now it is for me or not. The RN's and LPN's where I work do paperwork for almost 12 straight freakin' hours. I rarely see them get the chance to interact with patients, even when they would like to. They are too busy doing mountains and mountains of documentation. I watched the RN on duty last night to see how long she actually interacted with a patient person to person and it was probably about 12-14 minutes total. Even though the money is extremely better for nurses, techs have it made in a lot of ways. We get to interact with the patient a lot, get tons of thank yous and appreciation, both from patients and nurses, we really don't have to worry about any of the patients major concerns (oh you want meds, I'll get the nurse), and we don't have the managers calling us down freaking out about paperwork mistakes because ours are not usually as serious as the nurses. Teching is low stress and fairly enjoyable right now, and I am afraid that nursing would be a lot of stress and low enjoyment, albeit for a lot of money. Opinions??

I was recently hired as a rehab nursing tech in southern TN area. I work PRN nights and am making $13.00 an hour and sometimes it is more depending on whether it is the weekend or not. I say keep looking for a better wage, they are out there.

Thank you all so much for encouraging me...you don't know how much it means. Thanks.

Thank you so much, nurse2b2011. Can you share a little about your journey with nursing school and four kids? Have you just done things gradually and taken some online courses, have you worked part-time as well? I am just interested in hearing how people manage that have several children-thanks in advance!

JBGC4 thank you so much for your response and your inspiring story about pushing through (that is exactly the kind of hope I was trying to find), and thank you everyone else for posting. I have prayed very hard and talked again to my husband and decided to do things in a very slow steady way. I will take two online classes in the fall and I will only commit to six shifts prn at the hospital where I work this fall to see if I can handle everything and still do it fairly well. If I feel I am managing that okay, then I may start trying to conceive in January and just continue with online classes until I get the easier, non-science and math prereqs done. I am trying to make peace with the fact that everything will have to be done part-time and in baby steps. I cannot go gung-ho and plunge headfirst into nursing school, it is just not reasonable in the life God has given me (which is actually a pretty fantastic life, I might add). I always appreciate the input of other women and other moms; thanks again!

Really? Why do you think that? I was just looking for advice or words of encouragement from someone who has been there and done it successfully. How do you feel your experience has been with nursing school and being a mother? Because I looked up some posts that you had replied to other than mine, and they actually had a lot of good tips about balancing nursing school and motherhood. So, I just don't understand why this post had to be a rather discouraging one......

Are the two compatible? I am going so crazy with not knowing what to do next in life because I am so conflicted...I am the mother of four children and we want just one more (the first three are from my first marriage, current dh and I only have one biological together and would like one more). I became a CNA and love it, I start a new job in a couple of weeks at a rehab hospital with a good hourly wage and will be working two twelve hour shifts a week. I have wanted to be a nurse for a long time, but I also love being a good wife and mother. At first my dh said he would be completely supportive if I wanted to go to LPN school for a year, and we could put off having a baby, he would run the kids everywhere, etc., but now he is saying how he really needs to finish up his bachelors (he has been going at least part-time while working full-time for two years) and really would need to take at least one or two classes while I am going. I don't see how this will work, I know LPN school will be HARD and I am afraid of getting in it and having a nervous breakdown from trying to take care of the kids and house and do school. I could take RN pre-reqs part-time and work part-time but when I think of that I get discouraged about it taking so long and also about being overwhelmed. Are the pre-reqs easier than actual nursing classes and will it not be so overwhelming?? Advice is welcome if you have any....LPN or RN school with kids-which is more doable??

Hi guys, since I am considering applying for the Jan. 2010 program, can you tell me how much money exactly that you are having to pay for the program? I am not sure about affording it, but if there is money required up front, I do know I will have to start saving now. I was hoping if I got accepted that pell grant would cover most of the cost but I am guess by your posts that is not the case?........

i had a court date on tuesday. i have hired an attorney and the judge issued a warrant for ex's arrest, however since he lives out of state it will be hard to get the warrant enforced. we are making an appointment with the d.a's office this week to see if he will agree to the case being tried as a felony flagrant non-support case. thank you for posting your experience and advice.

I am not going to comment specifically about the things in your post, as your stupidity and ignorance speaks for itself. I am really embarrassed for you for posting something so ridiculous. In the future feel free to not respond to my posts unless it involves the actual subject matter of the original post.

Hi. I will not be paying for daycare when I work, I plan to work weekends only (part-time) while my hubby looks after the kids. The wage in my area is $9-12 per hour depending on the type of facility. If I had to do this full-time and pay daycare, you are right, it would not work out at all. Thanks for your input.

I need help from this community of nursing veterans to tell me what direction to take given my particular situation. I am a married mother of four children. My oldest three are from my first marriage and I receive no child support for them, so I have to work at least part-time to pay for clothing, school expenses, etc., because our budget with my (present) husband working is just not quite enough. I have been interested in the nursing field for forever because of the flexible scheduling and the ability to work directly with people. I don't know whether to (A.) Take a CNA course this summer and work a couple of 12 hr. shifts to make money and gain experience and simultaneously take a couple of RN pre-req classes at the local community college to eventually go into RN school and become an RN (ADN) or (B) forget the CNA class and enter a 12 month LPN program at local tech school and be an LPN in one year and just sacrifice and live poor for a year or © Just work two or three shifts as a CNA for a year and save money to do the LPN next year and have a little money to live on. What would you do?

Wow, what awesome replies!! These are the kind of stories that keep me going when I want to quit. You people are what the American spirit is made of. We gals can birth babies, love husbands, keep our homes then still keep educating ourselves and support our families in a meaningful way. That rocks!!

I have decided that due to having a very busy life and four active children that nursing school at this particular time is not the right way for me to go. I am instead attending a CNA class and then eventually plan to become a nurse, but in a slower way than I had originally planned in order to spend as much time as possible with my family. I would like to hear personal stories from people on the board who started in the healthcare field as CNA's or even some other job, and gradually became a nurse by taking pre-reqs part-time, and learning more about nursing while gaining work skills. I get discouraged sometimes because I am 30 years old and have always wanted to do nursing but have never had enough family support, money or time to do it, so I thought starting as a CNA and working my way there slowly was a better bet. Please encourage me with your slow, steady path kind of story. Thanks!

While many people have mentioned the low pay, I have to point out that there are plenty of jobs that pay even lower. In my area, CNA's in LTC start at $10 hourly, while retail jobs, fast food and other areas of employment pay much less, so it's not all bad.

I am in your situation as well, and I think I am going to try and just work weekends. I have no family really other than my husband and in-laws but they work and are busy, so weekends seem to be my best bet.

There are two other girls on here going, check out the chatt state lpn program thread. I am applying for Jan 2010.

I had a tubal reversal surgery at Parkridge in 2006. It was successful and I had new baby in 07.

My best experiences with daycares have come from good old-fashioned word of mouth. Ask friends, neighbors, and even strangers what daycare they use and if they like it. In almost every situation, the one that gets praised the most often is the one you feel the most comfortable with when you go visit it.

I am planning to apply for January 2010. I am anxious to hear others' experience with Chatt State so please keep me updated when you start. There is another girl on here that is currently attending and she is very nice and had a lot of helpful info. Good luck!

Are you in an LPN program or an RN program? I really like what you said about the guilt trips and also about being happier than you were as a stay at home mom. Sometimes we just have to do something that is only for us moms, ya know? LOL.

I have decided to take A&P. I am also considering taking nutrition but I would have to take it online, I can't go to campus for more than one class in the fall. I am going to go ahead and apply to get into the LPN program in January. Can you tell me what time classes start and end? One the website it says 7:45 to 2:30, but when I called, the lady on the phone told me 7:30 to 3:30?!

I am from Cleveland, Tn, about 25 miles north of Chattanooga. I am going to apply for the Chattanooga State LPN program that starts January 2010.

How old are your children? As a pp said, do you have good friends you could call in a pinch? I would NOT plan to fall back on your hubby, I would get a plan a, b, c, and d for the unexpected things that can happen with kids. I have four kids and a husband and am planning to start in January (providing I get accepted into the program) and I, too am scared to death. I am just planning to suck up the fear and go for it, because I am afraid I never will if I don't do it now. Maybe if you start soon we could be encouragement to one another, cheering each other on. As far as things happening with the kids, I am going to plan to make a list of everyone who would possible help me, and I plan to call them often. My mother-in-law, aunt, and my three best friends. I can make it work. At least that is what I am telling myself.