AtACrossRoads

Hi everyone. I'm considering becoming an LVN but I'm just starting my research so there's a lot that I need to look into. If you guys can answer even one or two of my questions it'd really help me out. Here in CA, which schools tend to be most recommended? Do most accredited LVN schools have prerequisites? How long does schooling for LVN tend to take? If I wanna keep moving up, are there a good number of LVN-to-RN bridge programs? How are the job prospects for LVN's? Generally speaking, how much does an LVN's starting pay tend to be? If I wanna continue schooling, can I work as an LVN only 2-4 days a week or is that unheard of? I'm basically looking at LVN as a way to get my foot in the door for a nursing career. Thanks for all the help and insight.

So WGU is online only? I'm a little nervous about having heavy coursework all online. Clinicals at Sidar Sinai however sound pretty exciting.

Did you transfer directly from WCU to Mount St. Mary's or did you have to start over? Does Mount St. Mary's meet the points I listed above?

Here are my concerns about this school: Is it accredited by a reputable organization? Does it offer its students clinicals at decent and desirable hospitals that future grads would want to work at? (Whenever the job market improves...) Is it recognized and taken seriously by employers or is it looked at as just another "degree mill"? Is it recognized and taken seriously by other schools? Can I transfer to other schools/pursue further education at other schools after earning a degree from WCU? Or would I need to start all the way from the beginning? The school has a reputation for being very expensive, so I just want to make sure it has all the points listed covered and taken care of. Thanks in advance for any help/info. :) EDIT: One more question. For those that attended/are attending/will attend WCU, what would make you choose this over Mount St. Mary's?

Hmm thanks for the suggestion. I had not considered Western Governors University before. I wouldn't necessarily rule out West Coast University just cause of the tuition. My concern is the following: Accredited by a reputable organization Recognized by other schools/Able to transfer to other schools/Pursue further education at other schools Recognized by employers If it meets the following criteria, then the shortened time required to graduate and bypassing the waiting list to get into the school might be worth the high price tag. I've also heard about how they take care of every aspect of your schooling (books/tutoring/all around support/etc.) which is all very, very nice, but again doesn't mean squat if the points raised in the list are not met.

Whoops, I meant to ask if it's accredited. Just wondering if I can transfer to another school, or pursue higher education at another school after I finish with them should I decide to do so.

Is the high price tag the only disadvantage? Because if that's the case, I almost feel like it's worth dodging the 2-3 year waiting list/lottery. Is the school fully credited and transferrable?

So I keep hearing about how the admissions for most nursing programs are insanely competitive and they have 2-3 year waiting lists/lottery to get in. Except for West Coast University. Apparently as long as you can pay the super expensive tuition, you're in. Anyone attend or have graduated from this school? I'm just a little weary of the school's credibility cause it kinda seems like you're just buying your degree.

You bring up some valid concerns here. However, something just had to be done. If it comes down to a bunch of trial and error changes until a fix works, then I'm all for it. Like you, I don't know how effective Obama's health-care reform will be, but I do know that staying with the status-quo was absolutely not an option I would have considered as a voter. Also, I wasn't aware CA has nurse-patient ratio laws. I guess I should feel fortunate as someone from Los Angeles. Anyway, when the nursing demand was at its peak, anyone know what it was like before it kicked in? Were nursing job opportunities dried up like they are now? I'm just curious as to what the demand/supply cycle has been like in the past.

That sounds great. Congrats on securing this set up. :) Outta curiosity, what state are you in, what nursing field are you going into, and how many years are you contractually obligated to work for this hospital?

That sounds like an amazing set up (given the times). However, I have to wonder how if the pay/benefits/hours are all comparable to the job and position if you were to get hired the typical way after you graduate.

I would think something's gotta give. Not sure how feasible this is, but I'm thinking if things are still in the crapper by the time I graduate, I may turn to being a traveling-nurse. (Assuming that well isn't dried up either...)

Yes, I'm very curious about this as well. As a student, I guess I have to build whatever rapport and connection I can with hospitals before I graduate. Also, I know that a lot of older nurses are back from retirement and what not, but the way I see it, (whether they intend to or not) at some point they are gonna HAVE to stop working. I think once the economy improves a bit, whoever was originally retired, for the most part, will go back to retirement. My main concern would only be the huge backlog of new grad nurses that have been waiting for jobs for a while now... 2 Off Topic Rants :spbox: 1It seems like health-care-reform for the ridiculously broken system here in America is getting a lot of flack on these forums. I figure if more people have access to health-care, that means more patients which would mean more work, need, and demand for nurses. If this technically puts us under a "socialized-medicine" label, then so be it. I'd rather have socialized-medicine than be stuck in a corrupt, system that is literally either bankrupting everyday citizens, or killing them with financially unattainable care, while insurance companies rake in obscene profits for not holding their end of the deal. 2 The Job I work for made me read Who Moved My Cheese. I can see and appreciate the book's "don't let change make you give up/adapt to survive" message, but it also seemed like the book was implying to always, blindly take change lying down and never question why changes occur and just accept them without any challenge.

All you have to do is look a little bit at the main, general discussion lounge of this website to see post after post from new-grads complaining about the lack of work available. From everyone' statements, it seems like the demand has completely faded. Also, when I checked my local hospital (I live in Los Angeles) for RN openings out of curiosity, they had a huge disclaimer saying they are not gonna look at RN applications because of the huge influx of applicants trying to get whatever, little jobs there are at the moment.

Lack of nursing jobs is pretty much on top of everyone's mind right now. I feel like it's the biggest issue out there for aspiring nurses. As a pre-nursing student it's made me question my career choice a couple of times, however, I keep hearing about how demands for nurses is cyclical and it will eventually go back to the way it used to be with an abundance of work opportunities everywhere. So for now, I'm holding still and not making any major changes. What about you? Do you think things will be better by the time you graduate and you're ready to work? Or do you think it'll be like this for a long time? If you don't see the situation improving within the near future, what's still making you pursue this field?