futureRN2006

Well as a "late bloomer", your maturity will be an asset in the classroom. Despite what my "name"says I am not an RN yet because as they say "life happens" and I got side tracked. I have a degree in Accounting and I am licensed as a CNA. My degree in accounting is not a waste...I do my own taxes!! But my CNA gets more use. So here I am 17 years after graduating college, I am in an LPN program and doing well. The oldest student in my class is 60...proof its never to late. By the way I am 38 with a son entering college in Fall. RELAX....you'll do just fine!!

Well I live in Virginia and many people I know went to the "for profit" schools for Medical Assisting. The costs were outrageous and the promises made to the students were unbelievable. Many took A/P,drug caculations,biology,etc. but many of the state schools won't accept coursework from those types of schools. It's a shame,but the truth is your friend is not alone. Most of the people I know in that situation were left with loans to repay and an Associates Degree that won't help them grow. Many went to community college to get CNA licensure. That along with their MA education helps make them more marketable...at least in my area. MA's are valuable members of the healthcare team,so its unfortunate that so many are finding it difficult to move up simply because of the school they chose. Your friend may just have to start from the beginning with the nursing pre reqs. at a community college and move forward from there. Good luck to her.

I work in home health and visit lots of homes from the upscale to the poverty striken communities. Most agencies get a feel of the neighborhood and the family b4 sending people out there to work. My biggest fear was at a home where they had mice...YUCK!! But they took care of that pretty quickly. You just have to use the same commonsense approach that you would use in your day to day. My agency has had no reports of violence.

I took a biology course at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville,Va. It was web-based with an online lab! If you can't (or don't want to) come to campus, you can have your tests proctored so long as the proper forms are filed. It was an excellent course.