Mophin77

This is fantastic information! Thank you!

Hello! This week I have finally decided to go ahead and take the plunge and follow my dreams. I have made plans to quit my job, move back home to Georgia (I will get in-state tuition there), and enter into a nursing program . I started thinking about this when I was 27...but there was always a reason why I shouldn't. - At 27, I would be 30 and I wanted to be married and starting a family. - At 30 (still unmarried with no family), my excuse was that I had already put so much time into my existing career and by the time I graduated I would be in a great and higher place in my current career path...why should I risk it all and change. - Now at 33 (still unmarried and no family :-)), I still keep wanting to become a nurse. My current career is not fulfilling, I want to do something that really makes a difference in the world around me. I have had the pleasure to encounter some amazing nurses over the years, I want to be more like these people. If I had only followed my dreams 6 years ago! The path I have planned to take is: 1 - Attend a Georgia Perimeter College in Dunwoody, GA to complete the prerequisites that Georgia State requires for their Accelerated BSN program (there are about 9) and get all A's, 2 - Apply, get accepted, and enter into the Accelerated BSN program at Georgia State to become a Registered Nurse over a 16 month period, 3 - Take the NCLEX-RN exam and start working as an RN, and then 4 - Choose a specialty and complete the schooling for this. I know an extensive amount of schooling is involved, but thanks to already having a degree I can take the prerequisites and the Accelerated BSN program and be finished in 2 1/2 years. The sticker is that I am still paying off student loans from my first time in school (in the past this had made me feel trapped and kept me in my current job, but I won't let it anymore) so I want to do this without taking out more loans. This means I will need to be working. My first choice is to become an LPN to have money coming in and gain experience. But this will make my pocket-book incredibly tight. Another idea I had, that I don't love but I think it offers me the greatest flexibility with both time and money, is to go back to waiting tables like I did in college several years ago. I can make a descent living while having a great flexible schedule for full-time school. Does anyone have a recommendation of how I can work, gain experience, pay my tuition and become an RN? I am open to any advice and ideas. Thanks so much for your help!