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I'm 35 years old. Yeah, the retirement benefits are great. Not many hospitals offer it. As far as long term goals as some of you asked, I'm not totally sure. I want to get my BSN, which I'm almost done with. I thought of the idea of getting a masters at some point, which I have no idea in what. I figured at some point in my later career I end up at the second job because the stress is less, but I was thinking more like when I was in my 50s. Ugh! Decisions! Lol

Thanks for the replies. My family think it's crazy to leave a job farther away for less money. But then the folks I work with at the full time job think I'm crazy for not jumping at the opportunity. Our unit at my full time job has really gone down hill and we have a lot of people leaving d/t all the changes with management. Basically it boils down to I know I'd be happier at the second job, but I'd also not make as much.

I've been an RN for two years. I've worked two jobs since then. I'm stuck in a dilemma and don't know what to do. Okay so my full time job is in critical care, 2 miles from my house making a little over $26 an hour base plus differentials so in total I get $30 on a weekday and $32 on a weekend. I love what I do but the department keeps getting worse and worse d/t management and we are always short staffed. I have worked at this hospital for a total of 5 years (I was an aide before becoming an RN). I get about 6 weeks pto, but I'm only allowed to use 2 weeks per department policy. The rest we have to use if we call off or we can cash in. I'm almost done with my BSN and our tuition reimbursement is $5250 a year. My second job is my contingent job at a small county hospital in a geriatric, behavioral unit. I also pick up in med surg and icu if needed. This hospital is small and most people get shipped out to the hospital where I work full time if they have anything remotely serious going on. Even it's something like PN or a NSTEMI because they don't have a cardiologist or pulmonologist on staff. So at the second job I was offered a ft position in the behavioral unit. My base pay would be $23 an hour with differentials. So I'd make about $27 on a weekday and about $30 on a weekend. It's 20 miles from my house, but I could stay with my mom cause she lives near by if I need to. I'd start out with only 2 weeks PTO, get sick pay and my tuition reimbursement would be $1000. It's state retirement and slightly better insurance. Staffing is always great. It's rare to work understaffed there. What would you do? Thanks for reading!

Yes, Id be able to get right back in. No waitlist, the last semester is the smallest since most people have either quit or failed out.

I also wanted to add since I'm paying out-of-pocket if I just take the BSN generals I would be able to work more and make more money to pay for my tuition when I return to my last semester of nursing school. Since being in school I'm really strapped for cash. Also I'm an older student at 32 years old with bills and a mortgage. Thanks again.

Hello everyone. I was looking for some advice. I am currently a nursing assistant at a hospital. I've had about four years experience. I was considering taking my last semester of nursing school off and working on BSN generals. I'm currently in an associates RN program and I've worked on some BSN generals before clinicals and I have about four left to complete. After I graduate with my RN the rest of my BSN classes will be online. So my dilemma is do I finish up the BSN generals that I need which are actual in school classes and then go on to my last semester of nursing school in summer semester or just go ahead and finish it this spring? The reason I'm considering this is I would have to drive about 50 miles twice a week one way for clinicals during the winter months and I'm also paying out-of-pocket. Where I work I'm almost guaranteed to have an RN job after I graduate but they have a real push towards BSN nurses. So I would have all my BSN generals done if I dont go next semester and once I do finish my last semester of RN school then all my classes for the rest of my BSN would be online so there would be no school work schedule conflict. What would you do? Thanks for your help!

We have to have an 82%. No rounding. 81.999 fails. Our math test each semester has to be at least a 90%. Its a tough program. Only a handful of people make it through without failing anything. My original class was 60 students. Only like 6 people ended up making it straight through to graduation. Our nclex rates are one of the highest in the state and they intend to keep it that way. Its sad how many people fail each semester and have to come back and repeat and spend more and more money. Its a 4 semester ADN program. If it was longer I think we may have more people continue on through.

So my clinicals for med surg will be at the same hospital I work at and in the same dept I work in. The school knows I work there and work knows Im in school, so its not a problem in that aspect. Ive actually did one set of clinicals there already for OB. Basically our school places us by location and tell us if we feel uncomfortable going to a place we have or currently work at then they can change us. At first I was thrilled to be going there again. I am familiar with the charting and the layout of the unit. Plus I know a lot of people. On the plus side I wont be a total "newbie" and I may be able to help my fellow students with simple things like where to chart what or how the beds work or whatever. Then I was thinking about how on the negative side I would know a lot of the staff. Obviously Im still a student and still learning, so I know Im not expected to know everything, but I don't want to look stupid in front of nurses I work with. Most of the nurses I work with are super nice, but I feel like if I make mistake they might think Im an idiot. What would you do? The other clinical location is an hour away from my house. It is also a teaching hospital. My hospital is 2 miles away and is not a teaching hospital. Thanks for your help!!

It took me 3 years to complete the preclinical classes. That was my choice though as I went to school part time while working full time. I started summer of 2010 then finally got in clinical at the beginning of 2013. So the clinical start date worked out perfect for me as I had finished all my generals. I would recommend getting all the generals out of the way before clinicals. Its too much with clincals and pharm classes. Plus if you go the RN route anything under an 82% is failing so you want to keep those grades up. Yes they admit students year round. Each semester they take 60 students.

Take whatever you can get and then transfer later. I worked at an LTC for 2 years and hated the place due to the way it was ran. I tried and tried to get a hospital job at our local hospital. Applied for probably 100 tech/cna jobs , interviewed 6 times, and still nothing. One day I said screw it applied to every possible job and ended up working in dietary of all places. I transferred after 6 months and now work on a med surg floor. I don't regret my decision. I took a step back to move two steps forward. I have a friend who will not settle for a "low" job like dietary or housekeeping. Well 2 years later she is still working in LTC and applying for the same hospital job I am now doing.

Thanks for this. Your reply made me feel a lot better. Your right, LPN students are not learning what we are learning. They are two different programs.

I've talked to other school and some general credits will apply but not the actual nursing classes. Plus there is the issue with financial aid as well. Its kind of hard to explain, but it just wouldn't be a good option for me to switch at this point. I keep in contact with former classmates who have switched and they had to start at the beginning of the program. The programs in my area that are close didn't have the option to test out for the LPN. Its either choose an LPN, RN, or BSN route.

Thanks for posting guys. I do appreciate it. I actually failed a semester before and think that's part of why I have no confidence that I will finish this semester. While I did come back and repeat it and learned more the second time around, I feel like this semester is going to be a repeat of the last. Before i officially flunked the previous semester I asked one of my instructors for help and was told I should just be an LPN if I wasn't getting it. I think that just kind of stuck with me. I ended up with an 81.6 in that semester, so I barely failed it. I was just shy of the 82% i needed. Thanks again for everyone's positive messages. Maybe I just needed to vent a little. I'm going to try to stick it out and do the best I can. If I fail and end up going the LPN route then I will just come back to the RN program later and try again. All I can do is my best!!

Thanks for everyone's help. I think a lot of problem is I don't feel ready to be an RN and I'm also scared to be one. I'm scraping by with my grades. I feel like our instructors fly through our info and I don't even have time to properly study it. I thought maybe being an LPN for a while may help me feel more confident and I could learn while on the job. As a CNA I feel like I learn tons just by being in a healthcare environment. I originally set out to go from a CNA to LPN then to an RN. Then my college changed things around and allowed students with high grades to go straight through. I was a 4.0 student and felt very confident going the RN route, but now I feel like I am totally unprepared. Our clinicals are a joke cause there are so many student to one instructor. We do an assessment and bed bath and some charting. I've only been able to do one injection and one med pass to one person the whole time I've been in clinical (9 months). I feel I do more at my CNA job than in clincal (other than meds of course). Thanks for advice. I think I will keep trying and if I fail then drop to the LPN program. The pay rate was never an issue so that doesn't bother me. My main concern is just being a good nurse for my patients.

I'm driving myself crazy on what to do and would love if someone could give me some input/advice. This is long, but I would appreciate any comments. Here is the deal. I'm a CNA. Worked 2 years in LTC and 1 1/2 years in med surg at a hospital. I'm am currently in a tough RN program and halfway done. By tough I mean less than 10 out of 60 students pass each semester. Its really rough. Our school's NCLEX pass rates are 99% and they intend to keep it that way. I am debating on dropping down to the LPN program at the same school. I would only have to go one semester since I have made it this far and I would have my LPN. The only bad thing is I can't quit my job. I'd have to pay back my tuition reimbursement. Plus I love working at a hospital and i learn soooo much there. Some of my former class mates dropped to the LPN program and they are actually getting to do more skills in clinical than we did in the RN program. Some of the students who were bombing their RN tests are now getting A's in the LPN program. I've been passing in the RN program but barely. Anything under an 82% is failing and I've been getting around 84-86% on my tests. My concern is if I fail the RN program I will be put back on a wait list which could be 3-5 years to get back in and i would have nothing to fall back on. I've looked into other schools but I would have to start at the beginning of their program if I switched. Plus I feel like we are just flying through our RN material. We have soooo much info crammed into our program that I feel like my head is going to explode. I don't even feel remotely prepared to be an RN. Lets just put it this way, I started clinical in January and after 6 months we were hold we should be at an LPN level. I am at such a loss at what to do. If I go LPN I'd have to work two jobs since I have to keep my hospital job. They rarely hire LPNs there. I know as an LPN I'd be working at LTC most likely. I know LTC is rough and understaffed. If I stay in the RN program and don't make it I may not get back in for years, so I will not have that LPN to fall back on. Even if I do complete my RN, our hospital has said they will only hire me if I am working on my BSN (which I did plan to do). Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

I'm driving myself crazy on what to do and would love if someone could give me some input/advice. This is long, but I would appreciate any comments. Here is the deal. I'm a CNA. Worked 2 years in LTC and 1 1/2 years in med surg at a hospital. I'm am currently in a tough RN program and halfway done. By tough I mean less than 10 out of 60 students pass each semester. Its really rough. Our school's NCLEX pass rates are 99% and they intend to keep it that way. I am debating on dropping down to the LPN program at the same school. I would only have to go one semester since I have made it this far and I would have my LPN. The only bad thing is I can't quit my job. I'd have to pay back my tuition reimbursement. Plus I love working at a hospital and i learn soooo much there. Some of my former class mates dropped to the LPN program and they are actually getting to do more skills in clinical than we did in the RN program. Some of the students who were bombing their RN tests are now getting A's in the LPN program. I've been passing in the RN program but barely. Anything under an 82% is failing and I've been getting around 84-86% on my tests. My concern is if I fail the RN program I will be put back on a wait list which could be 3-5 years to get back in and i would have nothing to fall back on. I've looked into other schools but I would have to start at the beginning of their program if I switched. Plus I feel like we are just flying through our RN material. We have soooo much info crammed into our program that I feel like my head is going to explode. I don't even feel remotely prepared to be an RN. Lets just put it this way, I started clinical in January and after 6 months we were hold we should be at an LPN level. I am at such a loss at what to do. If I go LPN I'd have to work two jobs since I have to keep my hospital job. They rarely hire LPNs there. I know as an LPN I'd be working at LTC most likely. I know LTC is rough and understaffed. If I stay in the RN program and don't make it I may not get back in for years, so I will not have that LPN to fall back on. Even if I do complete my RN, our hospital has said they will only hire me if I am working on my BSN (which I did plan to do). Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

At our school anything under an 82% in the nursing program is failing. Crazy!!!

I started at $10 at an LTC in 2010. Went to a hospital in 2012 and started at $13.45 (that includes my shift differential). Im in central Ohio.

Hang in there. You sound exactly like me last semester. I was a 4.0 student in an ADN program. I had all my generals out of the way including my BSN generals. Had been on the waiting list for 3 years before getting into the actual nursing program (our clinical, nursing fundamentals, and lab skills are combined). I had about 3 years healthcare experience and currently work in hospital. I also passed the first semester of clinical with flying colors. Then came second semester……. I studied my butt off for the first test. I knew the material frontwards and backwards. When I took the first test it was unlike any test I had ever took. I was totally dumbfounded. I had never seen questions like that before in my life!! I ended up with a 78% on my first test. I was devastated. Second test I studied even harder, 78%. I figured the third time would be the charm, nope, a 78%. We need an 82% to pass the course. With only two weeks left of the semester I came here asking for help and realized I was studying all wrong. I ended taking everyone’s advice and almost made it. I ended up with an 81.6% overall grade. Just shy of the 82% I needed. I am now repeating the course and learning from my studying mistakes. Here are my suggestions………. 1. Get Nclex books. They help. If you can’t afford the latest addition get a couple older ones they still help. 2. Know all you labs. Memorize them. 3. If you don’t understand something look it up on youtube. Sometimes a 2 second visual makes more sense to me than reading over it 20 times and still not understanding. 4. Remember ADPIE, Maslow, Abc’s. Always think safety. 5. Read the full question. Absorb it. What is it asking? 6. Don’t get discouraged. Stay positive. No negative talk. It doesn’t help you. Sleep right, eat healthy. All obvious stuff that we tend to overlook. I hated having to repeat this semester and was tempted just to quit. I will say I think failing has made me stronger. The tests make more sense now. Don't give up though. You can still pull your grade up and pass.

We started with 60. Only 8 people passed last semester.

Im attending Hocking College. I was on the wait list for 3 years. I took generals before I started clinicals. I got all A's up unitll my second semester and then that's when they start weeding out students. Less than 10 out of 60 made it through. Its a rough program. I never had to take a HESI so I am not sure about that. I heard they are starting to require it though and its also required to have your STNA.

Also a couple other students and myself did speak with our instructors about possibly getting some help or guidance. They had a very sink or swim attitude. It was suggested if we were not doing well in RN classes maybe we should just be LPNs instead. So much for helping :0!!!

Thanks for everyone's help & input. I worked my butt off. I ended up with an 81.6%, so just shy of the 82% I needed to pass. So I know I will able to pass the second time around. We started with 60 students and dropped students throughout the semester. Only 8 ended up passing and moving on the next semester. Very brutal to say the least!!!!

Hi all! I've been an nursing assistant for 3 years (2 at LTC, and 1 on a med surg floor). I love the health field. I have taken all my generals and completed my first clinical rotation in college. I'm in my second semester now and failing . I spend hours reading over the info trying to make sure I understand it (not just memorize it). Then when test time comes about 1/4 of the test questions are on things we never discussed. All of my test scores have been 79s, 80s, & 81s. You need an 82% to pass. I went from a 4.0 student to failing student. We started with 60 students in first semester. We are down to about 30 now. The semester is not over yet. We have 2 weeks left, but only about 5 are actually passing with decent scores. About 10 are really close to failing (like 83-85%) and the rest of us our failing. Is all nursing schools like this? What has your experience been like?

Just curious what other schools grading scales are like. I'm in an RN program. 94-100= A 93-89= B 82-88= C Anything under an 82% even an 81.9999999 is failing