kaidagirl

Hi everyone, I am currently a LNA working at a hospital in Concord, NH and making decent money. I recently applied to the nursing program at a local school and was denied acceptance. There were only 30 positions available and over 100 applicants. I really wanted to go into nursing school and now I am kind of discouraged and don't really know what to do from here. I am 25 years old, have continuously changed career goals and finally found that the medical field is where I want to be. I absolutely love my job as a lna now but I know that this is not something I will want to be doing for the rest of my life. Should I continue the struggle and keep applying for the nursing program year after year and to different schools? or is this a sign saying maybe this just isn't the right direction for me? I was also thinking of maybe going and getting my medical assistant certificate? I already have an associates degree in business management by the way. But I hear that medical assistants make just the same, or sometimes less than lna's. So why waste the time and money for something that (1) I don't know if I will like and (2) will be making the same as what I am now. So what should I do? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I am currently a LNA at a Rehabilitation Unit and I think that being an LNA first, prior to becoming a nurse is a huge benefit. As a lna you can tell whether or not the nurse you are working with has been an lna before. I work hand and hand with my nurses and it gives you an understanding on each person's job. I feel that nurses who were lna's first have more respect towards what goes into being an lna which in hand makes for a better team environment. I strongly encourage all nurses to be lna's first!