MidLifeChg2Nursing

Already have that too. I took EMT-B, but didn't finish - part of the class was Healthcare Professional CPR.

Orientation was insightful! Besides myself, I counted 3 other males. Since my A&P I and II will transfer, no class for me on Mondays! Woohoo! I'm going to take Life Span online - it starts in 10 days; I'll transfer that over too - no class for me on Friday afternoons! Woohoo!

Hey there! Are you a CNA at the group home? Will you be applying to an LPN-to-RN program after the LPN program? Is that why you have a few classes (which one) already? See you at orientation. Can't wait to see how many other males besides me.

Wow, AdamantiteEnigma, you've had ups and downs, and seem positive despite it all (with the exceptions of the occasional punching bag holes - but that's what their for . You have definitely living life. Your persistence and endurance will pay off.

If you're looking for a guarantee that all your plans will happen exactly as you want -NOT. Life has no guarantee of anything. All you can do is plan with the best information you have available, and go from there - just do it. Expect bumps, hurdles, mountains, curve ball, and adapt to any new situation with the same end goal, you just may need to take a few paths not anticipated - it may make the journey shorter, or longer, or the same amount of time, who knows? But make a decision! NO job has any guarantees of having plenty of openings. I'm quitting my $75K job of 26 years in August to go to the CT state run LPN program. I'm using my savings to continue paying my mortgage. I'm working per diem as a CNA and will work near full-time as a CNA while going to school - my income will be cut to a lot less than half, with the hope of getting hired as an LPN at the facility I now work as a CNA; the end of the LPN program is about the same time my savings will run out to pay may mortgage - I'm hoping to get hired as an LPN ($25/hr) to pay the mortgage out of a salary, and continue in an LPN-to-RN bridge program. Are there any guarantees? No. Am I a little nervous I won't find an LPN job right away? Yes. Is there a possibility I not finish the LPN program? Unlikely, but you never know; then what? Am I going full steam ahead? Hell yeah! You're letting the fact that you got fired make you stop, drop, and roll in self pity and self doubt. GET UP! STOP putting up your own road blocks! STOP focusing on all the negative things that COULD happen, and focus on all the positive things that COULD happen - half full, not half empty.

Is anybody else starting the LPN program at Norwich Tech, CT this Fall 2015? I'm excited and a little nervous. I keep saying to myself "by next December (2016), I'll be done with LPN". It makes it seem that much closer. In August I'm quitting my good-paying job of 26 years to do this. I'm working part-time now as a CNA but will be working near full-time when starting the LPN program. I've read here on AN both "don't work while in school" and the "I've done it while maintaining a high GPA, time management". I'll try it, then if need be, my supportive wife said she'll work an extra part-time job for the time I'm in the program. I'll do the LPN-to-RN bridge, probably through Excelsior's online program. The LTC facility I work pays entry LPNs $25/hr - I'm hoping to get picked up as an LPN, I would have been with them as a CNA for 2 years by then. Although A&P 1 and 2 are not prerequisites for the program I've taken them at a community college (B+ and B) and the program coordinator said I can transfer the A&P classes into the LPN program - that's 90 hours of class and labs I won't have to do, more time to spend on pharmacology. Looking at the handbook, the 1st semester has over twice as many hours as the 2nd semester - 390 hours for 1st semester, 180 hours for the 2nd semester, 225 hours for the 3rd semester. I'll also be transferring over Intro to Psychology, so the last semester I'll have 180 hours. All prerequisites will be done for when I apply to an LPN-to-RN bridge program. Anybody else as excited as I am that's entering CT's LPN program at a Tech School? Ready, set, go!

I'm also starting LPN program in August - 1.5 years, no summer classes or clinicals. I'll also bridge over to ADN. Final in A&P 2 is next week. Lifespan will be done this summer. The A&P and Lifespan will transfer into my LPN program, so that I will have a lot less load my first semester. Taking Micro next summer - all pre-requisites will be done. Working as CNA night shift (will be putting out resumes for ER Tech night shift). The LTC facility I work pays entry-level LPN $25/hour - my reason for doing LPN first; faster getting into working as a nurse. The entry-level pay for RN at my LTC facility is $29/hour.

I'm excited. I'm doing my first clinical - I'll be in the emergency room from 11pm to 7pm tonight; it's only 2 weeks left in the EMT-B program - and 4 months before the start of LPN. I want to work in an ED as an ED Tech, the reason for taking EMT-B (I 've been working part-time as a CNA for 8 months now, and also took an EKG Tech course last fall). The EMT-B course got me more anxious to start LPN, and I think it is a great introduction to the LPN program; I didn't realize and greatly underestimated the amount of time needed to study for the EMT-B - I had timed online quizzes 2 or 3 days per week, had to read 3 chapters each week from 70 to 90 pages each, do the online exercises, and practice the skills, along with the A&P II class I'm taking and the study time it takes to keep at least a B+ in that class. The thing that got me the most excited about the EMT-B course and how it's a great intro to LPN are the practice assessments, "You have a 35 year old male, complaining of ... blah blah blah. How would you ...?" I loved those exercises. The EMT-B program went through every body system, medical and trauma. It was awesome to see that a lot of the things learned about the heart and circulatory system in the EKG course was taught in EMT-B, and that a lot of the things learned in A&P about the endocrine and nervous system was also taught in EMT-B. I'll also join my city's volunteer fire department as an EMT. My ultimate goal is to be an ER or OR nurse - by the time I'm done with LPN program I will have 1.5 years EMT experience; and, by the time I finish ADN I'll have 2.5 years EMT-B experience - I'm hoping my experience as an EMT-B will offset my not having a BSN, and I'll go directly into the ER after receiving ADN (and passing the NCLEX). Anybody else starting nursing this fall working in as ED Tech or EMT-B? Do you think the EMT-B program helped you in your nursing program?

At Heathermaizey: Also, I did not say I have a son in college; again, re-read - a have a son who just started high school, and another who will start high school next year. I hope your reading skills are much better in your nursing classes. I also said I have enough saved up for 1.5 years, the exact amount of time to complete LPN program. The average LPN salary in LTC where I live according to www.salary.com is $49K - wife won't need to work a 2nd job, but you always plan for the worse. If she did need to work a 2nd job, it would be temporary, let's say a year or even 2 years, it's called sacrifice, support, life - it's not unheard of for people to work a 2nd job or overtime to get ahead. You sound young.

At [COLOR=#003366]Heathermaizey. I get the mid-life crisis thing all the time; but, even hear in Allnurses, there are those who successfully transitioned into nursing in their forties, and they all warned of the mid-life-crisis-sayers. I didn't say I don't like dealing with people, that's way too general a statement; it WOULD be absolutely ridiculous to go nursing. You pointed out one of the reasons I DO want to go ER - the variety of people and health issues; it's not all trauma as you say, but the wing I'm on is nearly all old dementia residents, everyday, same exact routine on same exact schedule. There are "moments" I've had with residents that I got that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing I made someone feel a lot better. One older woman in her "right mind" was in pain and couldn't get any more medicine until some time later (RN gave her medication earlier); I took about 20 minutes past dinner to help feed her, telling her to hold and squeeze my hand, patting her forehead with damp cool washcloth. Later that night she made it a point to tell the charge nurse that I was very pleasant and helpful. One older gentleman who is in his "right mind" and usually independent and continent wasn't feeling well this particular night and had diarrhea, not at all able to control his bowels. You could tell he was embarrassed and tried to be independent; I told him let me help you, you're not well, it's okay, that's why I'm here. He let his guard down and let me help him, checking on him every 15 minutes, offering him crushed ice, rubbing him down with lotion. I never said I didn't like dealing with people, please quote me where I said that; re-read my original. What I said was LTC and particularly older dementia was not me; I'm not trying to imply I don't like older dementia people. Think of it this way: everybody knows the scene of a pre-school teacher trying to take control of an out of control class, kids getting into things they shouldn't, all the yelling and screaming, the banging on objects. Now let's say you have a student teacher interning in said classroom, and decides that pre-school is not the level she wants to teach. It doesn't mean she doesn't like toddlers, it doesn't mean she wants to quit teaching. She would like to teach at the middle school level; yes, it comes with it's own different set of challenges, but that's where she would love to be.

Why not go straight for RN? A couple of things: Mainly, the deadline for the Aug 2015 RN program at the community colleges is Feb 2015, and I don't have one of the pre-requisites yet, and I didn't want to wait another year to get started, although going this route will take a year longer - LPN is 1.5 years, LPN-to-ADN is 1 year, but have to wait a semester to begin (finish LPN Dec 2016; ADN always start in Aug - .5 years later), which is 3 years total (but a total of 2.5 classroom years - no summer classes, and an "extra" semester of "overlap"). The way I see it, I can wait a year and chance not even getting in, or I can start right away, have a little "overlap" of course content, and get nursing experience before achieving RN. Either way it will take an extra year - at the beginning with no nursing courses, clinicals, experience; or, at the end working as an LPN getting nursing experience in the courses and clinicals already taken by that point.

I start the 3 semester (no-summer-classess) LPN program in Aug 2015. As my username suggest, I'm changing careers after 26 years in federal government in IT management (deferred retirement, not enough years and too "young" - another story) I took A&P I this past fall 2014, and will be taking A&P II spring 2015, and Life Span summer 2015 to reduce the course load for the first semester of the LPN program. I also received my state CNA license in Aug 2014 and immediately started working part-time every other weekend at a nursing home & rehab facility. My ultimate goal is to be an ER nurse - hence: (1) I took EKG Tech simultaneously with A&P I, and (2) will be taking EMT-B simultaneously with A&P II, and (3) will take Phlebotomy For The PCT simultaneously with Life Span, and (4) lastly starting Jan 2015 I will be volunteering 4 hours per week in a hospital emergency department (5) I'm hoping to be hired as an ER Tech or ER PCT in Aug 2015 (I will have a year CNA experience by then) while in the LPN program. Summer 2016 I will take Microbiology, having then finished the pre-requisites to hopefully seamlessly continue with the LPN-to-RN bridge program - working as an LPN while finishing the last year of ASN. I have it all planned out; then, work as ER RN while finishing an online BSN program. I'm excited. I'm scared. I have no choice but to quit (deferred retirement) my current well-paying job to do what I've always wanted to do - ER nursing. I have enough money saved to pay my mortgage for about 1.5 years (and about 250K in my retirement TSP). I have 2 sons - one just started high school, the other will start high school next year. My wife supports me and says if needed she will work a 2nd job. I'm scared. I'm determined. I'm nervous. I want it bad. The (male) nurse - who escorted me to the waiting room and took my vitals and history before the health exam for the CNA position I now hold - told me, after some small talk, that my decision and circumstance is familiar with him; he was an engineer for 20 years before he was layed off and he decided to go for nursing - yes, a sign I'm doing the right thing. A few nurses and fellow CNA's say I'm going through a mid life crisis, haters; I now keep my well-paying "other" job to myself if asked anymore. I so can't wait to be an RN in the ER. I've read (here on allnurses and other forums) and heard of so many would-be nursing students who decided "nursing wasn't for them" after becoming a CNA and working in a nursing home. I must say, after working in a nursing home for four months, LTC and psychiatric nursing is most definitely not for me; but, I'm not writing off nursing as a whole - LTC is but just one nursing specialty, and for me it's just the first step of the journey to ER RN. Several times per shift I "go to the bathroom" for a few minutes to re-center, calm, and retake some of my nerves before the last one is got. It's not so much the rehab residents as it is the older dementia patients - just not for me, and not disillusioned. I'm not sure why I'm writing this: to get positive encouragement, to give positive encouragement, to get feedback on working in the ER while going to nursing school, to feel part of a nursing community? Not sure, but here it is for your perusal.

Don't be so critical of yourself - how can you say you feel stupid and haven't accomplished anything when you got ACCEPTED into a nursing program; yes, it's a five year wait. If you haven't been accepted into another nursing program or LPN program, I suggest getting a head start and get experience in the medical field so that when you do start RN program the course subjects will be familiar to you - take a year to get your diploma in medical assisting, paramedic, or surgical tech. My wife, as a medical assistant (MA) for a urology office, sterilizes and hands surgical equipment, preps the surgical patients by shaving and applying topical anesthesia, takes vitals and histories, do bladder scans using a sonogram, assists in biopsies - prepare, label, and ship tissue samples. Just from interacting with the doctors and patients, she has a firm understanding of the prescription drugs (pharmacology) relating to urological and pulmonary disorders and diseases (she worked at a pulmonary office first). Continuing as an MA, paramedic, or surgical tech will also give you that sense of not being in limbo while "waiting". You will get there, but you must really change your way of thinking and start seeing the glass as half full and not half empty.

It's been about 2 months for me working as a CNA in a LTCF just weekends, and I'm still somewhat slow, and still finding my routine and rythm. There was this one weekend where it seemed I did everything wrong - after I was done with the resident I was reminded at least 5 times to lower the bed back down (resident safety issue); twice I was reminded to re-attach the residents "don't-get-out-of-bed" monitor; I forgot to change another resident and that resident and the bed was soaked when next shift arrived. I felt awefull. A few CNA coworkers told me directly that I need to learn to pick up the pace; but, there are also a few who encouraged me and said that I will eventually find the right way for me to get things done in a timely manner - they shared their stories with me of how slow they were when they first started, and the mistakes they made. Just stick with it, the time WILL come when you can juggle all your task efficiently and effectively. One thing I had to do was to find my voice in speaking up, respectfully. That moment came when a resident told me there was only so much I could do at one time; that resident was waiting for me and was responding to my apologies for taking a while getting to her because I was attending to another resident (that resident has no idea how she empowered me). I was written up for something I believe was done correctly; I went to the DON and she agreed with me, and corrected the charge nurse - my write-up was taken out my employee record.

To humbly correct mvm2, MA are NOT licensed - my wife is not. MA do not neccessarily hold certifications - my wife is not certified, she learned on the job. MA can be certified, it's voluntary; and, although not mandatory, certification gives more credibility. Some doctor offices will only hire Certified Medical Assistants, as opposed to Medical Assistants without the voluntary certification. Hospitals ONLY hire Certified Medical Assistants.