TexasMama721

(Also, I do not wish to work in a nursing home/assisted living/home health care.)

I'm in Mississippi and currently going to school at a local comm. collegr. There is a good bridge 9 month bridge program through Mississippi Women's University nearby which is said to have a nationally ranked nursing program but, I know they are incredibly competitive. (And I've been told you have to work for a year as an LPN before you can start the 9 month adn bridge program.) The local base clinic is almost always hiring nurses and you can get hired on as an LPN with no issue and have room to move up rank as you get more education under your belt. I'm just having the hardest time deciding what to do. I've already been told by the LPN dept. of my school that if I already had my a&p 2 class done they would have accepted me to start this fall. I just don't know if taking the long way around to get my bsn rn is the way I should go or if I just keep working and try to apply for the rn program next October when I'd be eligible to apply and hope and pray I make it in the first try. Should I go and talk to someone in the RN program's dept? Or would that hinder anything? (I've heard from some of the girls at school that some of the RN program staff can be pretty brutal...but thats only what I have heard and not personally experienced as I have yet to speak with anyone from the RN program.)

I'm prior service so I have GI Bill and when mine is out I have my husbands as well. He is air force. He is on his last few years before retiring from AD but he also just made rank so there is a 50/50 shot will may get orders one more time before he retires. We live in a small town but there is a bridge program offered in town with the university...I am currently attending community college near by though because it is cheaper. I can either apply for the LPN program next spring and start that fall semester or apply next fall for the RN program and start that next semester (spring). My goal is RN its what I really want and would rather do right out the gate. We do have a really good shot of staying here until I finish school since we've only been here a year but...there's always that what if. (He's already had people from other bases email him after finding out he made rank saying they would love to have him.) We haven't discussed specifics but, if I did do the RN program and he got orders during, we would figure it out for me to stay here and finish...as hard as that would be. Any other thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks! Yes, my goal is to finish pre-reqs and the. Complete LPN and then find an RN program to get into. My ultimate goal is to get my RN...I'm just taking the long way around.

I seem to have gotten several comments from people about "why are you going for an LPN instead of your RN?" Has anyone else experienced this? We're military and typically not in any one place for more than 2-3 years. I know I can get my LPN done if we were to have to move again. How hard is it to find an RN program if you already have your LPN? (I plan on applying to the base hospital for work which is different with their hiring vs. a civilian hospital.) Any thoughts or advice? I appreciate it!!! Thanks!