Silver Surfer

My backup plan is moving along nicely. I found another way. There are some very short programs out there. I won't mention any as we are all so competitive towards one another- so I must keep it a secret. Thanks for your 'sincere' good wishes. -SS

Thanks for at least splitting your response into three paragraphs, it made it a bit easier to read. I already mentioned in a previous post that a CNA would get either a certificate or a license as I was not sure- so there was no need to clarify it. And yes that is the college, I am glad I spelled it correctly so that anyone with a Google address bar could find it. I will only take the required prerequisites, and core courses required, as some of the courses you mentioned are not required at the cited college. I will not take random courses to get a feel for the profession, wasting time and money. And if the college that conveys the degree accepts any courses online for transfer, I will take those, and not follow your suggestion. A CNA does not need to go to school to take any courses. I am referring to being trained and becoming a CNA before going to school for an LPN or ASN, but getting as many courses completed towards an LPN or ASN as possible online, before entering school. So I do not need to rephrase that. It appears that you and a couple of others are highly sensitive to me wanting to earn an ASN and have it as a back up, just in case the profession I really want to enter doesn't work out. It is not so yesterday, it is called career diversification, it is plan b in case plan a does not work out- as people often go back to school and enter another profession. I never once said that nurses don't work hard or that it is easy; no matter want anyone goes to college for, at any level, it is hard work. It all requires commitment to studying. And no matter what career anyone considers, all careers are not for everybody. And all colleges have acceptance requirements no matter what you want to study. Nursing programs are no different, they do not choose people, they do not mail letters to people asking them to enroll- people apply and are accepted based upon a criteria and compete from a pool of other applicants just like any college for any degree. Following your edict, no one should ever say they want to earn a degree or a certificate in ANY filed as a backup plan as it will offend everyone in that field- that is ridiculous. More important than ANY career or endeavor is the freedom to speak and to choose one's course in life- and central to that is planning, and keeping one's employment options open. If any offense might or should be taken, it is the offense of telling someone to rephrase their statement, or that one cannot have another profession as a backup. For the record, in case some have not read all of my posts in this thread- I find nursing, and yes the work of CNA's to be a noble profession. Nursing in particular pays well, and the work of CNA's should, but does not. I do not have the time or money to stay in college another several years for a BSN. I am considering becoming a CNA, working for a short period, then transferring coursework, and going to school for an LPN. Then I will take it form there, such as an ASN etc. Online messaging is one of the worst forms of communication, and it is very easy for statements to be misinterpreted. I am trying my best to follow the rules here, so please ask me what I mean if anyone is unsure- before assuming something and making a statement that you think corresponds to -SS

I am not yet in an RN program of any type at my community college. I was looking at their course track for LPN or ASN and noticed the prerequisite courses like Human Anatomy, General Microbiology, Human Physiology; they are all full for the summer session and could have be taken online. Since I have been in school for so long towards a BSBA, I do have a number of other transferable courses like Stats, Sociology, Critical Thinking English etc. -SS

I am sorry that you are continually confused- that is not a good state of mind to be in. I only mentioned CNA experience/completion of initial training with regard to wondering if that may allow me to CLEP out of any courses towards an ASN degree. As far as pay rates, I was not asking a question about them, simply making a statement. So I am not looking for any advice about pay rates. I know what they are, they are available on the internet, furthermore, a very close family is a CNA in a part of New England that I won't mention and is making what I quoted as a lowly CNA. I knew this might cause a ripple for a number of potential reasons- I should not have discussed money as it is a very sensitive topic for a litany of potential reasons. I think I will start as a CNA, do the three weeks of training to get the licensure or certification, work for a month or two, then stop, and work towards the LPN in school. Then ASN etc. I will just go one step at a time up the hierarchy ladder. As far as what level off nursing makes sense for a backup, that depends on a lot of different personal factors that is therefore different for any individual. A CNA as a backup might apply to some, an LPN to another, and so on etc. To each his/her own- we all have our reasons and personal preferences. I have read the horror stories of how hard CNA's (assistants) work and how RN's (nurses) treat CNA's, not all- and will not stop at the CNA level for a "backup." I do want personally know how a CNA really works, with their special challenges. But I would want to get away from the manual labor that is expected of CNA's as soon as possible. -SS

Thanks for your input, I mostly wondered about how to go about getting credit for examination on as many courses as possible. As far as the hourly wages go, I was just mentioning it, I am not looking for advice on it as I mentioned, a 'very' close family member is making what I quoted as a CNA only. -SS

The state of the economy and the probability of meaningful employment at graduation with a B.S.B.A. place me in a position to have a backup plan and nursing is it. I understand that nursing is no cakewalk and deserves my full attention. I do not plan to work while taking any courses. I am still single so I can get up and work anywhere in the country. A close family member is a CNA in New England and has established relationships, and makes $17 in hospital per diem but mostly does private care at $25 and $30 as a CNA. So I would likely be in her same area or another well paying area, not states that are notorious for low wages in the field.

Hello, I appreciate the response. To answer your questions- I am looking to get in to an ADN as soon as possible but I have a few constraints such as- I am currently between the Philippines and Thailand, have limited financial resources, would like to CLEP/Exam out of as many prerequisites and introductory courses as possible by getting proctored at a University in one of these two countries and completing as many courses as possible online; then come home to the U.S. to do the remaining mandatory [in class courses/labs] that require it. I notice that the Community College that I am looking at is Golden West Community College in California. I already have three non-nursing associate degrees form a sister school. Of course they do have waiting lists, classes fill quickly, must apply in advance, be accepted, have priority sequencing depending on a number of factors- everyone wants to be a nurse etc. I am trying to time the graduation of my B.S.B.A. and A.D.N. as close as possible for financial reasons- and so that I can immediately chip away at my student loans. I appreciate any advice or guidance. -SS

Hello all, This is my very first post. I am a senior in an online business program. I want to go into nursing as a backup. I have a family member who advised me to take a three week course at a local hospital to get my CNA license, and work there for a minimum of three weeks prior to venturing out into private care. My question is- Will the possession of a CNA license and a few weeks of private in-home care allow me to gain any transfer credit towards an ADN? I ask because there are no prerequisite courses available at my local community college; and perhaps I may not need a course or two if i would actually gain CLEP or some sort of transferable unit credits as a licensed CNA. I want to get my ADN asap. -SS