Should I get my LPN license while im in nursing school?

readynurse · Jan 16, 2013

I live in the NYS. I complete 3 semesters of RN coursework. However, I have no option but to sit for LPN boards. The RN school will not allow me because I failed a course for 1 point.

May you please give me advice on how you obtain your lpn license?

I also have a CNA certificate and work in a LTC.

Some of these comments are very nasty and unwarranted. Yes or no would suffice. I will try to answer your question without degrading you for asking it at all!
Before you consider taking the exam, you should consider whether it's a decent investment for you. I worked as a CNA during nursing school and when you have to work part-time the pay really sucks. I didn't have anyone supporting me, so no magic money from mommy or daddy or a trust fund. Even if you only use this license for 6 months, you will still get your money back since you'll be making around $22-24/hr versus the CNA $9-13/hr. These pay scales depend on your state. That's significant when you can only work 8-25 hours/week. Any comment about it being a waste of your time falls under the category of "easy for you to say". I'm guessing the people who are shooting you down were fully supported through nursing school and never had to struggle.
If the answer is affirmative and you want to go through with it, you need to get the info from the school. I asked my nursing department if they would do it and they said no. Instead of getting my grades sent through them, I had it sent through the registrar at my school which has nothing to do with them. Then I asked the state NOT to release my test grade to the school. I live in NYS, so they don't require official records from the nursing department, only that the school can verify you've taken so many hours of general nursing education. I took the test, passed and worked six months until I graduated. If I had continued with CNA, I only would have earned $10K gross until graduation. As an LPN, I earned $29K gross. That's some fat change. So the "it's not worth the money" argument doesn't hold water.
However, if you have a good support system and people to pay things for you, I would still say do it. Why? Well, depending on how your state functions, if you can sit for the exam you will 1.) have testing experience for the NCLEX-RN which are similar, 2.) a job that will have given you real nursing experience prior to becoming an RN. The experience factor is what will get you hired faster than the next guy who only went to nursing school but never touched a person outside of clinicals.
Do what is best for you. Of course, my situation is unique according to my state, what is required in the way of documentation and why I would even do this to begin with.
Good luck!