trying to decide what degree to get or what path to take

[Rosetyler]

Hello I am new to the forum. I am a 38 year old mom to four, all 12 and under. I have been an at home mom for 12 years and very much want to go to nursing school. What I ultimately would like to do is developmental disabilities nursing and/or pediatric home health. All four of my children were medically fragile babies and toddlers, so I have had some of experience on the receiving end of home health nursing and also a lot of experience with caring for (my own!) children in that situation. What I am researching is what type of degree to get to get into the field I want, LPN vs ADN vs BSN. There is both an LPN program and an associate degree RN program available close to me at CC. The closest BSN program ( at a public college) is 45 minutes away. I plan to call some local agencies and see what kind of nurses they hire, but I also thought I would ask here for opinions/advice. When I graduate I would probably prefer part time work so I can still be available to my kids, (who all have some special needs) so that issue is on the table as well. Any thoughts?

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

I used to work at a home health agency as a scheduler, and the LPNs usually worked the shift work, while the RNs did the home visits. The RNs were paid per visit and made about as much for a short visit as the LPN did for the whole shift. That was a long time ago though so maybe the pay rates have leveled out some. The LPN degree is only one semester shorter than the RN degree, I think. You could always bridge LPN-RN-BSN. But that's a bigger time commitment than going straight for RN or BSN.

[nyteshade, BSN]

Try a job search for home health pediatric nurse and see what kind requirements you get. Plan based on the job market.

[stewartfamily2010]

That's a good idea nyteshade has. That should tell you.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I admire your commitment & have no doubt that you will be able to succeed. However, please keep in mind that new grads (LPN or RN) are generally not hired into part-time positions due to the fact that they have to undergo additional on-the-job training in order to achieve competency. This is an expensive proposition for employers. Home care agencies are very low margin businesses, so the cost of providing adequate levels of initial training for new grads is cost prohibitive for them. You will most likely have to begin your career in an inpatient setting & transfer to Home Care after you have achieved minimal competency.

Achieving competence is a result of exposure to the work setting - there are no shortcuts. So, trying to do this on a part time basis will extend this training period ; e.g., half-time will take twice as long. Just wanted to make sure you are fully aware of the realities.