People used to ask me why I "settled" and went to a vocational school to become an LPN, instead of going to a traditional college and becoming a "real nurse." I always had a list of potential answers running through my mind when that happened:
✔️ I do the exact same thing an RN does at my job with absolutely no variation.
✔️ I train both new grad RN's and BSN's, and have discovered that in my field, experience and competence are more valuable than the initials at the end of my name.
✔️ I work with babies, which is pretty damn cool (turns out I like them better than many adults).
✔️ I have an incredibly flexible schedule that allows me to continue my education.
✔️ The pay is much, much better than when I was the drive-thru girl at Taco Bell.
✔️ I took on 11 months of school and no debt to make sure nursing was what I wanted, rather than 2-3 years and a boatload of loans.
✔️ This Microbiology test isn't hard. My six-month old vent-dependent patient went into respiratory distress last night, and I guided them through it. That was tough. I eat micro exams for breakfast!
✔️ Vocational school helped me develop study/homework skills, so that when I entered traditional college, I got easy A's.
✔️ In Honors classes revolving around theory, I could speak about practical application in real life situations.
✔️ When scholarship time rolled around, I wasn't simply a student who wished to change the world. I was already actively changing the world.
So many students apply to awards because of who they want to be, whereas I could apply because of who I already am. When I had to write numerous essays, personal statements, and narratives about myself and my future dreams, I had so many compelling stories to tell about my job as an LPN. When asked about community service, volunteer work, or past experience performing good deeds for others, I got the opportunity to explain how such things weren't simply extracurriculars to me, but rather an integral part of my day to day life as an LPN.
Those people who used to ask me why I "settled" and went to a vocational school to become an LPN, instead of going to a traditional college and becoming a "real nurse?" These days, I don't need to tell them anything. Because I was awarded $124,500 dollars to complete my bachelor's degree, and $200,000 dollars for any graduate school I choose. Not because I was a traditional student (I came from one of those schools, a vocational school for people who weren't "good enough" for regular college). Not because I did well in high school (I dropped out at 15). Not because I was cookie cutter (I've got a dirty mouth, a sarcastic streak a mile wide, and I wear jeans and red converse to business casual events). Not because I had special advantages (as an older student, I had to fight for every opportunity, knock on many doors, and annoy professors into letting me take on special projects). I received all of this because of my work as an LPN and the way it made me stand out among other students when I transitioned back into traditional college.
So don't let anyone tell you this is a road for people who "settle" or don't have what it takes to hack it at a "real" college. You have no idea where an LPN license will lead you, or the impact you will have on the world because of it.
