Want to be a nurse, just don't know what kind: RN, LVP, etc...

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hi everyone,

so glad i found this forum! so many interesting topics to read, ones i have thought about myself, and ones that haven't even crossed my mind yet! anyhow, i wanted to know how to figure out which kind of nurse i want to be. by which kind i mean rn, lvn, or...well, i don't know what other types there are.

i start my pre req's next spring, and would very much like to know exactly what i want to do before i get there!

i also wanted to introduce myself:)

i am a 29-year-old christian wife and mother of four. i dropped out of school in at the end of my first semester of ninth grade because i had my oldest daughter and had no one to keep her so i could finish school. well, years and three kids later i finally got my ged. i was so happy to see that i scored above average on all subjects, with the exception of math. i wasn't sure exactly what i wanted to do, but i started taking core classes at the local university. again, life took over and i dropped out early on in my first year.

fast-forward four years...my family now lives in florida (i grew up in texas). i started thinking about going back to school, but this time it would be online so i didn't have to worry about making it to class. i enrolled with axia college of university or phoenix in march '09 as in the aa in elementary education program. i have about 5 classes left before i am finished am finished and have earned my aaee.

when i first started thinking about going back to school, i really thought i wanted to be a teacher, but for some reason, i couldn't really "see" myself 10 years from now teaching 5-year-olds. the more of the education classes i took, the more i realized this was not the career i really wanted.

i've always been a caretaker...my kids, my husband, friends and family, even for our animals. when i go grocery shopping, i always end up near the scrubs imagining what it would be like to be a nurse...be in a hospital setting, tending the needs of all sorts of people. thriving on the excitement of emergencies, and yet depending on the monotonous daily tasks that need to be completed as well. it's funny because it seems that everywhere i go i see nurses...lol. it's like god had been throwing signs at me for the last few years that i was headed to the wrong field.

i know nursing is hard and demanding. i know i probably have a bit of a glammed up version in my head, but i also know that there are challenges that every person faces when trying to get into nursing, and even after they are there.

my whole life i have faced challenges, and overcome. i have made bad decisions and wrong decisions; jumped into things head first, and without much thought to the long run. i have also learned from my past. i have learned not to just trust my feel-good thought, but to really site and chew on things. turn them over and around in my head. look at all the possibilities, both positive and negative.

finally, i can see myself 10, 15, 30 years down the road doing the same thing: nursing and caring for those that need it. being proud of my career, and what i have accomplished.

wow, that turned out about 10x's longer than i had anticipated! so, back to the reason i posted to begin with: what are the different nursing titles, and how do i know which one i want to be?

thanks!

girldotson

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Well, first of all kudos to you for deciding to go back to school! All the moms in my class I have great respect for.

I noticed you mentioned things such as "hospital" and "emergency cases", if that happens to be the setting you see yourself in I recommend an RN, specifically a BSN.

I say this because LPNs are now mostly seen in the long term care and doctors office settings. So if you want hospital work you are probably looking at getting your RN.

Now, I say BSN because the doors will open a little wider when you have your BSN as opposed to your ADN. First being that hospitals have to have a certain percentage of their nurses with a BSN.

Secondly, if you ever want to advance, like as a nurse manager for example, most hospitals require a BSN as a minimum requirement.

Lastly, having your BSN allows you to broaden your education. If you think you might ever want to be a nurse practitioner, nurse educator, or just have your MSN a bachelors is the best route for you. Although, there are RN-MSN programs out there.

I hope I helped a little bit :)

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