What LPN cert. program can i get into now?

[oneclipse]

I posted this in the mass. section of the forum but no replies yet. Sooo here goes....

Hello everyone,

I would like to introduce myself. I'm a thirty year old male in need of a satisfying career. I have gone from job to job all these years and never really felt fulfilled and content, not to mention they all payed horribly(that's what i get for not having a degree).

The biggest mistake of my short existence thus far was dropping out of high school. Yeah, i know it was a bad decision but i have finally "seen the light":trout: . There is a local GED program in Newton that i will be attending soon. It's a little intimidating to get back to a classroom but i feel confident that i CAN do it.

My first question is where can i get into a LPN cert. program that is close to watertown. I have read on here that there are 10-11 month programs but maybe i'm not looking hard enough because i haven't come across any nearby. I would prefer a no waiting list program, even if i have to go to a private school and pay more.

At this point in my life i don't want to go far from my wife and family for school. I love spending time with my family but i have to sacrifice a little now to achieve more in the future. My wife makes good income but it's about time that i stepped up my game also. The pay for a LPN in this area is good so i hope to be in a nice position financially.

I have researched other industries but healthcare seems to be for me. I like a hectic but structured workplace, maybe i would like to be in ICU or medsurg but it's so hard to know what to do without actually doing it.

Please help me?

Any advice or words of wisdom would be sooooo appreciated.

TIA,

oneclipse

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

[quote=oneclipse;

The salary seems good($50K for surg. tech.)if the information is correct. The link below is where i got all the salary estimates for LPN, RN, Radiologist tech, and Surgical tech. This may sound like a dumb question, but are the salary figures based on a 40 hour work week? Do you think that overtime will be available in the Surgical tech. position?

http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=surgical+technologist&l1=boston%2C+ma

Please can anyone let me know if the salaries above are in the ballpark?

There are a ton of jobs available for RN's, a few for the LPN's and only a couple for Surgical technologist in the local hospitals. I would think once someone gets the latter job they are not inclined to leave but i could be wrong on that. That's just my research though so it could have a few holes.

The way i have been thinking about my options is that i can't get into the RN program soon. So, the best path for me would be to get the Surgical tech. cert. and begin working in the healthcare field. While in school i will get some or all of the pre-reqs out of the way for the RN program. That way if i do finally decide to go for the RN program. I'll be ready to make the move up.

Let me know what you think?

>So many decisions, so little time.

Hi oneeclipse,

Here are my thoughts;

I have a really hard time beleiving surgical techs make 50,000 fresh out of a program, but I am not a surgical tech so I do not know for sure. I would recommend calling some hospitals in the area and explaining your situation and seeing if they will let you know the pay rate. It is very unlikely that OT would be available to a surgical tech since most scheduled surgical cases are during the week from 7am-5pm ish, you will have to take call as a surgical tech which means you are allowed to stay at home on weekends and nights, but you can be called in for an emergency case.

Another important thing to think of is that it is going to be hard for you to go to school while working as a surgical tech since you will more than likely be working 5 days a week 8 hour days. There is not much scheduling flexability for that type of job. Not to meniton you will also have some night and weekend on call times.

You are right that it will take a while to get into an RN program, but this is the time that you finish all of the general education classes like your english, math, sciences etc... If you are going to a 2 year RN program for yoru associates you will need to get almost all of those done before they will admit you into the program. It will be very hard to get these classes done working as a surgical tech for the previoulsy mentioned reasons.

Just food for thought. I had a few class mates that were surgical techs and it was pretty hard for them to schedule work and school, but they were able to cut hours because they had a spouce that could support them.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

Swtooth

[oneclipse]

Hello Swtooth,

Sorry to take so long to reply but i have been trying to absorb all the advice you have given me.

The scheduling conflicts as you stated above would be a huge problem that i might not be able to overcome. I now feel as though the path for me would be Surgical tech. or LPN because i can get the certification and (if i can find a job) start working immediately. I would think that i'd love to be a RN but the amount of schooling required of me at this point would put alot of strain on my family. Having no real stream of income for up to three years would be an issue.

I sure hope that the beginning salary for CST's is atleast $40k. From the information that i have received the LPN's around Boston can make between $50-$75K with overtime. That is the information that i got from an LPN that works in the OR. She has been a nurse for about thirty years so i hope those figures that she gave my wife are correct. My wife also knows a RN that i will be speaking with very soon to get more information.

Thanks for all the advice,

Oneclipse

[CapeLPN]

Hi - just seeing this thread now and wondering which route you ended up going? I was in the same boat last year and decided to do a 10-month LPN program with Upper Cape Tech out of Bourne, instead of spending the time taking the pre-reqs I needed to get into the RN program at my local community college, and then dealing with the waiting list there. Now I'm working as an LPN and can take my pre-reqs while working in the field and gaining experience, and will do the LPN-to-RN program in the future (and have heard that the LPNs who have done this really excel at it b/c they have so much hands-on experience). There were several women in my class that have their GEDs and they did well. So, did you go the Surgical Tech or LPN route?