What Should I Do?

[merchan5967]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I'm a paramedic looking to go into nursing. I live in the Phoenix metro area and have a couple of choices, both of which have pros and cons. One option is to take the medic to RN bridge course through Mesa CC. I think it will take about a year just to finsh the prerequisites that I need, then roughly a year and a half to two years to complete the whole program including the bridge course, depending on which block I test into; three years is a long time. But because it's a public college it would be a far less expensive option. The other option I'm thinking about is going through Pima Medical Institute. Their program is a lot shorter (by more than a year). I'm turning 34 soon and have a family to feed, so the thought of working a year sooner is very appealing. The thing though is it's a crazy expensive program. Would love some advice.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

My general rule: don’t take out loans in excess of what you can realistically make in a year. Those loan payments can make an increase in paychecks more than disappear.

[merchan5967]

I could if I worked OT, which every medic turned RN that I know says is plentiful.