What to do?

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Hello, well where do I start? I am a CNA with 6 years experience and a medical Esthetician. I work fulltime for a medical spa and love it and am enrolled to begin the LPN program in January 2008.

I just interviewed for a CNA position because I wanted to still gain experience in a surgical hospital setting while going through school and they offered me a fulltime 7-3 Monday-Friday position full benefits package that is amazing, and after 6 months they pay a good chunk of schooling for you, and the pay is $15 an hour!! and now I do not know what to do?

I planned on cutting my hours for the medical esthetician to very part time and do a few evenings and every other Saturday and was expecting this CNA job to be only part time as well. I did not think I had a great chance of getting the position but it turned out they loved me!!

So this is my frustration now if I take this I can not goto school starting in January. I am already taking med term, comp, and A&P this fall for it the last of my pre req's.

Do I take this job and work for awhile to gain all I can and save some money before I attempt school which I def. need to do (I am a married mother of 3 all under the age of 4!!) Or do I tell them I can not accept?

The thing is even though they pay school after 6 months it still would not work if my hours were day shift and the night and weekend LPN program is an hour away.

What do I do????? Please help me!!

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Oh boy you got a tough decision to make. Well first you have to think about it from a financial stand point. Can you afford to go to school full-time while only working part-time? Do you really need to work full-time right now to support your family?

If you can afford to work part-time then I would say go ahead with nursing school in January. You will be able to get a good job making that and more once you finish lpn school. Sacrificing the good paying cna job in a hospital setting will be worth it the end.

I know it is very tempting to take the job but education is an investment in yourself that lasts a lifetime.

Only you know what is best for you and your family right now. If it is not feasible for you to go to school right now because of finances then I say take the job but I hope if you do that you will find a way to go nursing school!!!

Good luck in whatever you decide

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Specializes in Med-surg, long term care, peds, ob....

I just finished LPN school August 17th and if this program is accelerated, like 13 months or so, you may have a tough time juggling work, school, and 3 kids. At the beginning of my program I didn't work, but was engaged to a guy with two young children (2 and 4). That was tough as far as having enough time to do wife-like duties, step-mom duties, school duties, and self-duties. He didn't understand that I couldn't always spend time with them when I wasn't in school. I mean you have to study too!! I broke up with him and had to take on 2 jobs while still in school. That was tough because you are in a constant battle between doing school work or going to work to make money to pay your tuition. Some days I had to leave class early to make some extra money. It was hard, but I did it. Work now to get money, change to part time when you start school, and if you find you can't handle it- by all means don't work!! It is very important for you and your husband to be on the same page. He has to understand that your going to school will take away from the time you have to spend with the family and time with him, but it's for the greater good of everyone. He will have to do more so you can do what you have to do. If he can't understand that, you may have a problem. Try and get a reliable sitter for the kids so you can study. SUPPORT is what you need in situations like this. It's a struggle, but in the end, when you walk down the aisle in your white nurse's uniform and think of all you had to sacrifice for this certificate, you'll be so proud of your self.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

As hard as it is, I would probably look at my finances, see if I can live on the very part time salary while attending school. You may make $15 an hour as a CNA, however, after awhile, you may feel limited, because you could have gone a bit further. An LPN, as compared to a CNA would have more job opportunities. Good luck; I know it is hard, but, it may be worth it in the long run. Or, as suggested, just take it for now and then when school starts, decide, then. Good luck!

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I think you should finish the prerequisites, and find a way to go to school. You found a job that pays $15 an hour as a CNA, think what a LPN liscense with prior experience can bring you. Is there an opportunity in the program's hospital at employment on another floor that you will not do clinicals on. Have you considered being a private sitter with your CNA experience? Does agency work pay pretty well in your area? I hope you can join a program and move on. I work with some great patient care techs, and I wish they went on for a liscense in nursing, but circumstances are different for everyone.

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