Where to start

NedRN · Jul 27, 2013

You should start with a staff job for one or two years.

michellew6904 · Jul 28, 2013

You should start with a staff job for one or two years.

Does it matter where? It's hard to get on at a hospital here as an LPN.

michellew6904 · Jul 28, 2013

You should start with a staff job for one or two years.

And thank you

NedRN · Jul 28, 2013

There is a very limited market for travel LPNs. LTC is the biggest, and corrections, and perhaps dialysis. I can't help you with your local market, I would talk to fellow students and professors, and employers where you do clinicals. Are you planning on progressing to RN?

michellew6904 · Jul 28, 2013

Definitely. As soon as possible. Working while I'm going to school is the best route for me. I'm older and a single parent so my best bet was to go from CNA to LPN to RN. I just noticed everyone talks about specialties etc and I'm not sure where to start. I want to do travel nursing as soon as I get enough time in and by that point I may very well be an RN.

NedRN · Jul 28, 2013

You will need at least a year as an RN and often more in certain specialties. Probably the fastest route to actual travel would be to work in LTC as LPN. Then you might be employable as an LTC RN immediately. But I think LTC is even below medsurg on the foodchain in travel (never worked in LTC). Better is OR, L&D, and ICU. But those will take years to master as an RN before being able to travel.

There are other pathways to faster travel as RN. For example scrub tech to OR RN. Those folks are highly employable even right out of nursing school. Since I am an OR RN, that is the example I know. Another big selling point for OR is day shifts.