I am about to enter Nursing school in October. It is a PN program from a private school here in NC. Its 12 months in length and over-all not too hard to get into ( .i.e..no waiting list!!) Anyway, after passing the entrance exam, submitting all the required paper work etc, including a 500 word Essay , Having the Interview and so on...I'm in...The down side is that this school is VERY $$$,..I'm talking to the tune of $19,000. ( Its all inclusive,.meaning books, uniforms etc)
The local CC here has a waiting list so to speak, so I'm looking at another 1-2 years easily...I don't want to wait that long!! Plus I found out that NONE of my 33 credits will transfer simply because they ( the CC) has a 5 year rule I was told that I would have to start all over from scratch....By the way my credits were from 8 years ago..ugh! I'm ticked too because the local CC here is only minutes from my home while the school in Raleigh is a good 1 hour + each way...
Anyway my concern is paying for or shall I say "Investing" in this PN program... In addition to other financial aide, I am sure that I'll also have to take a student loan to help cover some of the cost....I don't have all the final "numbers" ( financial aide wise), but I am fairly sure there is no way grants will cover 100% of the cost and the thought of owing so much after-wards kinda worries me...
My question ( and concern is..) Is the cost really worth it? I mean if I were to have a debt of $10,000+ for getting my RN,...that would be fine, but for getting my LPN...well I just don't know... One thing I do want to add is that once I finish my PN, I plan on working and then going the Excelsior route for my RN....
Anyway time is running out and I really need to make a firm decision....I Love coming here and value your opinions...Please share the "pros and Cons" from your point of view......Thanks so much!!
I'm thinking, praying and looking at things from every possible view....I know in the end...whichever route I choose...will be the best decision.....Also I did find out that (depending where you work etc,.. State Facilities pay the best tho..) .Anyway as in every where else the pay for LPN's in my area vary...However on Average in the LTC setting the starting pay is about $14.00 per hour ( new grad) ..which sucks..cause I currently make $12.00 now..Anyway it moves up from there....A friend of mine ( LPN for 3 years) working in LTC shared that she's making $17.23 per hour, so I guess given the small town we are in yada, yada...the pay is OK.....Certainly NOT great but just Okay........Oh and the hospital here employs LPN's but not many...LTC is the big employer here......then Clinics, Dr's offices and so on..
There are lots of areas for LPN's.....it is not true that LPN's are not being used as much anymore.....and many many people mistakenly think that hospitals are the only place to work......you can do home care which is very flexible for people who have families, small children etc, you can do pharmacuetical sales ....those nurses make great money, you can do dr's offices, camp nursing , correctional nursing, there are many places an LPN can work and in my house I have home care nurses for my daughter and there are 3 LPNs and 3 RNs and the LPNs do not work under the RNs direction, they each work under their own direction. Plus the LPN's only make about 2-3$$ less than the RNs do ............just remember there are many places for any field of nursing not JUST hospital nursing
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
There are lots of areas for LPN's.....it is not true that LPN's are not being used as much anymore.....and many many people mistakenly think that hospitals are the only place to work......
Thank you. I'm an LVN who is frankly sick and tired of other LPNs/LVNs complaining that they are unable to land hospital jobs.
There are abundant LPN/LVN opportunities in nursing homes, rehabilitation, hospice, home health, outpatient clinics, public health, dialysis, psychiatric nursing, education, sales, management, day surgery, sub-acute skilled nursing, developmental disabilities nursing, and other non-hospital settings. Students who entend to enroll into practical/vocational nursing programs need to first do the research so that they won't become disappointed upon graduation when they've discovered they can't find a hospital job in L&D, the emergency department, critical care, or travel nursing.
Thank you. I'm an LVN who is frankly sick and tired of other LPNs/LVNs complaining that they are unable to land hospital jobs.
There are abundant LPN/LVN opportunities in nursing homes, rehabilitation, hospice, home health, outpatient clinics, public health, dialysis, psychiatric nursing, education, sales, management, day surgery, sub-acute skilled nursing, developmental disabilities nursing, and other non-hospital settings. Students who entend to enroll into practical/vocational nursing programs need to first do the research so that they won't become disappointed upon graduation when they've discovered they can't find a hospital job in L&D, the emergency department, critical care, or travel nursing.
Hey ! No problem! You know I only know all this stuff from being around nurses alot....you wouldn't believe the number of nursing students I have heard myself personally talking about the hopsital like it's the only place nurses work....I myself thought that long before I had my daughter; never knew they worked other places..... BUT I have them in my home everyday ..and let me tell ya I have one LPN who can give any RN a run for the money....she actually is one of the smartest & best nurses I have ever seen....she blows doors on any RN I have ever known/seen working, most of the stuff (nursing ) I know is thanks to her, besides the school stuff.I was going to do the LPN route but just lucked out getting into RN so I went for it.....like she tells me anurse is a nurse is a nurse....all nursing care is the basic same stuff as far as care skills/hands on.....RN's BSN's & MSN's just have longer educations.....anywho you are a great nurse also from what I have read in your posts & very passionate about your work;)
Specializes in Acute care, Community Med, SANE, ASC.
I didn't mean to suggest that there weren't opportunities for LPNs. I just wanted to make sure that Anna was thinking about where she might want to work and whether the LPN route was the way to go. Just as Commuter pointed out, I wouldn't want her to have her heart set on working in the ER only to find that she might have difficulty doing that with the very expensive LPN education she is considering. No offense intended--there are multiple, multiple opportunities for all kinds of nurses--just wanted her to consider this part of the equation. :-)
that is way to much money...... for that kind of money you could go to state university of New York where I finsihed my second undergrad degree in Psych
Well on Monday I go and take that darn entrance exam for the local CC.. Then on Tuesday I have an appointment at the "other school" to finally learn the exact numbers ( Financial aide wise) as to what ( how much) grants and possible needed student loans etc I'm looking at....
I'll be back in a few days to up date....Thanks again!!
Well first of alll on the bright side,..I did very well on the CC entrance exam!!, However as stated, they already chose those student for this FALL and so if I'm Lucky enough to get in at all...then I'm looking at applying for the Fall of 2007...
The "other school"....is 99% out!!...mainly due to the cost....I found out that the tuition had in fact increased from $19,000 to a whopping $23,500...To add even more to the situation,..I met with the financial aide person and found out my "Numbers"....
It turns out that I made too much money last year as as such, was only able to get a fraction of whats needed. The botton line is that I now have two options...#-1, to take out a personal loan for the balance of $13,000+ OR #-2, Work out a monthly payment plan with the school to the tune of around $1,080+ per month!! ....
Another thing too...it took us ( my hubby drove..) Anyway it took exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach the school from where I live and that was in NO traffic!! I mean the roads were sporifice...We left around 10-am-ish and at 70 miles per hour...reached the school by 11:20......My concern is the travel time once classes actually begins.....I guess I would have to leave home at 6-am-ish in order to get to class by 8...given all the morning traffic and such...
Anyway I guess this was meant to be......
Thanks for all your support!!!! I'll keep you posted...
I am really bummed and down about the turn of event on things!, However I DO know that everything always work out for the best...It may not seem so at the time, but over-all and looking back on certain situations in my life....the best outcome has always prevailed!!..
So...Local CC... here i come....Going to take (well.. re-take..) A&P that is IF its not already filled up....Also taking Psy, and Communication skills...I would be less than honest in saying I'm "Happy" about things , but at least I AM moving in the direction of my goals!!
Thanks once again for all your well thought out advice!!
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
Just back to say....
I am really bummed and down about the turn of event on things!, However I DO know that everything always work out for the best...It may not seem so at the time, but over-all and looking back on certain situations in my life....the best outcome has always prevailed!!..
So...Local CC... here i come....Going to take (well.. re-take..) A&P that is IF its not already filled up....Also taking Psy, and Communication skills...I would be less than honest in saying I'm "Happy" about things , but at least I AM moving in the direction of my goals!!
Thanks once again for all your well thought out advice!!
I am a NC nursing instructor and aware of the enormous demand and few spaces available in most ADN programs in the state. In my community ADN program, for instance, there are 10+ applicants vying for each seat. The students who do get into the program average 2-5 years of grueling competition just to land a seat. Have you seriously considered the BSN route? BSN programs have larger enrollments and are generally much easier to get into than community college ADN programs. By the time you are finished getting your prereqs, coreqs, and garner the points, etc., to be admitted into the ADN program, you could already be halfway through (or have finished!) a BSN program. I don't mean to discourage you, but I want you to have a realistic picture of what you are facing.
I was told that I would have to start all over from scratch....By the way my credits were from 8 years ago..ugh! I'm ticked too because the local CC here is only minutes from my home while the school in Raleigh is a good 1 hour + each way...
BUT I have them in my home everyday ..and let me tell ya I have one LPN who can give any RN a run for the money....she actually is one of the smartest & best nurses I have ever seen....she blows doors on any RN I have ever known/seen working, most of the stuff (nursing ) I know is thanks to her, besides the school stuff.I was going to do the LPN route but just lucked out getting into RN so I went for it.....like she tells me anurse is a nurse is a nurse....all nursing care is the basic same stuff as far as care skills/hands on.....RN's BSN's & MSN's just have longer educations.....anywho you are a great nurse also from what I have read in your posts & very passionate about your work;)
wasted-enough-time
151 Posts
Thank you,..thank you...thank you!!....
I'm thinking, praying and looking at things from every possible view....I know in the end...whichever route I choose...will be the best decision.....Also I did find out that (depending where you work etc,.. State Facilities pay the best tho..) .Anyway as in every where else the pay for LPN's in my area vary...However on Average in the LTC setting the starting pay is about $14.00 per hour ( new grad) ..which sucks..cause I currently make $12.00 now..Anyway it moves up from there....A friend of mine ( LPN for 3 years) working in LTC shared that she's making $17.23 per hour, so I guess given the small town we are in yada, yada...the pay is OK.....Certainly NOT great but just Okay........Oh and the hospital here employs LPN's but not many...LTC is the big employer here......then Clinics, Dr's offices and so on..
Well thanks again..I'll keep ya posted!!
Anna