Career Options in Nursing

[debknechtel]

Note from Moderator:
This thread has been split from another, and this post is the first in responding to a member who expressed interest in a career in nursing.


Becky....good luck in whatever you decide to do!!!! Nursing is something I admire as it takes a very special person to work in that field!!! Keep us posted

Hugs
Debbie

[littlecmom]

debknechtel I have thought about going for an LPN first than working my way up to RN, but I rather be an RN so don't know which one do to first... Put I will keep you posted. You know I told my hubby the other day I was taking my GED and then going into nursing and he said don't nurses get divorced? I was like what. He said most of the people at least 3 people we know around here whose wifes are nurses have got a divorced. I thought that was so funny... I don't think that will happen on me. I thought that was just something to share...

Thanks Becky

[debknechtel]

Becky I wonder if it has something to do with the hours they work??? I had never heard that statistic Oh well I think those relationships probably would have been rocky in the end no matter what the career was!!!

Hugs
Debbie

[littlecmom]

I don't know if that is to do with the work hours or not. I just thought I could get the LPN first to make it easier I guess instead of jumping in with both feet for an RN. Does that sound weird or not? LPN here only takes 11 months. My sister in law sound something about doing her Rn and it would take her 4 years... Yeh I know about the marriage part I just thought it was funny how all of a sudden he came up quick with that one... Hey I look at it for the money. I think his deal is with me making more than him probably.... Just kidding.. But this lady who is helping me with my Ged said she had a friend who was an LPN and her working at the hospital made $15.00 an hour. Hey that is more than my hubby makes.



Becky

[ewriggs]

littlecmom, if I may, I'd like to interject something about nursing - since I-R-1

Check out all the programs around you. There are a number of ways to get into nursing.

LPN / LVN - Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse - you are limited in what you can do, and the pay sucks rocks. But it takes about 1 year to complete.

ADN - Associates Degree in Nursing - you are qualified to sit the state board exam for RN when you finish. Takes about 2 years to complete. Pay is much better, and ability to advance is good.

BSN - Bachelor of Science in Nursing - takes 4 years, includes a college degree. Includes Public Health, so it opens that arena for you that is not included in most ADN programs. There are even more opportunities for advancement.

Back when I was in Utah, I helped develop a curriculum that was a "ladder." you could start and after the first 3-4 months, you were certified as a nursing assistant and would be hired by one of the local hospitals. Building on those courses, after 12 months you were qualified to sit for the LVN licensure.

Then you would be hired as an LVN - higher salary - and could then continue in the ADN program. After another 1 year, you were qualified to sit for the RN licensure.

Then you would be hired as an RN - still higher salary - and could continue, if you wished, in the BSN program. Following that, and building on the previous building blocks, you could continue in the MSN and PhD programs.

All of this curriculum was carefully designed so that nothing needed to be repeated, and each additional "rung" on the ladder was based on the rung(s) below.

I have no idea if this curriculum has continued, but I thought it was a wonderful concept!

Certainly, most uinversities with nursing programs have ways of granting credits for previous studies and experiences so that you can minimize the content you have to repeat.

As I have an advanced degree and used to teach in universities, I admit to a bias toward the BSN as the starting point for the RN, but the ADN is well accepted, now.

I encourage you to think carefully about what you are going to do, especially as you have small children. A nursing program, whether LPN, ADN or BSN, is not easy to accomplish with small children. It can be done, but you will make many, many sacrifices. You just need to go into it with open eyes!

Good luck! Keep us posted about your decision.

Cheerio!
Elizabeth

[littlecmom]

ewriggs, So the ADN and RN the same thing or just about? I want where the money is but I don't really want to have to study all the time and come home to my kids and hubby worry about cooking supper and cleaning. That is why I thought to start from the bottom and work up. I might be wrong I don't know. What I really want to do in my nursing career is be a Pediatric Nurse. The ones who are in there taking care of the babies after they are born. I don't want to be the ones who tell you want is and isn't wrong with them... Yes, I'm open to suggestions on the nursing deal. My sister in law is going to start her RN soon and she said that the first 2 years is just your basic training and the last 2 would be your exams I guess they call it...




Thanks Becky

[ewriggs]

I think your sister is talking about a BSN program in which the first 2 years are basic college courses and basic sciences while the last 2 years are clinical courses.

No matter which program you take, the course work is going to be very timeconsuming. That's why I urge you to be very sure what you are getting into. There will be many, many days when your dh will need to "do" housework and supper and put the kids to bed because mom is busy studying for exams! It isn't easy. But it was more than worth it to me in the end. I got my BSN before I married, but I was married with a 2 yo and a 1 yo when I went back for my Master's degree and Nurse-Midwifery certificate. I had a great daycare / babysitter person who understood what I was going through. When I had to be on call for deliveries, I could drop the kids with her in the middle of the night and pick them up after I was off. One time they had to stay with her for 3 days before I could get away from the hospital - I swear, every person in that caseload delivered in those 3 days, and I was "it" - there weren't any others around to do it! It was over semester break and all the faculty and all the other students were away! Of course, you wouldn't have to do anything like that at either the ADN or BSN levels!

At the basic levels, you will have several college classes plus nursing clinical classes. You will have clinical "labs" at the local hospitals that will take up 2 or 3 mornings and/or afternoons each week. Somewhere in there you need to study to prepare for your classes and to prepare for the next clinical.

There are papers to prepare and write, issues to study. You will need to spend time in the library reading journal articles. There are always unexpected / uncalculated expenses associated with this kind of schooling, also. Uniforms; proper, supportive shoes; hose; books; your School Pin; extra costs for conferences. It just goes on and on and on. I managed to get a grant to cover my Masters, and another to cover my PhD, but it never covers the entire cost. Grants are very scarce at the basic level. Scholarships may be available if your HS grades were really good, and you might be able to qualify for a Pell Grant. Check with the financial aid office at the school you are considering attending.

Some schools now have daycare facilities attached to them. But this would be another cost to you.

Think it all through very carefully! I'm not trying to discourage you - but you need to go into whatever you go into with both eyes and both ears open!

Cheerio!
Elizabeth

[littlecmom]

Your not discouranging me. I'm glad you are telling me this. So what would be my best one to get into? LPN, RN or BSN? I think really I would like to have RN and then work up if I wanted too. Which then again I don't have anyone where I can just drop my kids off at like you do... Your lucky!!! But if it is easier as far as the kids and all that go I could just do LPN and work up. Because my youngest daughter is 9 months and my son is 2 1/2 both at home with me all the time and the other one is in school. There is just so much out there to do. Thanks for your input....




LOL Becky

[barbszy]

Originally posted by ewriggs in another thread:

Becky - I don't know what is available in your area, and what the comparisons are. This is stuff you will need to research for yourself in your area.

I lean more toward the RN than the LPN, but if you need soething that will give you employablility sooner, the LPN will do that. BUT check out what the pay scales are in your area! If the pay isn't going to pay for daycare for your child(ren), then why do it?? Spend a little extra time, and "go for" an RN program, whether ADN or BSN.

Here is what the US Dept of Labor has to say about Registered Nurses:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm

And here is what is has to say about Licensed Practical Nurses:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos102.htm

The salaries it lists are from nationwide surveys, and they differ widely from urban to rural areas and from one part of the country to another. You will have to do the research in your own area. Where would you expect to work? Call up their employment office and ask about their starting salaries for LPNs and for RNs with ADN and with BSN. Usually you won't have difficulty getting this info just through a phone call. If they give you grief, just be upfront and tell them you are trying to decide which kind of nursing program to take.

How will your husband feel about you going for additional education? Some men feel threatened by it. A friend of mine's husband told her if she got a PhD he would leave her. She didn't believe him, got the PhD, and the same month he left! How supportive will he be when you are having to study?

How do you feel about having to put in hours and hours of study? Doesn't matter which kind of program you go through, you *will* have to study - anatomy, physiology, diseases and conditions, nursing care techniques, medications - mathematics of medication dosage! How to recognize when someone is having complications. There's a lot to learn!

How are you, academically? Do you enjoy studying? Do you do well with classes?

How do you feel when someone criticizes you? Your nursing teachers *will* tell you that you have done things wrong and you will be graded on papers and exams. Will it "crush" you? If you get some bad grades and are worried about passing a course, how will your family support you?

Finally, going to school changes people. You won't be the same person in many ways when you finish. Are you prepared to deal with what these changes may bring about?

All these are things that will have to be worked through.

Which program is "better?" Well, I am very biased! I already said I think the BSN should be the entry level for RNs! LPN's make so much less money that I don't necessarily recommend it. Bottom line, though, this is a decision **you** have to make!! I can't possibly know all the factors involved in your situation. If it makes better sense to start as an LPN and work up through ADN and BSN, then go for it that way. If you can afford the ADN but not the BSN program at this time, go that way. It always comes down to what is better for each person.

I'll support your decision, no matter what it is. Only you can make this decision.

[littlecmom]

ewriggs, Guess I'll need to just call around like you said and take it from there. I don't think my hubby will have a roblem with it. Or I hope not anyhow. But I'll look further into it and let you know what all I've decided. Don't know how soon that will be yet, probably not too soon. Thanks alot!!!






Becky