Why is it so hard?

Hi all,

I am new to the forum, and wanted to get some feedback. I currently live in NC and am having a HARD time finding any programs around me that offer classes for working adults. I have wanted to be a nurse forever and ended up going to a college in DE that did not offer nursing out of pressure from parents and them paying. I have been trying to go back to school for 5 years now and have had no luck. I have a 2 year old and work FT, and can't find any programs that I can do. I have been accepted to Watts, ECU, DTCC and VGCC. If there is such a huge shortage of nurses and a high demand, why are there no adult friendly programs? I can't quit my job, put my child in daycare full time and go to school full time during the day for 2 years.

I have my NC CNA, my CCS designation, a 4 year degree, solid work history and can't get hired in any health facility because I have no experience. Can't even get my foot in the door. Does anyone have ANY tips, or ideas that can help me? I have thought about doing an LPN program (all during the day), and I even thought about ECPI, but can't stomach the $30k and 5 nights a week after working all day. Please help!
Quote from ogfmamaHi all,If there is such a huge shortage of nurses and a high demand, why are there no adult friendly programs? I can't quit my job, put my child in daycare full time and go to school full time during the day for 2 years. !

Quote from ogfmama If there is such a huge shortage of nurses and a high demand, why are there no adult friendly programs? I can't quit my job, put my child in daycare full time and go to school full time during the day for 2 years. I have my NC CNA, my CCS designation, a 4 year degree, solid work history and can't get hired in any health facility because I have no experience. Can't even get my foot in the door. Does anyone have ANY tips, or ideas that can help me? I have thought about doing an LPN program (all during the day), and I even thought about ECPI, but can't stomach the $30k and 5 nights a week after working all day. Please help!

If there is no shortage of nurses then why am I always seeing thousands of open positions for rn's and lpn's? Just curious on that one. It seems like it just depends on the area you are living in.

There may be lots of job postings, but the number of applicants for each is probably outrageous. We had an opening come up on my floor recently and there were over 40 applicants. Same for the new grad program where I'm at...over 400 applicants for less than 50 internships, and only about a third of them eventually got hired...so essentially 400 applicants for less than 20 positions.Plus hospitals etc are tightening up their budgets...so they are eliminating positions as well. We're all understaffed, but not b/c there's a lack of nurses, it's b/c there's a lack of positions to hire into.

OP, I wish you good luck in your quest to change careers. I'm a second-career nurse as well.But I'm not sure I buy into the premise that all higher education should be available in multiple forms to suit the convenience of all those who may be interested.Education is an investment and a personal commitment.Nursing education specifically contains a clinical experience component. There are some practical limits on how that can be achieved. And these limits make nursing education different from higher education in some other fields of study.If you want to pursue nursing education, you can find a way. It will involve major lifestyle changes.

I think this will be the last time I repeat this; the International Nursing Congress describes the nursing shortage as precisely that-international. If you are qualified and experienced, especially in one of the specialties such as scrub or ICU, you should have no difficulty finding work outside of your own borders....but ask around to find out which countries are hiring, then ask yourself if you would be prepared to work there!There's another thread currently running, in which the OP asks about employment prospects in health care in general, and it appears there are some good opportunities in various tech positions, but particularly mentioned was the field of dental hygiene. Look it up, I can't remember the title, but you will find it under "what's new".

Okay, so to address your dilema. Unfortunatley there is no easy way to begin nursing school. It has to mean everthing to you as it will take ALL of your time. It is a lot of sacrifice to go to nursing school. Most mothers do go full time, quit there jobs and live on loans and grants. There are what they call accelerated programs which have you done quickly, however, those that tried to hold a job did not do well. Class is 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and studying requires 2-6 hours a day on top of that.Jobs are not as plentiful as they seem. Maybe they are where you live. Here in Ohio there are several job ads, but many that apply. I had an employer tell me that they picked me out of 200 aplicants. I was a new grad and I think they had some pitty, as I practically begged them to give me a chance, they did and it worked out well.I am sorry that it is so hard. I will tell you it is worth it if you really want to be a nurse. It is very gratifying, and I could not picture doing anything else. If you are just looking to be in the medical field and not sure about nursing, think about some type of therapist like Occupational therapy, or Speech Therapy. you can take your time and probably have some of the pre-reqs out of your way. Technicians are higher in demand as well X-ray techs things like that.

Altra makes a good point. The clinical nature of nursing makes it difficult to teach on a schedule that might be convenient for everyone. For example, a lot of the best clinical experiences for learning might only be available during the days during the week. My hospital struggles with this issue. We have schools wanting to do evening clinicals -- but when we schedule them, the students don't have much to do and end up standing around -- not good for their learning.Another factor to consider: If a school offers classes at "off" times, they will have to pay their teachers a premium to teach at those times. That makes the whole program more expensive to run and unless it is a for-profit institution that can pass those costs on to the students, the might not have the budget to pay those premiums to their faculty.So .... between the difficulities in finding good clinical experiences for students on evenings and weekends, and the need to pay faculty more to teach at those times ... schools have trouble maintaining quality if they try to get too creative with their schedules. And a good school doesn't want to compromise its quality -- and doesn't need to compromise its quality as there are plenty of potential students out there.

If not, you may need to seek a part-time program or evenings. I'm in a hybrid nursing program (online & classroom) and even though I work full-time, there have been sacrifices I've had to make i.e., leaving early from work, taking a day off here and there, and still do, especially when you have to do clinicals and labs/classroom simulations.Good luck!

Do you have any alternatives for childcare? I know people who worked full time, paid their rent, and went to school. None of them had kids though.My sister found a night shift/weekend job at as an aide at a psych facility, went to school at VGCC during the day and had no time off and never enough sleep. She wore scrub 7 days a week for 2 years.

Quote from altra but i'm not sure i buy into the premise that all higher education should be available in multiple forms to suit the convenience of all those who may be interested.education is an investment and a personal commitment.

df77 would love to hear your story! I wish the OP all the best in finding a school! We had one CC that offered a weekend and evening program but then it was discontinued. I know they are out there! Good luck!