I need help and guidance from nurses with experience

I am a 22 yr old mother of a 4 yr old boy. When I was 17, my senior yr, I took the CNA class to start toward my career in Nursing. I have been a CNA since 07 and I am just fed up. A CNA is the hardest thing in the world and we just dont deserve to be treated as we are. I have tried and tried to move forward but I just dont know were to start. I have looked into other careers but I have my mind set on being a Nurse and helping people. I have soo many options and I am soo overwhelmed. I just want to be a good mom and make the right decisions for me and my son. I feel that I am not setting a good example because I am 22 with no Degree. I recently decided that I am going to go ahead and do the LVN then transition to the RN. I have my mind and my heart set on that decision but I do not know were to start. I dont know if I should keep working as a CNA and take the med aide class then move to a LVN program or if I should do the LVN program. Should I apply for LVN programs? Should I just get experience as Med Aide then apply to some LVN programs? Were should I apply? Any feedback is highly appreciated!
First of all, 22 is so young! You have your whole life ahead of you and nothing to feel bad about. I got my LPN 12 years ago with all intentions of moving forward to an RN. I never did it! My advice would be to go for the RN off the bat. If that's what you want and you're going to be putting the time and money in anyway, I would just go all the way. I wish you luck in whatever you do!

I need help and guidance from nurses with experienceThat leaves me out...

Skip the LPN process, get your RN straight out.I absolutely have nothing against LPNs, I am one.I have 2 kids, and I thought I'd do the LPN to RN bridge, well its 18 years later and I am 41 and just starting my ADN.Life gets in the way and adding children to it makes things hard to set in stone.If I could go back, I'd get my BSN which crossed my mind when I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. I looked at the short term when I was young enough to invest in the long term.

My advice to you, if you are set on becoming a nurse, is to go straight for your RN.I was a CNA, then an LPN. I moved, and was an LVN (same thing, different state), then an RN.I had children, went through a divorce, starved myself to feed my children, and wished desperately that I could afford to go back to school for my RN. Truth is, you have much more assistance available to you while you have children at home, than without.Poll your hospitals in the area and ask then if they give any credit for years of experience as an LPN/LVN towards RN experience. In many, many cases, you get very little credit in the hospital setting for having been an LVN/LPN. It's not fair, but it happens. In my case, I was considered to be a "New Grad RN" and was made to go through new nurse orientation classes even though I had over 15 years experience in the hospital as an LVN/LPN. They actually "taught" me how to do fingersticks and how to transfer patients - which was a total waste of my time, and theirs.There are other nurses out there who will tell you that they did not have this experience, and that they got credit for their prior nursing experience. That is why you need to research YOUR area and ask the Human Resource department of different hospitals questions about how they handle different scenarios that are applicable to your situation.Best of luck in your travels.

(First of all, I am not a nurse yet, but am in the ASN program) This is my advice: The best way to start is to go to your college of choice and talk to an admissions counselor. They will get you the info you need for Financial Aid, what courses to take for prereqs and how to apply for the actual program. Thats the first step. once you get into school, and are taking your prereqs, then you can decide if you want to do the LVN then LVN-RN transition or just go for broke and head straight into the RN program. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. School is hard, add working and then children into the mix and its even tougher, BUT you CAN DO IT!!Personally i chose to go str8 into the RN program. That was my goal, and the LVN to RN transition would take just as long if not longer as the RN program so... just seemed to save a step to me, but others choose the transition route and thats perfectly fine. Its totally what you want to do.

Go right for your RN. My mom is an LPN and almost 70 now and she still talks about going back to school for her RN, it is her dream. You don't want to get to 70 and still be kicking yourself for something you didn't do when you were 22.

as a young mother myself, i opted to work my way up. you have to do whats best for you and your family. not everyone is able to go straight to the rn program, although that is the best. the demands are too great when you have small kids that need you. it doesnt do anyone any good if you have to end up dropping in the end. the lvn program is not as demanding i think and have heard that from other people that have taken it. as an lvn, once you start working, make a little money and get experienced, then you can easily go back to the nursing program which will give you and advantage over everyone else: you will know more and be ahead of the game. thus less stress. only you can decide, not your counselor or anyone else what is best. due to your age you could even take some time off until the kids are a little older if you want. i dont agree that if you go to the lvn program you may not go back to school. i dont see why not, if you have determination, you can certainly do anything you want,

If you want to be an RN ,I feel that you should go straight for it. I'm a Rn but I used to be a LPN.I went into the transition class also. It was almost like going to nursing school twice..... Depending on how long the med aide class is...if it isnt very long -like a few weeks, I might think of doing that, it may help you out in school and Im sure you will get a little bit of a raise with that. Just get in the mind set before you start nursing school that it is extremely hard and time consuming. You'll need to set priorites in your life in order to make it, but you can do it.Just remember why you are doing it...for you and your child!!!.Good Luck

When I went to school, the first year was the LPN year. The option was there to take your LPN boards or not. The second year was the RN/ADN year. There was no "repeats." The RN program took off right where the LPN program left off. Maybe there is a program like this in your area? It works well because the plan is to go all the way through and get your RN but if life gets in the way between the two programs, you are still eligible to be an LPN. As for the med aide thing, my personal opinion is that any education you can get before starting nursing school gives you that much more of an advantage. If you go this route, you may find yourself breezing through some of the pharmacology stuff while your classmates are still learning. With a little one at home, this might just give you a little break (which you will treasure) while you wait for your classmates to catch up.Also, I want to add that only you can decide what is right for you. We are not all "A" students. (If it weren't for us B and C students, there would be no A students.) Some of us have to have time to absorb the information while others do not. Personally, when I went through the program, I took a couple years between my LPN and RN and went out and worked as an LPN. This was a very good thing for me. Getting out there and working and understanding the concepts was just the thing I needed in order to do well during the RN years of school. Without that experience, I would have really had trouble. (I am a B student and textbook talk doesn't mean too much to me. I need to get out there and be hands on before the lightbulb goes on.) So you really have to look at yourself to see what is best for you. Look at your learning style as well as your lifestyle before you decide.That's just my opinion and I know that a lot of people don't agree with me, and that's ok.

If you are at all able to do so, go straight for your RN. I was 22 with a 6 week old baby when I started LPN school, and now he's 12 and I FINALLY finished my pre-reqs for the RN bridge program.If you just can't swing the extra time and money the RN program takes, make darn sure that your credits will transfer. Have your school give you a list in writing. I went to a vo-tech for my LPN and later found out that the only school in our area that took their credits for a bridge program cost $400 per credit hour. There was no way at the time for me to take the time for a RN program, but if I'd have known then what I know now I would have gone to the community college instead and ended up spending years less re-doing pre-reqs.

There is no rule that says you have to work as a CNA prior to going to nursing school. I worked at a trucking company while I was in school. If you are really that discouraged about being a CNA I suggest trying to find another job and go to nursing school, if that is what you are truly passionate about. Like others, I would recommend going straight for your RN.