Nursing Degree

The SPC program is VERY hard to get into... so I'd recommend doing your LPN thru P-Tec (which they do offer online) and then bridging over the RN at SPC, which is much easier.

The best thing to do is to go to your local nursing school and ask for the giant packet of info... and then to walk over to student services and ask for THEIR giant pack of info. This info is frequently online, but quite frankly, I have yet to see a school that has it clearly organized like their "in hand" packets are. Do this soon, however, because most schools are laying off their office staff in droves because their budgets have been cut.

Nursing schools are HIGHLY competitve, so you reeeeally don't want McOnline on your application. BUT most CC's offer a vast majority of their classes online. So you get a double benefit: 1) They're legitamite and respected & 2) You can recieve federal grants, loans, and scholarships. Plus many financial aid packages or student family services provide subsidies for childcare. We put our son through 3 years of expensive preschool, paid for by my school. Shazam! :) Of course, all of your lab classes you'll have to be on campus for... but for most of the rest, you can do them online.

The BIGGEST thing to know is this: there are 2 basic RN's. RNs & BSRN's. The pay is almost double in most places for BSRNs.

So why do so many people go after their RN? The biggest reason is a misunderstanding of the time required to get either.

In order to go to nursing school at a CC (for your RN), you *almost* have to take as many prerequisites as would be required for your AAS (Associate of Arts and Sciences). 1.5 years instead of 2 years. Then nursing school is 2 years on top of that.

In order to go to a nursing school at a 4 year school you have to have your AAS (2 years) and then you have nursing school for 2 years.

So theoretically it takes 3.5 years for your RN, and 4 years for your BSRN. But the pay is almost double? Huh???

Ahem... because of the VAST shortage of nursing instructors which creates the heavy competition to get into any nursing school (and subsequent nursing shortage... there's usually a "Lag Year" in between either... as a candidate who has finished either their pre-reqs or their AAS has a better chance of getting in. (And since on average you're fighting 50-200 people for your spot in school, in order to have any chance of getting in at all, you have to be "done"... and you're applying for the next year... hence the lag year) So in all actuality you're looking at 4.5 - 5years for either.

Most nursing schools also require several hundred hours of volunteer time OR parallel paid work in order to be competitive. So many nursing students I know get their EMT or CNA certificate and work part time (but be warned, the average hourly salary is only $10-12, and CNA's are quitting by the thousands (I know CNA's who are responsible for as many as 60 patients... RIDICULOUS... because there just isn't the nursing staff, so they're not only doing nursing duties, but at 2-5 times the number of patients they "should" be responsible for. It's grueling, and it's dangerous, and it's sub par... but it's becoming industry standard. Myself... I worked admin at our local hospital as a Unit Secretary (paid better, and waaaaay better working conditions... plus I got some really cool experience in the ER, Surgery, & Women's Clinic). Other med-field jobs that have short certifications include things like phlebotomy. Of course, volunteering, you don't get paid, but you essentially get to set your own schedule, and you're worshiped. :)

I just wanted to advise you to avoid University of Phoenix. I have my AA through them, and was working on my BS. It was madness and you don't want to go that route. I REALLY, REALLY recommend trying to go to a local college and just take classes as you can. If anything try some online courses through your local college - but stay local. I REALLY would not sign with an all online company (I say company and not "school" for a reason) Good luck to you. :)

I was a nanny to 7 children plus 1 for about 5 years. The mom to the extra one was the Department Head of Nursing at a nearby jr. college. The other mom, 7, was a Professor of Nursing. All but 2 of all 8 kids have gone to Nursing school. You will need to decide how much time you are able to commit to this adventure. If you need to be working full time within a year then I think you need to go discuss your options with a career counselor at the local college or vo-tech. Both should offer programs for nursing and they will take different amounts of time. While a vo-tech/trade school will take much less time because they don't do an Associate's degree in Nursing with all the general education requirements they will not prepare you very much for going to a full University if you choose to persue a Bachelors in Nursing.

Good luck in your new career, there isn't anything like being a nurse. It's awesome.

To the people below who say there is a big pay difference once you get your BSN - not true - a Bachelor's of Science degree in nursing allows you to take the SAME RN exam as an associates degree does - and RN pay is RN pay - some places do offer a little more for a BSN but not usually (I am mostly referring to a hospital setting! - you are an RN and your patients don't know if you have a bachelors degree or not!)... if you want to advance in the profession as BSN is preferred b/c you can go on in schooling. Also if you want to be in management - most hospitals want you to have a degree!!

I have been a nurse for over 16 years (I have my BSN) - I have also taught in an LVN program - I don't reccomend going the LVN route and then bridging to an RN program - it takes longer - it is costly - try the community college RN programs - they are typically hard to get into b/c there are lots of people wanting to become nurses and not nearly enough staff to teach - there can be wait lists for getting in that can be long! I know in CT where I used to teach - many of the local RN programs (hospital based) had wait lists of nearly 8 years!! If you do have college credits or a degree - depending on how long it has been - some of your pre-reqs may be waived - but it is competitive to get into nursing school - you need good grades. You will need all your science classes. Yes, nursing school is intense - it is hard - but nurses deal with life and death on a daily basis - and I for one certainly want someone with good training taking care of me! You can do it with kids - it is hard - but totally doable!! Once you are going on in your education for a Master's program - then more can be done online with local clinicals....for your RN - you need to stay local.

Good luck!

Most schools have programs where you can take your prerequisites online, but once you are in the nursing program, you willhave to go to class and do your clinicals in the hospital. It is a big commitment that will require a lot of your time. With a good support system, however, it is doable. Once you finish the program, you will realize it was the best thing you could have done for yourself and your family. Good luck!!

i have researched this pretty exhaustively - if you have a bachelors in a different subject you are laughing - coz you can do it online through eline, and i know there are uni's in florida that do online courses - you do have to go in once a week - if you have a bachelors it will take you 15 months, if you dont it will take 4 years - cost is pretty high at around $30000 - which put me off! also the hours are not great for someone with young kids.

i eventually switched my focus to teaching - if you have a bachelors you can do an alternative teaching cert which is online for 3 months then a year in a school ($30000 a year salary!) plus it only costs $5000

You can't become a nurse online. A big part of the education are clinical hours which are done in class or at a local hospital. This is where the majority of your learning is done in reality.

Also, someone stated below that it takes 3.5-4 years no matter if you go through a community college or university. That is not true. If you get your AS in nursing through a community college, it generally takes less than 2 years of full time classes (including summer semester.) You will attend school for 5 straight semesters usually and complete the program in 1year and 9 months. Pay for a AS RN starts in the upper 30k area and you can then continue to take classes as you are able to finish your BSN. Many schools offer night programs for BSNs because they know you are already working as a RN during the day. Once you have your BSN there is a big pay increase usually.

I started out in nursing school at a community college but ended up changing majors and ended up with a masters in social work from a major university instead. Nursing school is intense. VERY intense. Such as learning meds/doses/side effects/etc. We had weekly quizzes on medications and all that they entail and had to get 100% of the questions right all the time because in real life there is no room for med errors. The pressure is amazing and if you are trying to raise 3, almost 4, kids while attending nursing school, I don't know how it can be done...but perhaps that is just my limitation and not yours. :)

.

I recommend a trip to your local community or technical college to see an advisor. They will usually be very helpful in giving you an overview of available programs and pre-reqs to get into those programs.
Licensing requirements are a little different from state to state, so also check your state's licensing board.
I live in a different state from you, but usually there are several pathways to becoming an RN. Professional/Technical programs usually lead to licensure as a Licensed Nurse (if that is an option in your state) or RN, Some programs require that you are a licensed nurse or have a lower level license before you can be admitted for an RN program others are direct entry.
There are also 4 year degrees in nursing that lead to a BSN/RN (Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and RN license) those can usually be found a at the university level. Some universities also offer shortened RN programs for applicants that already have a 4 year degree (usually in a related field) and wish to become an RN.
I am not aware of legitimate online only programs for nursing. Most states include a certain number of hours in clinicals in their licensing requirements (kinda impossible to do those online...). You may however be able to take some of the classes online.
Admission to a nursing program may be competitive.
Good luck!

D.,

Check with tour local community college...they will have very flexible scheduling (maybe online too) plus they are more reasonably priced (the quality of your education depends on the work you are willing to do in the courses). Most of all it sounds as though you may be eligible for the PELL GRANT(check with the financial aid office before you even look at regestering for courses this will save you time and money, plus you may get extra money left over each semester to help your finances if you qualify)

Good Luck to you and BRAVO for continuing to improve the lives of you and your children!! (It's never too late...I got my bachelor's at 33!)

A.... (Leximarket.com)

i also looked at nursing programs. most of the prereq's you can do online, however once you get into the actual nursing program those you will have to go to school for. the labs and clinics are long days and you should be able to find out the times of them. most of them are not conducive to parenting. they will either take up from 6in the morning til 4 or so or from 2 til 11. and they go from mon-thurs depending on the school there aren't any online schools that offer the whole nursing program bc you do need the clinics, etc.