RE: ? for those who are new nurses/and those in nursing...
Hi Rhonda. I've been an RN for 5 years, although I've stayed home with my now 2 year old for the last 2 years. I can give you some info, though. The length of programs varies- LPN, or LVN, programs are usually 2 year programs and can be associate degree or certificate programs. The certificate programs may even be 1 year programs, although I'm not as familiar with the LPN's since I went the RN route.
RN programs vary as well. There are 2 year associate degrees, 2 and 3 year diploma certificates, and of course the 4 year college degrees(BSN's). Your starting pay will be higher if your degree is higher, but at the hospital where I worked, it was only a 25 cent per hour difference. Some places will only hire BSN nurses. My degree program was 2 years of basic college courses, followed by 2 years of Classroom and clinical study in different areas such as emeregency rooms, pediatric hospitals, cardiac rehab, ICU's, nursing homes, home health care, management, pre/post natal care (yes, you will help women deliver babies), oncology, general medical surgical hospital floors, and others.These rotations we all did, whether you had an interest in that type of nursing or not. We also did lots of required community work(volunteer) on weekends or after classes. These we had a choice about- my friends and I chose to work as the medical crew for a major golf tournament, volunteered at diabetic clinincs, etc. I was 33 when I started, and I was not the oldest in class.
As far as pay goes, in 1999 I started on an Oncology floor RN at $13.00/HR plus a $4.00/HR differential for working the night shift. I had a couple of small pay raises over the next 2 years, then decided to do the float pool for the same hospital system. My pay went up to $36.00/HR (a huge jump!!) for the night shift, so I was able to only work 10 shifts/month. Some people chose to worke full time at this rate and lived a comfortable life. I still don't understand why more people don't do float pool nursing, but I guess some people like to work on the same unit every day. I wanted to spend more quality time with my 2 teenaged children, so it worked out perfectally for me. You need at least a year of experience before you can apply for the float pools or home health, which also pays more. I don't know what LPN's (called LVN's where I live) start at. Someone else may be able to answer that.
I suggest that you get the highest degree that you are able to get. You'll make more money, and have more opportunities for advancement. Also, in my 2nd year of working, the hospital ellimintaed 80% of the LVN's positions, and the ones who weren't let go had to promise to start working on an RN degree, which the hospital provided some tuition assistance for. A lot of LVN's were not interested in going back to school, though, and ended up quiting anyway. Something to think about.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
Sheila
