CNA to RN

[Gaz]

I read this post yesterday and I was going to reply, but did not have time. I return and dmjacobsen has said most everything that I would have. There are no shortcuts. An accelerated BSN program is actually a compressed program. It means you quit your job, work twice as long, more days a week and get done sooner. The prereqs, if you don't already have them, could take you another year. Many of them are sequential.

Another consideration might be to become an LVN. In California they have a program called the "30 unit option." It is essentially a short LVN to RN transition; however, you can only work in California. Having said that, it is only open to LVNs with considerable experience. I personally would not recommend this, but there are always circumstances where this might make the most sense for someone.

In regard to PA school, I have noticed that in California some of the PA schools have prereqs similar to nursing schools. For Example at UC Davis the science prereqs for PA school are A&P I & II (labs), Microbiology (with lab), General Chem I (with lab), and the usual math, social sciences, etc. On the East Coast many of the PA schools require BIO I & II, Chem I & II, Bio Chem or Organic Chem, Micro, etc..

I agree with both dmjacobsen and Jennifer about becoming a CNA. It will not count toward or help you become an RN, but if you're already working on the floor, know the managers, fit in, and are dependable it could help you get a job when you graduate. As mentioned, you might have an advantage in the first month of nursing school. While the other students are shy about going into patient rooms, you will be running around giving baths, taking vitals, feeding patients with ease. Then later when you're learning about acid-base balance, electrolytes, interpreting lab values, focused assessments, burns, ob, psych, and many other detailed topics, your CNA license may as well be from a box of Cracker Jacks. Then suddenly the student who was afraid to give a patient a bath might be the person you need to explain something to you.