LPN before med school.

Started by MDAC
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MDAC

MDAC

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Hello guys, so basically here is my situation im a 24-year-old male who just started community college. I've been working at my hospital for about 3 years now I started at the hospital as a housekeeper and got my CNA and worked as a HUC/CNA and now an ER TECH and I know for a fact that I want to be a physician. However, im a little older and I have a wife and a 3-year-old. This job is part-time and im having trouble making ends meet. I have been thinking about becoming an LPN but I wonder if this would not be a good idea time-wise. Have any of you done any other jobs while in school to pay for med school? are any of you married with children? how did you make ends meet how was your path to med school?
 
Have you gotten an undergrad degree yet?
Some folks do take the "scenic route" to medical school (I did- I will have been in EMS for ~9 years once I start) but that is totally dependent on the person. Are you pursuing the LPN because you want to be an LPN or due to financial reasons?
 
MDAC said:
Hello guys, so basically here is my situation im a 24-year-old male who just started community college. I've been working at my hospital for about 3 years now I started at the hospital as a housekeeper and got my CNA and worked as a HUC/CNA and now an ER TECH and I know for a fact that I want to be a physician. However, im a little older and I have a wife and a 3-year-old. This job is part-time and im having trouble making ends meet. I have been thinking about becoming an LPN but I wonder if this would not be a good idea time-wise. Have any of you done any other jobs while in school to pay for med school? are any of you married with children? how did you make ends meet how was your path to med school?
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You won't pay for Med School as an LPN. In my area, you probably wouldn't even make a whole lot more as an LPN than you do as a tech.

You certainly need to figure something out that allows for you to do school and support your family, but keep in mind that doing something like a technical degree(LPN) doesn't further your goal at all as it doesn't really put you closer to a bachelor's degree which is your minimum requirement for med school.
 
I wouldn’t waste my time. Most hospitals aren’t hiring LPNs, most of the ones in the hospital are much older nurses and have the handicap of not having admission assessments/blood administration/and quite a few IV/IVP drugs within their scope of practice - they can work scope side in some endoscopy units, outpatient clinics, and nursing homes. If you’re wanting to pursue nursing first, get your ADN, then move on to getting a bachelors in something applicable for pre med requirements (a BSN won’t cover your science prereqs).
 
Depends on your confidence level. If you are 100% sure you will get into medical school (AKA you’re the guy who has *always* been an A student), it isn’t worth the extra time at all.

However, if you’re a marginal student and want a nursing home LPN job as a fallback if medicine doesn’t work out, it’s worth it.

As others have stated, and ADN is superior for job prospects, and in many cases can be done just as fast as an LPN.
 
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