If you're doing this for a better salary.......sm

If you're doing this for a better salary.......sm [2007-05-08]
please direct your efforts in another direction. Nursing is not a field to get into just for the money. You have to want to be a caretaker, or you will be miserable inside of 2 months of taking the boards. I transcribed my way through nursing school. I had wanted to be a nurse for my whole life but fell into transcription and it was a good job for many years. When transcription started going bed, I took the opportunity and ran with it. Many in my RN class (including me) took the LPN exam after 3 semesters, then worked as LPNs while we finished the RN courses. This may vary state to state, but where I live you can do this. You can get a Baylor shift job at a nursing home (work 24 hrs per weekend, two 12 hour shifts, and get paid for 36 hrs) and this really helps -- both with expenses and with clinical experience -- as you continue with your schooling.. Good luck -- just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.

you're going from nursing to MT and [2006-08-25]
you're glad of it.?..Well, you aren't in MT yet...so don't be too glad yet.. After reading the postings on this board, it boggles my mind that ANYONE would be trying to BREAK into a dying field like MT... best of luck to you. Maybe you can beat the odds.

is it time to unionize our industry yet? [2008-10-08]
we get treated like glorified secretaries more and more each day, with not only NO raises EVER, they keep cutting our rates to be competitive! what would happen if we all justdecide ona specific day to go on strike and not do any work...think they think they not trying to go all norma rae here but jeez, I any thoughts?

RN vote, now !!!! [2008-10-08]
Youof this field NOW. My sister is an RN and works in a nursing pool. She only works 3 days a week, 12-hour shifts with some flexibility in the days she wants to work, like off on all Sundays....and makes over triple+ what I make and I have been doing transcription for over 20 years ! I wish I could deal with ill people and blood; I would have been an RN. Good luck.

Prestige clear sound [2008-05-29]
I can't rave enough about this stethoscope. It's heart shaped and comes in red, blue or purple, or pink with ribbon or smiley face in it. Amazon.com has them for a VERY reasonable price, around $20 which is practically nothing. I used an Ultrascope for years after trying multiple Littmanns and just never liked them all that much. Then I used the Ultrascope as it was a gift and the sound is SOOOO much better, but they're not cheap. They have a lifetime warranty on them so that helped when my tubing went caput (they replaced it for just the price of shipping it). Now I alternate between my Ultrascope and Prestige clear sound. They're super cute and the sound is so clear and magnified. You won't regret buying one.

I agree [2008-05-27]
You're right when you say there is no greener grass in healthcare. I was burned out 5.5 years ago with transcription so I went to school to become a respiratory therapist. Guess what, now I'm burned out doing that, too. The politics in the hospital setting is unbearable. Patient care takes a back seat to all of the politics. I'm willing to at least work casual doing RT work just to keep my credentials and so that my hard earned education doesn't go to waste. Just be aware that most healthcare fields nowadays are not cracked up to what they say. I don't want to discourage you, because patient care does have its rewards. I just wish you luck in whatever other field you choose.

The last straw... [2008-05-17]
I have begun to realize I'm sick to DEATH of medical transcription, as it's the only profession I know where you're punished for being fast and accurate, held back, obstructed, etc. Now my company has announced we have to go to company computers and NO WORD Expanders will be allowed on their pristine, sanctified virgin computers. I've always been wistful about nursing. I'm 58 but would like to keep working at least another 10 years. Wondering if there would be any hope for me to get into an LVN (LPN) program at this late date. Pros: I care about people, especially elderly and disabled, been doing MT for over 20 years, and would like to work among human beings, not locked up in a room all the time like Rumpelstiltskin trying to spin straw (BS) into gold. Cons: Horrible with math (maybe 6th grade comprehension at this point) could I possibly pass entrance exams? Anybody ever made this transition at such a late date and with such drawbacks?

old hag looking into nursing - kat [2007-12-30]
I just turned 40. I had been in the nursing program 13 years ago. Didn't finish due to family problems and subsequent divorce. Oh how I wish I had. About a year ago after raising a couple of kids through infancy and preschool and elementary I on a dwindling MT salary I started back taking prerequits. I was told I had to retake a few classes (A and P 5 year shelf life) and they had added few others (Pharmacology, Lifespan Development, and a Chemistry with a lab). So Passed the Nursing Enteract Test (NET) last spring. Got onthe waitlist and 2 more prequistes to take. (second half of anatomy and pharm). I hope I will be in the program next fall. I have no idea how I will be able to swing finances for the next 2 years while in the program. I am hoping to continue MTing part-time, get a few loans/financial aid, and family help. I am not 40 and wonder if I am absolutely crazy. But as the sole supporter of 2 boys (now 15 and 9) I really need to make a change. Mt just doesn't do it anymore. We barely make the bills anymore.

Don't know if this helps... [2007-11-20]
I believe Kaplan onlyoffers Associates RN to residents in Florida (presumably for clinicals???). However, just yesterday I checked with my local community college and they are offering an online RN program! Clinicals are1 or 2days a week at a local hospital. The rest of the classes, however, are online. Perhaps your local college is offering that as well? The only obstacle I can see is that they require previous direct patient care. Oh, I asked and MT is not considered direct patient care...dang! I'm going to see if they will accept volunteer patient care (most hospitals/hospice will let you volunteer). Sorry, this doesn I With nursing, though, the opportunities seem endless. PS. I also checked into Excelsior online to CLEP some college courses in order to be able to apply for nursing school by their March deadline. If I had taken a whole semester, I would have had to wait for my grade in May and not apply again till September. Turns out, the local college allows you to CLEP at the school for only $60. Hope this makes sense! Good luck!

nursing vs MT [2007-09-30]
I would say that fiancial reasons are a good one to consider a career change. I hate when people get high and mighty and say people should not consider RN for the salary. Look when you make cents per line for years and make less and less each year a decent RN salary looks pretty darn good. However, I do understand you have to have an appitude and ability to handle patient care. But with the MT job market such as it is is it no wonder people are looking for other fields. Itfields, particularly ones that cannot be outsourced overseas - such as RN or any other hands on type of career. I think that salary is a motivating factor - an enticer, but people should research and go into the field of nursing with eyes openand know that you will be doing more than just collecting a paycheck. If you think you can handle what is entailed in nursing, nursing school, etc go for it. I am taking my prerequistes right now. As a single Mom the salary is a big factor but I also am quite aware of what I am facing and have a true desire to help people and not just in it for the money. I also am in it for the job security. With over 10 years as an MT I have had too many jobs go overseas or watched the line rate get less and less with each passing year. There is no security in this field. I too enjoy transcribing. I like my job - but the field doesn't like MTs back and the hospitals all outsource and most services are just interested in their bottom line. It's just time to get out.

If you're doing this for a better salary.......sm [2007-05-08]
please direct your efforts in another direction. Nursing is not a field to get into just for the money. You have to want to be a caretaker, or you will be miserable inside of 2 months of taking the boards. I transcribed my way through nursing school. I had wanted to be a nurse for my whole life but fell into transcription and it was a good job for many years. When transcription started going bed, I took the opportunity and ran with it. Many in my RN class (including me) took the LPN exam after 3 semesters, then worked as LPNs while we finished the RN courses. This may vary state to state, but where I live you can do this. You can get a Baylor shift job at a nursing home (work 24 hrs per weekend, two 12 hour shifts, and get paid for 36 hrs) and this really helps -- both with expenses and with clinical experience -- as you continue with your schooling.. Good luck -- just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons.

nursing [2007-04-16]
I was working as a CNA 32-hour weeks and going for my RN prereqs Mon through Fri. I too wanted to get my RN as fast as possible for the salary aspect of it as opposed to bridging over from LPN. In retrospect, I wouldn What I observed watching the RNs really surprised me. I saw paperwork taking precedence over patient care and the nurses were becoming madder and madder about it. We CNAs were doing more and more of what nurses used to do while they unhappily sat with the paperwork.We barely made a little more than minimum wage while they got the big bucks. We knew the patients better than they did. The patient load per nurse and CNA was too high because of nursing understaffing. What kept us going was the fantastic feeling you get when you help someone who is suffering. The job has to be done from the heart primarily if you want the best benefit of it. When I saw how frustrated and disillusioned the nurses were because of all the red tape for the slightest thinginstead of patient care, and how they were run ragged because of understaffing,I began to look intotranscription as my main job with CNA on the side because I truly do love hands-on care.On someaccounts, I make more per hour doing transcription than an LPN with a lot less hassle. RN might pay more at first as opposed to transcription, but the burn-out rate is high these days and the constantshift changes can do a real number on you. There-- I think itturning to transcription and she quotes their replieswhen asked why. You might want to check that out.I agree with what they told her. You might also want to try doing CNA for a hospitalbefore you make a major leap.Donyou your information -- get in there and try it youself for a while and see if it is what you want. You may thrive on itor you may hate it. I found that on the jobwas SO different than what I was being told in school.Talk to the nurses themselves. They aremore than happy to share their thoughts with you and give you advice when they have the time. As for the respect factor of LPN to RN -- where I worked the nurses were very supportive of anyone who did this, as that is how many of them became RNs.While there were some power-plays at times, all in all it was like a family. If there was real trouble in that regard, I never saw any. As a matter of fact, I was advised by the nurses to do the LPN first and bridge over because I The only nurses I saw who were not liked and respected were the lazy ones who just wanted to take breaks and leave as much of their patient care as they could to the CNAs. Good luck to you whatever you decide! We sure need more dedicated nurses!

mt-rn [2006-08-04]
Sounds like we are in the same boat, i'm doing the same thing. I did this for the same reasons, no outsourcing, more options for jobs, better salary and hopefully better job satisfaction and stability cassie