Getting My Foot In The Door....

[jess23487]

Hello All! I wasn't really sure were to post this, so I decided this was probley the best place! A little bout me, My name is Jessica, I am a stay at home mom of one beautiful little girl. I have always wanted to get into the medical field. Here's were my question comes in. My husband and I can not afford to send me to college for nursing. It is to my understanding that many hospitals have a tuition reimbursement plan. How do I get my foot in the door? Has anyone been part of a plan like this? And tips, advice or kind words to help me along? At this point anything would be helpful!
Thanks And God Bless,
Jessica

[AmandaWIRN]

You could try to get a job as a unit secretary, or even in housekeeping, just to get employed at a hospital, then take advantage of their tuition reimbursement.

[jimemt]

Hi Jessica --

Another approach might be to get a position as a lab tech/phlebotomist in a hospital. Besides the chance to get a stipend from the hospital for school, it would also provide you with an excellent opportunity to find out whether acute care is the place for you. If the hospital you get a job in is union, in addition to the hospital stipend, the union might offer some additional education money so long as you work xx hours per week (which depends on the union). For example, the Service Employees Union International (SEIU) to which the lab techs, CNA's etc. belong at the local hospital where I have worked requires half-time work for the benefit. This same hospital, which offers up to $6000 "Career Path" money for the two years of school requires two years of service after graduation. I didn't take advantage of it because (1) school for me was a full time job in itself and (2) I got a state grant that paid me $5000 for school expenses (including a board exam (NCLEX) course prep course and state license fees.

If you live in California, you might check with the EDD about career change training money ("Career Works"). If another state, check with your state's employment development department to find out what programs they might have.

Best of luck! --

Jim
newbie RN

[Nurse_Advocate]

Originally Posted by jess23487

Hello All! I wasn't really sure were to post this, so I decided this was probley the best place! A little bout me, My name is Jessica, I am a stay at home mom of one beautiful little girl. I have always wanted to get into the medical field.

I was a full-time stay at home mom to my three kids until my youngest was 3 yrs. old. At that point, I started taking pre-requisite classes part-time. I took an algebra class and an anatomy class to start out with (and did the kids and the home life too)...that's all I could do at first.

Remember, all the science classes (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, ...) are LAB classes and they include classroom time AND lab time too!!! I guess what I'm saying is, they are time consuming!

Of course the first step would be figuring out how to finance it all. If you worked part-time at a hospital in some capacity, and then qualified for their student RN program, that's one way...but remember the time involved...Part-time work and part-time class time adds up!

I'm not sure how old your daughter is right now, but you may want to wait until she's in kindergarten or first grade (in school five days a week) to do this. ENJOY the years with her now...they're gone in a blink.

I'd love to talk with you! Please feel free to contact me anytime!