What does an License Practical Nurse do? Do you enjoy it?


This Question From Army LPN Programs | 1 Answer


I just spent (more like WASTED) 18 months of my life at a private college ( please dont ever do!) for an AAS degree in Dental Assisting. During my externships I realized how awful the dentists were in private practices. They were all money hungry and thought they were God. In one office the dentist would ring a bell from his desk and the assistants would come running to his office. I felt as if I was the only one who thought there was something seriously rediculous about being treated that way.
My husband just got out of the army and now I have an open slate to start over. I would like to go to school for hygiene but the wait list is VERY long and you need to be an assistant for at least 6 months first, and be certified in Expanded Functions which I would still have to do. I am not sure what to do. I stay awake everynight thinking about what direction I should take. I do NOT want to do dental assisting anymore. I want a career where I can help others. I am thinking about taking the LPN program. I have always been interested in it as well, but how do I know if it the right career for me?

1 Comment so far

  1. jannsody on June 25, 2010 7:54 pm

    I’m sorry that you had such a terrible experience while in school and in the field. Sometimes we just live and learn :) I’ve had to use that motto several times in my life ;)

    For general career information: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search ‘licensed practical nurses’ or whatever other career that piques one’s interest.

    Perhaps you can volunteer at the local hospital or nursing home (usually non-direct patient care) and get a feel for if you’re right for the field or if you feel comfortable in that type of environment. While volunteering or observing/shadowing is typically nothing like actually having a patient caseload, perhaps you can see other LPNs (not sure if they work in nursing homes though) at work and get to talk with them (if they give the ‘okay’) about the field. The nursing field as well as the mental health/social services field are suppose to have a high burn-out rate, just fyi. One tends to be dealing with patients that may be irritated, aggressive and/or agitatated and that may surely take a toll.

    Please steer clear of those online (though some have ‘bricks and mortor building’), for-profit schools such as penn foster, everest, university of phoenix, sanford brown, ITT tech, devry, walden, kaplan, stratford career, ashworth, US career, strayer, capella and others as they are merely out to ‘make a profit’ (and course credits may not transfer): http://www.ripoffreport.com and can type into search.

    For US colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ

    For possible volunteer opportunities: http://www.volunteermatch.org