Shannon Said:

Nursing salary question?

We Answered:

Just nursing for gynecology: probably not easily; unless you found a hospital that had a strict gyn floor. Most MD practices (gynecologists) would hire a MA, but you might find one with a lot of searching. Office settings pay far lower than hospitals and are harder to find. How much the pay is hourly is very region dependent. You could look at some adds where you live, or when you are in clinicals, ask. Yearly -just multiple hourly by the rough number of hours worked in a year to get a quick idea (at say 160 hours a month)

Melvin Said:

nursing ques- whats the diff bet Nurse, Rn, Lpn- in terms of education (yrs), salary- and how high up u can go?

We Answered:

You can become an LPN in about 9-12 months. While some schools offer an Associates Degree LPN program, most of the time you are not earning a degree. You will earn about $14-20 per hour to start, some places might pay a bit more, but almost definitely not more than $25 per hour even with years of experience.

You can be an RN with as little as an Associate's Degree, which is a two-year program, however there are pre-requisite courses in biology, chemistry, etc. which must be completed before you start the nursing courses, so most people end up taking about 3 years to complete the degree.

You can become an LPN first, then take a RN bridge program, which usually takes about another 12-18 months.

Or, you could go straight for your BSN / BAN, a full four year degree in nursing. While both the Associates and the BSN allow you to take your RN licensure exam (same test for either degree option), you are provided with a more well rounded education, and trained in more of a leadership capacity with the BSN / BAN degree, therefore in the long run you will be more eligible for promotions and positions beyond regular bedside staff nursing. If you do the Assoc. program first, you can complete the BSN / BAN later, and most employers offer some kind of tuition reimbursement these days.

In a regular staff nurse position, you will make anywhere from $25-$35 per hour to start, if you hold the BSN degree it might pay about a dollar more per hour. The pay differences with the higher degree only start to kick in if you are in other positions, like supervisory or management. In those positions, you can make $60k per year and up to start.

You can go on to specialize and earn a Master's Degree where you could focus on being a Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Nurse Midwife, Certified Registered Anesthetist, Nurse Educator, etc. You could then go on and earn your Doctorate in nursing and work in research or higher education or other high level administration positions.

Opportunities are endless as far as education and specialty areas.

Ida Said:

What is the salary for an LVN in Houston? Is nursing school for LVN easier than RN school?

We Answered:

The starting salary for an LVN in Houston is between $33,000 and $36,000 per year depending on the facility.

Of course an LVN program is easier than an RN program. You can only imagine that since an LVN has certain skills and knowledge to accumulate in order to pass the NCLEX-PN and function, it would be harder to learn all of that information plus the additional skills and information required to be an RN.

Some facilities may have some LVNs in the newborn nursery, but many will have all or mostly RNs. In fact in many parts of the US some of the hospitals are phasing the LVN positions out, and filling the positions with RNs.