Ready to upgrade your current healthcare license for a Registered Nurse license?!? Yep, lots of people are stuck in a tough spot when it comes to education, especially in Bakersfield, where there aren’t many RN programs around. LA County has TONS of community colleges, most with an RN program. We’re stuck with the Bakersfield College nursing program, so it can take forever to finish. Lots of us have been in that spot. So, what to do? There’s a few paths: One slow & cheap, one is Faster but more expensive, and one that’s fast and EXPENSIVE!!
Slow & cheap path first
This is the standard way. Going through Bakersfield College. It’s a major hassle, but it’s also (relatively) inexpensive. If you’re going to go to school full-time, it’ll take a year to get the Microbiology, English 101, Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, and Psychology prerequisites done. And they have to be FINISHED before you apply for the RN program, you can’t apply while you’re finishing them. If you need to still work, like most of us, it’ll probably take a year and a half to finish prerequisites. So, sticking with Bakersfield College, and you still need to work, it can take 5 years to get that RN license. But people do it all the time. And it’s worth it. Back when I was in Community College, it cost LITERALLY $3.00 per unit!! Now it’s up to $46.00 per unit! But it’s still way cheaper than going to a private college. And, depending on your financial situation, you may qualify to get everything payed for. Between Pell Grants, FAFSA, and the vastly underused Board of Governors Tuition Waiver (see links below), you won’t need to come up with the thousands of bucks needed for tuition.Now all you need is $$$ for food, rent, child care if you have kids, all that stuff. I’ll tell you from my own experience: SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE!! If you need to move back in with Mom & Dad or other relatives, do it! Because in 5 years you’ll still be working in healthcare…..but will you still be making the crappy CNA/Phlebotomy/Tech pay, or will you be applying for those $40.00/hr+ RN jobs at Bakersfield Memorial?!? That’s just my 2 cents. So yeah, it’s a slow route, but it’s a tried & tue path. Remember, the RN program has been around for decades, and is a highly respected program.
So, that was the Slow & Cheap. There’s also the Faster but More Expensive, if you’re interested.