The national picture
America needs nurses
An aging population needs more care than ever. Hospitals are short-staffed, and the gap keeps growing — we need more people in nursing, not fewer.
For future nurses
Upload your transcript once.Apply to every nursing program.
One packet · your whole career
CNA → LPN → RN
Applications
0
✓ 0 retyped
- 01CNAStart hereCNA Start here — checking Photo ID.
Your packet
- Photo ID
- Diploma / GED
- Transcript
- Harbor CNA—SendingSent
- Metro Skills—SendingSent
- Queens Care—SendingSent
- 02LPNMove up
Queens Practical · Brooklyn Allied · Metro LPN
LPN Move up — upcoming rung. - 03RNYour goal
Metro Health · City RN · Harbor Nursing
RN Your goal — upcoming rung.
Checking Photo ID for CNA…
Build your packet once at home. Send it to CNA, LPN, and RN schools when you are ready. Free to start, no account.
By 2034 the U.S. needs to fill roughly 1.9 million registered-nurse openings. Here's your first step.
Students across NY & NJ are already exploring healthcare pathways on PathwayRN — free, no account required to start.
- You upload the same transcript 6 times for 6 schools. Do it once here instead.
- The fast first credential you pick today can block RN later. We show you that before you apply, not after.
- Schools see your documents the day you hit send. Not one day before.
Can someone like me actually do this?
4–6 months
Typical time from CNA enrollment to first paycheck
Most CNA programs run 4–12 weeks. Add certification and your first hire — many students start earning without quitting their day job.
Typical CNA program lengths in Pathway's catalog; your pace may differ.
“I didn't think someone like me could become a nurse — until I saw I could start as a CNA this fall and still keep RN on the table.”
$93,600
median RN salary
Half of registered nurses earned more than this in May 2024 — the reward at the top of the ladder you can start climbing today.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2024)What Pathway is
A free guide to becoming a nurse — from your first step to RN.
Becoming a nurse is a 32-step maze with no map: which credential leads to RN, which requires 2 extra semesters, which blocks your goal entirely, and what each school costs. PathwayRN maps the whole ladder — and lets you send one packet to every school on your list.
Whether you're switching careers, raising kids, new to the country, or starting with no college credits — there's a first credential that works with your schedule and budget. Pathway shows you which one.
How it works
Three steps. No starting over.
Tell us your goal
Want to be an RN? Start there. We show you the first credential that leads to RN — and keeps every bridge open.
Build your packet once
Add your documents one time. Reuse the same packet for every school you apply to — no retyping, no starting over.
Apply and track
Send to the schools you choose and see what's done, what's missing, and what's next — all in one place.
Your career, not just one application
Pick the first rung that keeps RN open.
You don't have to do it all at once. Start earning as a CNA, bridge up to LPN while you work, and reach RN when you're ready — reusing the same packet at every step. A shortcut today shouldn't block the credential you actually want.
- 01
CNA
Start earning in months
- 02
LPN
Bridge up while you work
- 03
RN
Your goal
Real training, real paperwork
Compare programs that fit your life — not just your deadline.
Schedule, cost, and pathway consequences in one place. Build the packet once at home; send it when you're ready.
Explore programsSupplying America's nurses
Your career is part of something bigger.
Becoming a nurse is personal — but America's nursing shortage is national. Here's the problem we're solving, and where you fit in.
The median registered nurse is now 50 years old, and about 4 in 10 plan to leave nursing within five years. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN, 2024)
See the data behind the shortageHidden talent
The talent is already here
Every year, people who want healthcare careers never reach a classroom. They get lost before day one — not because they lack drive, but because the path is unclear.
Where it breaks
Where the path breaks
Wrong first credential. Rebuilding the same application for every school. Prerequisites discovered too late. One rejection that ends the whole journey.
Pathway's role
What Pathway does
PathwayRN routes people from aspiration to RN — one clear ladder, one reusable packet, and support at every rung. Less friction between credentials means fewer people stall out.
Your place in it
Your first step matters
When you find your program and start your packet, you're not just applying. You're joining the pipeline that supplies America's next generation of nurses.
Ready to take the first step?
Find nursing programs that lead to RN and start your packet — free, no account needed.
- You upload the same transcript 6 times for 6 schools. Do it once here instead.
- The fast first credential you pick today can block RN later. We show you that before you apply, not after.
- Schools see your documents the day you hit send. Not one day before.