Excelsior Pass Rates!!!

Shuggahs · Apr 15, 2016

Lubbock is out also now. There is a new site in Alice, TX though.
I did my test in Lubbock. 4 of 4 passed (the other 3 were on their 2nd try).
After I finished they had mentioned that the weekend before only 1 had passed (not sure out of how many).
Yes, they are very particular, and you should know this going into it. 1 mistake and that can be it. Some feel it is the examiner failing them, but it is not. It is their job to be nit picky about the little things. Some examiners are tougher than others. It is doable though, hard, but doable.
As Pixie said, if you feel you were treated unfairly, you can appeal it.
I hesitate to say it (but will anyway), but raquel01, if your testing is like your typing, you really need to study a lot harder. I have a hard time reading your posts, I can only wonder what you written plans look like. If one does not care to type correctly (when you have a built in spell checker), that says a lot about a person.

I was saying the same thing!

MedicFireRN · Apr 17, 2016

I wish there was a way to compare pass rates per site. I know in theory they should all be equal, and it's all about preparation, but it would be nice to know you weren't signing up for the site that fails more students than others. The vibe I get from reading posts is that the Georgia sites fail more people than New York, but it would be interesting to quantify that.

Based on a survey being done right now via facebook with a little over 100 students responding:

Albany- 87.5% Pass, 12.5% Fail

Chambersburg- 71.4% Pass, 28.6% Fail

Faxton St Lukes- 50% Pass, 50% Fail

Grady- 64% Pass 35.3% Fail

Lubbock- 66.7% Pass, 33.3% Fail

Memorial- 100% Pass, 0% Fail

NY Hospital Queens- 100% Pass, 0% Fail

Northside- 66.7% Pass, 33.3% Fail

Southern Regional- 37.5% Pass, 62.5% Fail

St Peter's 50% Pass, 50% Fail

SUNY Upstate- 33.3% Pass, 66.7% Fail

Test sites no longer in use- 84.2% Pass, 15.8% Fail

Jeff2233 · Apr 21, 2016

I took the CPNE in Alice Tx in Sep 2015. I don't believe that any one passed that round. It is a lot of money and time invested to fail. If I had it to do over, I would go somewhere else. There are really no options once you have failed. You are out a lot of time and money and the credits don't seem to transfer anywhere.

Shelia88 · Apr 22, 2016

Jeff, if you don't mind me asking. What did you fail on? I test there soon. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Editorial Team / Moderator · Apr 22, 2016

I just dont see how that can justify failing someone for something like not charting patient ready for teaching.

It's a critical element that must be documented. This is outlined in the study guide, and not documenting a critical element is a point of failure. Period. Just like in the real world - if it's not documented, you didn't do it.

They want you to spend extra money on workshops that are supposed to prepare you to pass the CPNE, isnt that what excelsior supposed to do?

No, that is not what Excelsior is supposed to do. The entire POINT of this program is for the students to demonstrate their preparedness via a competency model. This is not a teaching program.

emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 22, 2016

I agree with pixie.RN statement that excelsiors RN program requires base knowledge and the program verifies the knowledge already acquired.

twofeets · Apr 24, 2016

Add me as a fail at Syracuse. 6 of us tested, 1 passed, it was her 2nd attempt at that site. I test again in August.

RHope · May 16, 2016

When I was an Excelsior College associate degree nursing student, I was enrolled in a phlebotomy program and an EKG/monitor tech program at a local college. I also had LPN med-surg experience at local hospitals through a temp agency for a few years and did that until I passed the CPNE and the NCLEX-RN both on the first try. I had also attended two workshops, took online conferences, and practiced the study guide on a daily bases for about 10 months prior, up until the day of the CPNE.

Soon, I was hired by one of the local hospitals I had done agency work for right after the hospital started phasing out all the LPNs. They had a good training program for new RN grads, but most of what was being taught was not new to me and my preceptor noticed that. I did have an excellent nurse manager and charge nurses who taught me new RN responsibilities every day. My first year as an RN was a wonderful experience. It was a dream come true. It was a wonderful place to work and many of those nurses and I are still friends to this day.

Then all hell broke loose. My nurse manager was replaced with the boss's best friend. The wonderful doctor who had been there for 40 years retired and the young man who came after her brought an evil on the scene, which I thought I would never see again in this day and time. The new doctor along with his new NP wife also made a lot of unsafe decisions leaving us nurses holding the bag. All three of them together created an abusive, toxic, unsafe environment along with deliberate short staffing for budget control and top management bonuses. The abuse and mental trauma I endured there has left a lasting effect. Lots of people would complement me on how good a nurse they thought I was, but it sure wasn't helping the situation. I did really appreciate the complements, though I really didn't feel like I was holding it together. I knew if things didn't change eventually I would probably break. I had reservations about leaving, but began to do other work on the side until I eventually left. But I left stronger with much more experience nursing wise as well as politically and socially.

I work at another hospital as a Med-Surg/Vascular/Neuro/Telemetry and its great. A much better environment where I have been able to thrive and start to heal again. I have also done some temporary oncology work. I also work on the side as a Nursing Supervisor at a SNF. I am treated much better and actually work under people who actually respect and appreciate us nurses.

Recently, I have worked with some BSN nursing students from a local university in their senior year and some of the things they don't know may scare you. Basic nursing knowledge that I was taught even as an LPN, some of them don't even know, like basic medications and basic procedures. When I graduated from Excelsior, I had a much better handle on things than some of them. I guess regardless of the nursing program one graduates from, to some extent it depends on the individual student what they get out of it.

Nursing itself can be vicious and horrible, but also has its rewards at times. I was able to intervene and save the lives of several of my family members and others around me and patients on the job. I'm sure some of them will go on to do the same things. Something good came out of my Excelsior education. Those are the things that make me not regret becoming a nurse when sometimes I may start to. I think at this point, what's done is done and I have very little desire to get a BS, but always strive to continue learning daily. And maybe after I get my finances together, maybe I'll just get the hell out and spend my later years just enjoying life.

Best regards.

Suteu9 · Aug 19, 2017

I write this to you as I am sitting in my hotel room in Albany NY, after failing my CPNE. I will have to hands down say that it has been the most unprofessional experience of my life. I have studied my butt off religiously for the past 4 months, attended Sherry Tailors CPNE workshop only to fail because I forgot to put pain and rigid abdomen on my notes on two of my patients. Please don't waste your money, save your time, hard work, and money and just go to another school. I wasted 2 years of my gi bill on this schools, what a joke. Good luck if you go with Excelsior.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 19, 2017

I write this to you as I am sitting in my hotel room in Albany NY, after failing my CPNE. I will have to hands down say that it has been the most unprofessional experience of my life. I have studied my butt off religiously for the past 4 months, attended Sherry Tailors CPNE workshop only to fail because I forgot to put pain and rigid abdomen on my notes on two of my patients. Please don't waste your money, save your time, hard work, and money and just go to another school. I wasted 2 years of my gi bill on this schools, what a joke. Good luck if you go with Excelsior.

I am so sorry that you weren't successful. Did you use mnemonics to keep track of the critical elements for documentation?

Suteu9 · Aug 20, 2017

I memorized the 22 study guyide word for word, I memorized all of Sherry Tailors mnemonics's. I got rushed by the instructor, her exact words were that I had to speed it up becomes the patient had to be seen by physical therapists and they usually take over 1 hour. When you do your labs the first day you are crammed in a room with three other people and the CE's for each of their independent stations. It's very distracting m, all you can hear is the cries of the ladies when they understandable become imotianal from the failure. The cone sudy tools on Excelsior are very poor format and very hard to fallow. That is why I signed up for Sherry Tailors Cpne online workshop. The workshop was outstanding but in the end you are at the mercy of the way the ca and cr feels that day. No where in real world can you be expected to perform at 100%. I The CA had the nerve to tell me I will pass the second time, as of now it's a 12 month waiting time to get in the CPNE. I won't be wasting any more time and money with them, this is just my honest experience with them, good luck with them.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 20, 2017

I memorized the 22 study guyide word for word, I memorized all of Sherry Tailors mnemonics's. I got rushed by the instructor, her exact words were that I had to speed it up becomes the patient had to be seen by physical therapists and they usually take over 1 hour. When you do your labs the first day you are crammed in a room with three other people and the CE's for each of their independent stations. It's very distracting m, all you can hear is the cries of the ladies when they understandable become imotianal from the failure. The cone sudy tools on Excelsior are very poor format and very hard to fallow. That is why I signed up for Sherry Tailors Cpne online workshop. The workshop was outstanding but in the end you are at the mercy of the way the ca and cr feels that day. No where in real world can you be expected to perform at 100%. I The CA had the nerve to tell me I will pass the second time, as of now it's a 12 month waiting time to get in the CPNE. I won't be wasting any more time and money with them, this is just my honest experience with them, good luck with them.

I graduated in 2008, thankfully. But please, if you feel that the CEs were unprofessional and rushed you or if the sim lab wasn't set up to allow you to concentrate, please appeal. The appeals process is in the study guide and there is a chance that you will win your appeal to repeat without penalty (repeat for free). Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.