LPN-RN by correspondence? Help

SICU Queen · Mar 23, 2002

I too graduated from Excelsior, but when it was still Regents, back in 1993. I had a job before I even took boards, and thanks to all those exams, taking NCLEX was super EASY.

I have found that it's extremely accepted now, although when I graduated some places had an unofficial policy in place not to hire Regents grads. That seems to be gone now, especially with the internet and the big increase in online learning.

Go directly with Excelsior. You do NOT need any publisher (i.e. Rue) to get you through it. All of the study guides are free through the school, and they recommend the texts that you can use to study. Many of those texts are available through the library.

I was SO pleased with my experience with Regents, and was actually a mentor for quite some time after graduation. They're a quality program and absolutely the best way to go for an LPN with a busy schedule. What's better than being able to set your own schedule while you obtain your degree?

Please feel free to email me with any questions, and know also that Excelsior has counselors that you can speak with on the phone to answer your questions.

Good luck and I hope you get busy soon on that degree. It'll be well worth the effort!:)

lgcv · Mar 23, 2002

I have heard some people comment that obtaining a degree in this manner was not as "good". Your practice will change their minds though. As long as you are a good practitioner, how you obtained your degree is irrelevent. I am in a masters program for nurse anesthesia now, I had some concern that having received my degree from Regents would hurt my chances at acceptance into a VERY competitive program. My concerns were unfounded. I have nothing but great things to say for Regents/Excelsior, they gave me the opportunity to change my life. Something I could not have done with four children and a full time schedule in a traditional program.

GreytNurse · Mar 23, 2002

Check out this site:

istudysmart.com They are offering a option of getting 20 courses for $399 or $499. I'm going to start through them for my preq. then transfer to SIUE (Southern Illinois U @ Edwardsville)

Good luck to you.......hey! age doesn't matter....your as young as you feel right?

Hang in there!!:kiss

nursnancy, LPN, RN · Mar 24, 2002

To all who have responded so far to this thread: Thank you! You have given me the confidence I need to get started. And thanks to allnurses.com. This site is such a great resource!

Agnus · Mar 25, 2002

There is one thing that responders to this post have left out. I am going the Excelsior route for my BSN. I get to talk to other Excelsiory students both ADN and BSN.

To go this route it take someone with self direction, disipline, and maturity. You must find you own learing opportunities, you must set and keep your own dead lines and no one else will make sure you do this.

Excelsior Sounds EASY to many perspective students. I have yet to talk to an Excelsior student who would tell you it is easy. So if you choose this route. You do not need to feel others will see you as inferior. If they do they need to be educated as to what Excelsior is about. Going at you own pace and just taking a few exams can seem like a peice of cake. If you think this, then check it out again. If you can recognize the pitfalls to such a plan and can deal with it then you may be able to do it. The exams are by far the toughest I have seen.

These grads deserve our respect. We have many more traditional schools than this type of school for a reason. AND the reason is not because Excelsior grads are inferior.

SICU Queen · Mar 25, 2002

YOU SAID IT!

I lost SEVEN pounds the weekend of my CPNE (clinical exam). I survived on crackers and coke because it was the only thing I could keep down. They were very fair, but VERY tough. You don't slip by on those examiners, let me tell ya'...

It's a rigorous program. The tests are not easy and the clinical aspect is hair raising. You can't pass the clinical with a 95% or even a 99%. You get it ONE HUNDRED PERCENT correct or you go home. Period.

The college is extremely supportive, however, and make the PROCESS of going through the exams and clinicals easy. The counselors are always very helpful and again, I fully recommend Excelsior to anyone who has the discipline to complete the program. It's worth it!

nursnancy, LPN, RN · Mar 26, 2002

I'm not afraid of a self-discipline type program. I'm actually interested in doing it this way because I think I can do it faster than in the traditional way since I have a few pre-reqs to take and I don't want to have to take 2 courses next semester and then have to wait a year to get accepted into a program, then wait till fall to start, etc. Also, my husband and I are empty-nesters, so I have the study time at home. I AM worried about the clinical exam. I have no clinical experience in a hospital other than what I got in clinicals in nursing school. All my experience is in long term care - most of it at the same nursing home. Have any of those responding been in that situation -- i.e., with virtually no hospital experience before taking the clinicals through this type of program? Is it do-able?

GeriRN · Mar 26, 2002

Hi. I got my ASN/RN through Regents in 2000. At that time, I had been working 5 years, all of it in the same nursing home. I passed the CPNE on the first try. You can do it.

Excelsior will send you information beforehand on what you will be be tested on. Much of it is basic skills: vital signs, maintaining a sterile field, etc. They tell you exactly what you will be required to do and how they want you to do it. The stress comes not so much from the skills you are required to perform, but from taking a final exam in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar proctors, knowing that the tiniest mistake can make you fail. Still, I passed, thousands of others have passed, and you can too.

I highly recommend the workshop they offer. It is expensive, but gives you a good idea of what the test will be like and helps with the stress--your main enemy during the CPNE.

Good luck.

James Huffman · Mar 26, 2002

Excelsior is a very good, and very tough program. I recommend it highly (graduated there in 1980 -- old man here ;-) for those who are motivated and disciplined. But it's not for everyone: some prefer the interaction of a classroom setting, and I suspect such folks would be miserable going the Excelsior route.

As for a classroom setting, I wouldn't worry too much about being older than the rest of the students. One of the wonderful things about such a setting is that younger students often go out of their way to make older students feel welcome. And you will bring a load of experience and maturity to the classroom setting that's valuable.

SICU Queen: I enjoyed your story about losing the weight during the CPNE. Since I'm always looking for new business ideas, here's one: Lose Weight Fast With Excelsior College! Somehow, I don't think they would approve ... ;-)

Jim Huffman, RN

http://www.networkfornurses.com

Lillith · Apr 5, 2002

I'm going through Rue and I'm 51. I'll be working til the day I end up in one of the beds so I may as well 'drop' as an old RN rather than an old LPN. I'll make more money interim.

Rue has been good to work with. They send everything I need to my door. I prefer to work at my own pace versus going to class but others like the classroom part. I guess whichever appeals to you is the way to go.

I think some time spent working in a hospital is well worth it, even if it's only 6 months. You get a real broad-spectrum of experience that'll be really helpful in Long-term care, where I am now. I say that because I spent 5 years as an LPN working in a hosp after I graduated. Now, LP's aren't hired for hosp work very often in Mn but back in the early 80's we sure were, and did everything an RN did, except be in charge - even CCU, and much as I HATED working in a hosp, in retrospect it was experience I don't regret.

I started out, on my journey to being an RN, in an accelerated program and dropped due to lack of time, then recently picked up through Rue where I left off a few years back. I disctinctly remember feeling like I was going from the frying pan into the fire, pursuing my RN. Have any of you who've done it feel that way when you've finally gotten there? I've known many CNA's who say they wouldn't be an LPN because it's too much responsibility and liability but I guess I've gotten so used to that that it's not something I think about consciously too often, I just 'operate' with that knowledge somewhere in my subconscious.

Any opinions, out there (ha, ha,)?

txsugar · Aug 27, 2002

You guys have given some great insight to the Regents College program. I have requested my packet and now I can hardly wait to get it. I have been an LVN for 7 1/2 years and have been trying to complete classes for the past 3. Something always interferes. Work. Family. Health issues. Work. Work. Work. LOL Finally I have found something that is not accepted by the nursing community at large but will allow me the freedom to continue my full-time job and work towards my RN at my own pace. No more sitting in two classes a semester and feeling like time is just passing me by. We don't have kids yet so this is perfect. Thanks to you all. It's so nice to have a forum where I can go and "talk" to others in nursing. I appreciate it!

JonRN · Aug 28, 2002

I was in the first class at Regents (now Excelsior) in 1975, I have # 3 on my diploma which I am very proud of. Since the program was brand new, I had a little trouble getting it recognized to sit for boards here in Indiana, but other than that, absolutely no problems. I have worked in critical care nearly all my career, with no probelms ever getting accepted either by docs, administration, or my peers. What it boils down to is: when the s*** comes down which it always will, can you handle it? If you can, nobody cares where you graduated from. Likewise, if you can't handle it you could be a Harvard grad and nobody would depend on you.

As others have said, this program requires an exceptional amount of self-discipline, and the finals are very intense, as everything is riding on them. You either go home a GN, or still an LPN. I was given a very young child to care for as part of my finals, and I had absoluteluy no peds experience, but I acted like I knew what I was doing and everything went great. Those instructors could smell fear like a shark smells blood, and I was determined not to even give them a whiff. I highly recommend this program to anyone who stands to benefit from it.

Jon