I believe there is a misunderstanding out there regarding Distance Learning. Some people I've met, assume all you do is mail the school a check, pass a few tests, and basically buy your degree. Others seem to think the education is sub-par to brick and mortar/traditional schooling because they feel there is no accountability and mentoring. Others seem to think earning an online degree is they easy way out. And still others are leary of the "lack of clinicals".
Clinicals Issue:
I earned my LPN degree from a traditional school. I would like to say there was very little "teaching" being provided by the instructors. Being a "good student" I was one of several in my class who would lead discussion groups and help other students along - I did learn a lot this way. Almost all the content learning was on our own. I sat at a table with other students (many of them slackers, and some of them not very bright) for 7 HOURS A DAY. After I graduated we filled out a survey for the school and one comment I made was that I resented being required to sit in class for the required amount of hours because I could have learned all that stuff on my own in a fraction of the time; and that I resented teaching other students and carrying others' weight.
The one thing that was very beneficial was the clinicals in LPN school. Oddly, our teachers in the program and the nurses we were paired with in LPN school were all RN's. Never once did I receive instruction or mentoring from and LPN during my LPN program. :smackingf I learned a lot from the hands on clinical experience that I could not have if LPN school was distance learning. I would feel very differently about distance learning if they did not require previous experience in medical field first. In LPN school I had some 700 hours of clinical time. This clinical experience, along with that which I have acquired while working as an LPN since prepared me for the "lack of clinicals" in the Excelsior Program. Therefore, at the time of my graduation from Excelsior RN program I had 6000+ more hours of clinical experience (practicing as a nurse) than any other graduate of a traditional RN program starting fresh.
Lack of accountability/mentoring issue:
I had plenty of this in LPN school, and also on the job working as an LPN. In LPN school there was a teacher I was directly accountable to, however, I am one of those students who is basically self disciplined anyway and required almost no intervention from my instructors. This transferred to my Excelsior studies... I did my own thing while meeting the requirements of the program and excelling at it - not just barely making it.
That being said, there are exams to pass and that is where a distance learning student is accountable. Also, there are instructors and forums and student connections for study partners, and phone appointments and all sorts of optional mentoring and support options for Excelsior students. None of which did I feel necessary in my case, but available nonetheless. There are no "favorites" or "personality conflicts" or "brown nosing" in a distance learning program. The grades are black and white, and/or pass/fail. Simple, no politics.
The "Buying your degree" and "Easy way out" Issues:
I invite any nurse who feels distance learning is a cake walk to take one of the NC exams or perhaps the CPNE cold turkey, armed only with the knowledge they presently retain from their own traditional nursing education and clinical practice. Nuff said.
