Anyone take LPN program just to make it easier to become RN?

cfno8fan · Mar 5, 2006

I just started the Excelsior program. Do you think you learn enough through this program to do well, out in the real world. I am worried about not having but a 3 day clinical experience. How long did it take you to finish? I just hope I am doing the right thing. I cant afford to take off work to go to RN school so I decided to try Excelsior. Please tell me it is the right thing to do?

debdeb07 · Mar 5, 2006

hello everyone ,

i am new to the site. i have been a lpn for 19 years and have found it hard also to get into adn programs because of "quota's and point systems , not to mention the schools not wanting to give me credit for previous classes because when i took them they were on the block system. i have found that doing the excelsior program would be the best alternative for me , i can continue to work and continue to keep my skills up to par , i work in a hospital. what i want to know is ...are there any types of scholarships that will help pay excelsiors tuition? the hospital that i work for will not pay for the excelsior program.

i wish everyone much success in all of their endeavors. education will take you where you need to be.:balloons:

ausgal · Mar 5, 2006

hi

I'm a Trainee Enrolled Nurse in Australia which is similar to your LPN.

Also now we do medications & become Endorsed Enrolled Nurses when we finish. I get paid by while I do my study. I have two blocks of TAFE(8 & 7 weeks each). Plus I have an 8 week clinical in hospital between the blocks & then 30 weeks of clinicals after my 2nd block.

We rotate to different wards around our base hospital.

To be a RN here you have 3 years of university. If you do well with your EEN course you can get exemption from the first year of university.

It is a good way to do your RN study here in Australia plus you can work as an EEN while studying.

fgold · Mar 5, 2006

cfno8fan vbmenu_register("postmenu_1548522", true);

I have a bunch of questions

Do you already have your pre reqs done? If so then you have the 7 or 8 nursing classes right?

Who did you get your books thru? Excelsior or another company like the college network?

How long have your been an lpn?

I see you work on a med surg floor, is that where you have always worked?

ok enough questions I guess. Now my turn

Yes I think it will prepare you enough and don't let the clinical fool you, I thought "ok I have this under control, I can do it with minimal problems" HA that was the most stressful thing I have ever done, boards included!!!!

If you work med surg, good for you. You are getting plenty of clinical exp now. For excelsior you have to prove competent of a new RN. Remember that is a brand spanking new RN who has never worked in a hospital. You can certianly do that.

Any lpn worth a damn is as good (better really but I was being nice) as a new RN. So clinically you will be as good as you want to be. What I mean is get in on everything you can at work. If there is something going on that you don't know about or have not seen then get your butt in there.

The tests are not easy but not the hardest thing in the world either. They are multiple choice ranging from 160-240 questions.

There are many many ways to study. I strongly suggest that you don't do what many students try to do. That is think they have to know everything. You cannot know everything to the smallest detail. You will go crazy trying to do that. Read the book, study it of course. Take advantage of the practice exams online. You have to pay for them but there are 2 100 question tests with rationals for each course. It will give you a clue as to what they are looking for. You will not find any duplicate questions but it helps guide you and lets you see the style questions they are going to ask.

I see you have three kids, finding time to study is going to be a problem. I had two when I was mostly taking the classes (three now) and it was tough. BUT you can do it.

there is a lot more for me to type but I have to go, I will try to get online tomorrow to write more.

feel free to ask any questions you want to know

frank

ausgal · Mar 5, 2006

Can someone explain what exactly an LPN does? It seems the system here in Australia is different.

We have RNs, EENs(Endorsed Enrolled Nurse), ENs(Enrolled nurse) & AINs(assistant in nursing).

The RNs have a university degree, the EEN & EN have a TAFE college certificate 4 but EENs are endorsed to give medication & AIN have a certificate 3 from TAFE.

If you have a credit average for your EN course you can get into university to do the RN course. Certificate 4 is like 1st year university.

I have a Distinction average, so hope to get into university next year. :nurse:

earth_to_hal · Mar 5, 2006

Thank you for the info; just what I was looking for. I took RN prereqs but couldn't get them in time. I was wondering about distance learning and had heard some "horror" stories, but they mostly seemed to come from people quoting "others". You know how that is. The weekend clinical was that "bad?" huh?

:Crash:

AC439 · Mar 5, 2006

I just started the Excelsior program. Do you think you learn enough through this program to do well, out in the real world. I am worried about not having but a 3 day clinical experience. How long did it take you to finish? I just hope I am doing the right thing. I cant afford to take off work to go to RN school so I decided to try Excelsior. Please tell me it is the right thing to do?

I'm in Excelsior now and finished all written NCs except NC7 (will take it in 2 days). I think Frank has answered your questions but I want to throw down my thoughts maybe useful to you.

I finished my LPN school mid-05 and got licensed two months after that. Then I started a job in a local hospital right away as well as started with Excelsior. First of all, the Excelsior program DOES NOT teach you anything. You are self-taught based on the study guides for each exam and then go take the exams (I'm sure you're already knew this). Same situation for CPNE. So, you have to read, think, digest, make rationale and apply the material during your self-taught process. Then you will be successful. I have been always telling people that Excelsior is not for everyone, some people have to be in the classroom and some are totally independent (me). Excelsior program requires lots of self-motivation and initiative. The double sided sword is you can schedule your exam date based on your own pace. Some people will just drag on it and ended up doing the program very slowly or never finish. But I set myself an exam schedule, book the exam and study my butt off to beat my own deadlines.

I am the luckier one because I ended up quitting my job (that's another story - a typical terrible place to work for a new grad) and full time doing Excelsior (I have some money that my dad passed on to me after he passed away). I enjoy the Excelsior studying a lot more compare to my LPN school. I actually have time to really dig up answers that I did not have time to dig up during LPN school. This works better for me because I cannot simply do hardcore memorization without really understood the subject matter.

I think I'll be better prepare after grad Excelsior because I take the time to digest the material. While as a new LPN grad, I was really not knowing what I was doing because I was not learning in that LPN school. I was only brain washed with nursing facts designed only to pass the exams.

Hope this helps.

bjbaby · Mar 5, 2006

I have been an LPN for 13 years, having trained RN's and having the experience after all these years, I do believe the LPN program is a good first step. You wouldn't believe how many RN's have told me that the LPN program is harder than the RN, mostly due to the fact that you have all that info packed in one year. Many LPN programs also have more clinical experience than RN programs.

fgold · Mar 5, 2006

Thank you for the info; just what I was looking for. I took RN prereqs but couldn't get them in time. I was wondering about distance learning and had heard some "horror" stories, but they mostly seemed to come from people quoting "others". You know how that is. The weekend clinical was that "bad?" huh?
:Crash:

They don't surprise you with anything. Everything you need to know is right there for you but it is nerves that get you. That is what everyone told me but I thought I could handle stress and as long as i know the material I would be ok. Well I made it thru but I was never so stressed in my life.

First of all I went to GA (I live in pa) so I am 12 hours away from my comfort area. I had 5 other students there but we have never met and we don't even stay in the same hotel. So they may be nice but you have no real support from them.

There are also 6 clinical examiners who are VERY VERY nice (at least in ga) but they are intiminating still. They watch everything you do and cannot help you in the slightest. That is their job and they do it well but trust me there is no support there. They are not even supposed to make small talk with you, just business.

There is an advisor from excelsior but once again you have never met this person and there really isn't anything they can do to support you

stressful very stressful but I did make it.

trust me it sounds a lot easier then it is

baambi1 · Mar 5, 2006

I was enrolled in a community college RN program. School has summers off so I worked as an aide to make some money for incidentals. I then decided that If I worked as an LPN I could make more money while in the RN program. I became an LPN and never looked back...never had a desire to become that RN even though people in general think that an LPN is a glorified aide. I have been charge nurse, handed out meds, done everything an RN does except for the pay and an extra weeks vacation. I have now gone on and have an Associates in Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling, a Bachelors in Human Service with a secondary in Administration of Substance Abuse Programs and I graduate this July with a Masters in Health Administration. I am now thinking about the RN program in which I am given credit for all the classes I have taken...the jury is still out. The community programs here in NY have many openings. Check your local one. What is a ADN?

rnurse62 · Mar 5, 2006

After reading this thread I am now interested in taking your route instead of waiting for a seat in the RN program.

When I refered to my JC class catalog, I see that they offer LVN Career Mobility (for LVNs only) and LVN (30 Unit Option).

I obviously cannot take the Mobility class as I am currently only at the General Ed/Requirements stage of my education.

Would the 30 Unit Option course be the one everyone is talking about here?

I find it odd that my JC offers a straightforward RN program, but their LVN programs seem somewhat convoluted.

Thanks,

Rob

helping people · Mar 5, 2006

Thank you everybody, i just finish a STNA class. And i'm about to start working and i was thinking about that. So as soon as i find a school near me i will start to get my LPN. I can be on my way to becoming a RN.