Beginning my Excelsior journey

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Hi everyone,

My story is simple but complicated. I was in a RN program that unfortunately go shut down my last semester. I was able to challenge the LPN boards in my state passed the NCLEX my first attempt and received my license as a LPN. Currently I work full-time in LTC.

I decided Excelsior after a lot of back and fourth of online vs brick and mortar. I came to the final decision that excelsior is my best option as 1. I already been through nursing school and clinicals once and should be comfortable and familiar with the material. 2. I will be able to continue to work full time and not have to worry about schedule changes or possibly having to drop to part time or PRN. 3. Excelsior is accredited and recognized in my state with no special pre license state requirements.

I'm due to take my TEAS test next week. If all goes well I will be enrolling in the exam based option. Any suggestions on study tips? I'm trying to move through these exams as quickly as possible.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

Congratz and good luck!! What helped me to zip through the program, among other things, was in scheduling each of my exams before I even began to study. Those self-imposed deadlines are a great motivator.

Knowing the material is wonderful. Just make sure you're able to apply what you know. I hope you'll love the program as much as I did. Once you start, do not stop! Good luck!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

So sorry about your RN program, that must have been awful. :( I would recommend the exam-based option if you are good at teaching yourself and you can hold yourself accountable to stick to a schedule. I found that paying for an exam and setting a test date were excellent motivators! :) I also recommend the EC practice exams for each actual exam, and there are great study guides (notes) available from studygroup101.com. I also recommend purchasing some of the textbooks, like whichever one they recommend for fundamentals. You'll need some of those textbooks more than once, and also for both of Focused Clinical Competencies Assessments (FCCAs) that come before the CPNE. Some people try to just read others' notes, take practice exams, and pass the exams. This might work, but it's not super GPA-friendly if your GPA matters to you (and it usually does, down the line, when people want to continue their education). GPA mattered to me, because it earned me a scholarship that basically removed all of my financial obstacles and it allowed me to be competitive for military service as an officer/RN after I had earned my BSN.

Please ensure that you read both the nursing catalog as well as the student policy manual from the school. And there is a wait time for the CPNE — it's about 12 months right now. There has always been some kind of wait time, whether it was 6 months or 9 months or whatever; 12 months is the longest I've seen, and it's a major dissatisfier among those waiting, but not all students did their due diligence when it came to checking that kind of thing out.

Good luck on your TEAS!

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Hi everyone,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have taken the TEAS and passed. I didn't study for it thinking it would be similar to the HESI (which I have taken before and did really well 86% overall). The TEAS seemed to be a bit different and I did OK with no studying but no use of crying over spilled milk. Right? Right! So moving on.

EC accepted most of my credits. I do have to take Life Span (Never taken) which I'm in the process to CLEP. The FIRST part of A&P because it expired and I have taken the second part over at a previous school just a few years ago because I got a C the first time and they didn't accept it for transfer. I also have to take Micro as that expired as well being as though I have taken all these classes 10 years ago almost. Now I'm in the process of getting these two and a half gen ed requirements out of the way so I can move on to the good stuff.

I want to be done all of the gen ed classes and core nursing courses and FCCA by May 2018? I think that's a doable time frame? My biggest knot in the stomach right now is the CPNE BUT I won't dwell on that just yet, I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now my determination is to get those two letters behind my name so I can move on with my life! "RN" here I come!

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