Considering Excelsior College

[studentinnursing]

So I am 7 weeks into 3rd semester of my community college ADN program. Two kids, just divorced 2 years ago, no child support, no time to work; I almost dropped a few days ago, exhausted physically and no time to work to make $ to take care of my family. So, after level 3 we can in the state of Florida sit for the NCLEX-PN, so I can do that, but I owe so much in loans being in school doing all prereq's through for my BSN, that if I don't finish my RN, I'll be in deep....all I have to do now is nursing classes through my BSN. (Then I'll have to start with graduate school prereq's I'm sure). My friends talked me into staying in, just a bad week, suck it up, we all wanna quit some days. I really do not want to quit, just overextended most weeks. However, I worked at home doing medical transcription for a very, very long time, I'm almost 40, and then started prereq's in Fall 2008, can graduate with my ADN in May next year....but I really am exhausted and I know I have the motivation to do the studying at home, and I have finally learned how to study for concepts instead of every darn word of a chapter LOL....so my question is, is it worth trying to get into Excelsior for that last semester of nursing. I would rather study my butt off and then go take a test. I am doing fine with grades; until nursing had a 4.0 in every single class, every semester; now I get Bs in nursing school, so in your opinion of grads from EC, is this something I can apply, get in, and still graduate about the same time as I would if I stayed in? I am in Florida, BON will let me sit if I go EC route. I want to be an NP, so you've answered my question as far as that goes, but if I finish this semester in December, when could I expect to graduate from EC, starting in January. I am not an LPN. But clinicals are......I don't know how to explain it, but I just seem to know what to do. I used to get nervous talking through a checkoff, but I'm very used to that. We now watch our instructor do a skill and checkoff the same day if we want, and I do (we only had IVs, trach care, and CVL cleaning this semester; most skills done in level 1). In level 1, we had a week in between learning and doing.

I worked in the ER a short time and left on good terms to go back upon graduation, but childcare for 2 kids on weekends was too expensive, and I am at school Tuesday though Friday. I am back to my at-home medical transcription which pays twice what a PCT pay is, and really am tired of being tired. I know once I get out there, I will love it, but I am so over school, used to love it.

So, what is the timeframe. I am tired of getting up at 4 a.m. for someone else (used to do it on my own when working at home, thought), but I'd hate for EC to take too much longer than just staying in school. I read the requirements and because I am as far into ADN as I am, I can go to Excelsior......so can someone give me some info on how long it would take if I started in January, applying and all that asap but couldn't start til January.

If it sounds doable, I will call them. Right now I'm writing IPAs and Care Plans, all weekend, and I would so much rather be learning the "meat" of school. Care plans I have down now and "get it."

Let me know, please, if you have the time....I just maybe need a change of scenery, who knows, but I want to finish and I want to be an NP.

Thanks!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

It seems to take most folks about a minimum of a year to get through EC's program. Some take less, but most take at least a year or more. If you're teed up to finish in May 2012, honestly I'd stick with your current school. It sounds like you are doing well in your ADN program, and EC's program isn't a for-sure thing with the nature of the clinical exam (the Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination, or CPNE). And then there is the ever-present issue of EC's acceptance in other states:

http://www.excelsior.edu/state-board-requirements

Yes, it's accepted in Florida as you said, but you never know where life might take you. EC was a great program for me, but I usually recommend that people keep it as a back-up plan if they're already in an ADN program and doing well with it.

[studentinnursing]

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I don't wanna take longer.....I just thought maybe it'd be renewed enthusiasm too doing it another way; but I certainly don't want it to take longer, especially if what I am finding about the doctorate/NP laws changing; I may make it if I go straight through without having my DNP to start being an NP, and then there's having science classes being more than 7 years old....I think I am thinking about all these years right now as opposed to going one day at a time. So far, I have accomplished what I wanted to accomplish in the time I had planned, but with 2 kids, there are never any guarantees.

I am glad you brought that up; I do not every plan to move from Florida, but ya never know, it might get washed off the map LOL and we never know what surprise life will bring each day, and then what if I cannot get licensed in another state makes sense to stick with where I am. I just read the wet-to-damp (or whatever they call it) dressing change. We did that first semester, so I don't know if they get any harder than that, but I would have no problem with the labs, don't get nervous anymore, but only if they were all labs/clinical type tests....that'd be fun!

Thanks again for your input!

[studentinnursing]

Hey, just a mnemonic a teacher told me for insulin: Nancy Regan, RN; NRRN; NPH air, Regular air, Regular draw, NPH draw. I am not an EC student, CC student reading these, thinking about EC last night....

Anyway, idk how much you have learned by this point of labs, but as a nurse, you understand why, right? Because your regular can get in you NPH because it's short-acting, but you wouldn't want to accidently get your NPH in your regular bottle. I don't know if you guys also get the rationales of why you do it a particular way; my guess is this stuff is on your written exams...just making sure you understand the WHY of everything, because that is what your state boards are after. Made me nervous it wasn't mentioned....want everybody to know the why with the NPH and Regular, drawing up.

I am in 3rd semester, and our teachers love to tell us "that'll be on boards"....the concept of what we're talking about. I don't know how EC works, so I'm not saying you don't learn the why's, I just wanted to make sure everybody knew the why of the insulins because of course...it's important for our patient's :)

Nice notes! We did this first semester, which was when we did most of our checkoff's, somebody in class would type up the steps, we'd add or take out, and we'd post it for everybody....worked well so we kept on doing it through level 2; now we learn and checkoff same day, so we don't have luxury anymore, but this way, in your notes, is how you learn it.

Very nice notes for anyone, not just EC. Some things are called different things, and we sure don't in real life pull up our flushes, but that is great practice to pull up meds, pulling up flushes. Very cool!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Yes, we learn the "whys" by this point, if we didn't know them already -- the majority of EC students are LPNs with some years of experience.

The ER where I first started working as an RN didn't use prefilled flushes until the last couple of years, so it is possible that yes, you might actually have to pull up your own flushes in real life. (I was so happy to finally get prefills, good grief!)