Excelsior ADN program

emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 6, 2016

Are you doing all online classes or are you planning on trying out of some?

The wait time right now for the CPNE is anywhere from 9-18 months. It can be shortened if you're willing to call in frequently for cancellations.

I am currently in the midst of the FCCA and will be on the wait list soon, hopefully.

deenabean · Jul 6, 2016

At first, I wanted to try and test out of some of the classes, but I am not the best test taker. I have been an Air Force medic for 15 years, however after taking my first nursing class during Summer 1, I figured I should probably just take the courses just because there is SO much information. Have you tested out of any of the classes? How is the FCCA going so far?

emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 6, 2016

I tested out of all of the nursing exams. I am kind of an anomaly, I injured my foot a few months ago and have been out of work since the end of April. I took all 8 nursing tests, passing all 8 on the first try, in 7 weeks total. My background, have been a Medic in Pennsylvania for almost 20 years .

deenabean · Jul 6, 2016

Wow!! That's amazing! How many questions are the exams? What is the time limit on those exams? Did the study guides they sent to you help with the exam for the particular class you were testing out of? Sorry for the dozens of questions!

emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 6, 2016

Each nursing exam contains 130 questions. There are a mix of graded and non graded questions but you don't know which ones are ungraded so you need to do your best on every question. I thin you get 3 hours for each test and you find out right away if you passed or not and also get a breakdown based on subjects of what percent you got correct. And since the percentage includes all questions you can get less than 70% on a lot of the subjects and still pass.

The study guides from excelsior only hep you understand what will be tested. I used SG101 to help me pass all my tests.

deenabean · Jul 6, 2016

hmmm...I may just try that out and see how it goes. If the CPNE waitlist is approx. 9-18 months, I need to try to get some of these classes completed a bit faster. Otherwise, it seems like it would take forever to finish the entire program. Thanks so much for all the helpful advice!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jul 6, 2016

At first, I wanted to try and test out of some of the classes, but I am not the best test taker. I have been an Air Force medic for 15 years, however after taking my first nursing class during Summer 1, I figured I should probably just take the courses just because there is SO much information. Have you tested out of any of the classes? How is the FCCA going so far?

Are you a medic and an LPN? I wasn't aware that the AF used LPNs, I thought only the Army did. :)

Molemedic, MSN, EMT-P, NP · Jul 6, 2016

It took me about 5 months to test out of all the nursing exams plus micro bio and doing a math class through another school called ALEKS. It kind of angered me that the FCCA's make you wait 2 months (8 weeks) to take the final. So far I'm at 7 months and just got everything approved for the CPNE. From here I'm looking at another 7-12 months for a CPNE date but I plan on calling for cancellations. I know of people who have gotten a cancellation date within three months of becoming CPNE eligible but I'd like to ensure I am ready before I test. I know of many who have completed the program so it can be done. Also everyone that I know was a Paramedic with zero nursing experience before hand.