Excelsior New Curriculum Vs. Old Curriculum

[Womb Service]

I will be graduating from LVN school in December and wanted to go ahead and start my RN transition. I have been hesitant to start Excelsior because of the BON issues, but I think it's a chance I'm going to have to take because I am not a "school" person. I can not stand the idea of sitting through more classroom hours. I learn extremely fast, and do well on my own. I attended an EXCELLENT LVN program and feel that I can handle this transition without having the years of work experience. So, my question is what is the difference btw the new and old curriculum? I have been looking at e-bay and the Lisa Arends study guides, would these not be worth the money now that there is a new curriculum?

Any input would be great!

Thanks,

Christina

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

See the attached for a comparison according to the EC exam content guides. The exams were divided and/or renamed. A three-part Focused Clinical Competency Assessment (FCCA) has been added; it will be a computerized exam in its final format, but it's currently paper/pencil for those students who are speedy and finished the new curriculum already.

In any case, the changes aren't huge. Older study materials will still be valid.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do, and welcome to the distance learning forum! :)

AD_Nursing_Comparison.pdf

[caliotter3]

You should not even be concerned with the difference because you will have to deal with the new curriculum if you enroll now. The option to operate with the old curriculum is long past. There is little or no difference in the exam material, only in how it is arranged. You can view and download the study outlines from the EC website. You can take the first exam now. You will be exempt from the second exam with your LVN license. You don't have to enroll until you want to take the third exam. You can submit your transcripts and they will do an evaluation and tell you if there are any general ed classes that you must meet in addition to the nursing exams. That is it. No need to get involved with the old curriculum at all, since it doesn't apply in your case. Good luck.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

There is little or no difference in the exam material, only in how it is arranged.

There are at least three new sections/study areas that I can think of ... good to know if you're trying to use study resources that follow the old curriculum, like used study guides and whatnot. Unless they've been updated, there will be some sections missing. Which is why following the EC exam content guides is VERY important, as you mentioned!