Excelsior students and grads

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Hi, I am an LPN enrolled in excelsior college distance learning to get my RN. I am fixing to take my first nursing exam. I will be glad to trade study guides with other students. Any advice on taking these exams or on the CPNE. I would like to hear from some graduates and their experience in the program. Thanks-

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all ga nursing student should be very concerned that the ga board of

nursing has recently made a decision to no longer license excelsior

college associate nursing graduates by endorsement. like myself, this

should create an outrage for any current students studying and

planning to practice nursing in ga. from someone who is a current

student, who has spent thousands of dollars and only has 2 classes

left to completeni

was left speechless after i received this letter.

at this time i am trying to let as many people as possible know about

this current development in ga. please, we need to come together and

let our voices be heard. excelsior college is meeting with the ga

nursing board in september if you can be there please contact the

southern performance assessment center, gna office at 404-325-5536

(toll free 800-324-0462) or email [color=#003399]spac@georgianurses. org. for all

those who can't attend please contact:

sylvia l bond r.n. msn, mba

executive director

ga board of nursing

237 coliseum drive

macon, ga 31217-3858

ph: 478-207-2440

please everyone call or write as soon as possible. if you know former

students who have graduated and are working as r.n's in ga

have them call and write too, and let the board know how this

educational opportunity allowed them to become r.n. in addition, have

your supervisors write about there intentions to hire you after you

graduate. this is very important. like myself i

know many of you have invested time and money into completeing this

program and be coming r.n. below is the letter i received:

important update: recent decision by the georgia board of nursing

august 5, 2008

dear student:

i am writing to make you aware of a recent decision by the georgia

board of nursing (board) that impacts you as an excelsior college

associate degree in nursing student.

in july the board made a decision to no longer license excelsior

college graduates by endorsement, a practice that they have followed

for more than 25 years. it is important for you to know that excelsior

college and the georgia nurses' association (gna) are working together

on your behalf. we are asking the board to change their position and

to allow licensure of our graduates. our request is well supported by

evidence focusing on our accreditation status, admission eligibility

requirements, curriculum rigor, nclex-rn pass rates, and employer data.

the board has agreed to allow gna and excelsior to address the board

at their september 17-19, 2008 meeting. it will be helpful to have

students attend the meeting to lend their support to our efforts. if

you are able to attend the meeting, please contact a staff member at

the southern performance assessment center, gna office at

404-325-5536 (toll free 800-324-0462) or [color=#003399]spac@georgianurses. org. they

will let you know the exact date and time that we will be on the

board's agenda and the location of the meeting.

the impetus for the board's action is unclear. at this juncture, it

seems that a change in statutory language is being interpreted by the

board in a manner that is not congruent with the original intent of

house bill 1041 that passed in july 2008. thus, in the best interest

and safety of the citizens of georgia, we will be providing the board

with additional information and will carefully address all their

questions so that it can make a decision on complete and accurate

information.

if you have questions about the board's recent decision, please

address your concerns to the executive director at the address below.

i am enclosing a fact sheet for your use when contacting the board.

sylvia l. bond r.n. msn, mba

executive director

georgia board of nursing

237 coliseum drive

macon, ga 31217-3858

email: [color=#003399][email protected]. gov

phone: 478-207-2440; fax: 478-207-1354

we are disappointed by this recent decision by the georgia board of

nursing that disqualifies graduates of our nationally accredited

nursing program from obtaining rn licensure. the unfortunate results

of this decision are a further reduction of the supply of qualified

nurses available to care for citizens of georgia and decreased access

to nursing education for individuals such as yourself who come to our

program of study with significant healthcare experience. graduates of

excelsior's nursing program are currently practicing successfully in

all 50 states and there is no objective evidence that our graduates

are unable to meet the critical demand for registered nurses in georgia.

i will contact you again after the board's meeting on september 17-19,

2008 to let you know the outcome of our request to the board.

sincerely,

m. bridget nettleton, phd, rn

dean, school of nursing

cc:

linda herren, rn, crna, president, georgia board of nursing

sylvia l. bond r.n. msn,mba, executive director, georgia board of nursing

cindy r. balkstra, ms, rn, cns-bc, president, gna

deborah hackman, cae, gna, chief executive officer, gna

debbie hatmaker, phd, rn, sane-a, chief programs officer, gna

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how many students from ga are currently enrolled in the excelsior college distance learning program?? please make the number of students effected by this decision known and band together as a group to present yourselves as professional nurses at the meeting in sept. in macon. i would suggest you form your own group....with a president, vp, secretary, etc.....communicate, communicate, communicate with each other and come up with an effective argument in order to get this ruling changed or at least amended. nurses are professionals and need to present themselves that way at the meeting. calm, assertive and convincing as evidenced by have the facts together in order to present them in a professional manner. does any of you have an attorney in the family or know one that would represent you at a reasonable rate?? things to think about in my humble opinion. best of luck to all ec students on this one. i, personally think, from what i've read that the bon is far too evasive on the reason for their decision to not let ec grads endorse into ga!

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Hi! I just finished July 25-my graduation date is Sept. 19. I loved the program-I finished the whole thing-prereqs and NCs in 5 months. Then I waited 5 months for my CPNE date. It's not easy by any means, but it is worth it. Working full time and having an autistic son with cystic fibrosis severly limited my options as far as going back to "school", so this was my only out. I am so glad I did it. I have a lot of study material that I can pass on to you, if you like. I never bought any books, I relied on notes and tips I got off Ebay and free off the web. Good luck!!

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I am absolutely sick about this. I am seeking out all options and the loss of this avenue for becoming an RN in GA. I need to quit wallowing and do something. I just keep thinking I am going to wake up from this nightmare. I spoke to a college-network recruiter who said there were 11k students in GA that this affects---Is this true?

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