Excelsior College

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · May 10, 2004

I love EC...and I'm glad they have English and Literacy requirements to be met before one can get admission into the Nursing program.

Jo Dirt · May 10, 2004

What area did you work as a recruiter? I am a recent Excelsior graduate and every hospital in the Houston area I sent my resume to wanted to interview me for the specialty of my choice. I took an ICU position and have had no problems as of yet. Why did your area hospitals not consider this to be a valid degree? It is accredited by the National League for Nursing which has the highest authority in nursing education on a national level. Schools of nursing go through pains taking measures to keep that accreditation just like hospitals need Joint commision accreditation. Why California thinks it's above the NLN for approving schools of nursing is beyond me. They have enough nursing problems without without deciding that certain programs don't meet their standards.

As a matter of fact, it was only recently a nurse who moved to Tennessee from California was denied a license and told he needed to go back through school...I don't know the details but the impression it gave me was that there is some kind of defect in the standards in California compared to the rest of the country.

5150dx · May 10, 2004

I just finished this winter, ADN, and am very thankful for the opportunity. I had a strong background in emergency medicine/ambulance and passed the NCLEX at 75 questions - with no study for that particular test. Now, I am having no trouble finding work. I agree with whoever said that the NLN has stringent standards for schools which want to be accredited... and EC has met them time and time again! There will be the occasional "mistake" that happens to make it through the EC program but, I suspect, no more often then those produced by traditional "programs"... yegads! I could point out quite a few nurses who went the traditional route and can't think themselves out of a corner OR have any real experience with patients.... sigh....

I strongly support the programs that Excelsior College offers.

Kristin

NurseChick04 · May 10, 2004

I am also doing the Excelsior program and I live in California. I haven't enrolled yet and plan to when I get a couple tests out of the way. I know that CA does not accept this program but when I am done they can be short another nurse because I am thinking of moving out of this state. I am a single mom and I work full time..this is the only way for me to go back to school. I feel this program makes you learn more simply because you are learning everything on your own. My question is...if I get licensed in another state and want to come back here to CA will they license me by waiver if I am an EC grad? I know I need to call the boards and ask them but it is hard when I am at work so if anyone knows this please pass on the info. Also, what about these so called compact states that allows one to get a license and use it in several states instead of having to get one for every state?

NurseChick04 · May 10, 2004

No, reading stupid comments like yours is a total waste of time! I have met so many nurses that brag about what good grades they got in nursing school and they are so incompetent I wouldn't let them take care of my dog! I would be cautious of you anyway since the simplest words you spell wrong. I hear they have a few English classes through Excelsior..want their number? :rolleyes:

This school is a total was of your time if you truly want to learn and be confident in your abilities as an RN go to either an ADN program or BSN program. There is a reason way this school was banded in CA. You have no guidance and you truly arent't given the skills you need to be successful as a nurse.

Ex130Load · May 10, 2004

NurseChick04, there's an expression about living in glass houses and throwing stones. I feel it most definitely applies to you. You passed judgment on another poster's clinical skills based upon her spelling ability. The two are not necessarily linked to each other. I could critically analyze some of your sentences and wonder if they are reflective of your clinical skills--lack of commas, the word but is a conjunction and its use usually mandates a comma before, use of I twice within a sentence and separated by the word and (redundant), subject-verb agreement (...these... states that allows... ), the correct use of "...", incorrect word usage--...about what good grades... ("the" would have been a much better choice than what), a run-on sentence, etc. ad nauseum. To call another person stupid--wow. I'm somewhat surprised the moderator let that one fly without a comment to the effect of being less personal and or that each is allowed their own opinion. When you launch into personal tirades, keep in mind your comments become public record for to judge. None of us are perfect, some more painfully so than others. My response is not intended as a rebuke, but as a point to consider. However, if you fail to undersatand the gist and feel obligated to respond as previously, well... bring it on. Hopefully you won't. Hopefully, you'll consider my intention, its worth, and modify future actions.

For the record to one and all, I apologize for any grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. errors.

Monist · May 10, 2004

I got my B.Sc. through Excelsior (at the time it was called Regents). I took courses at various colleges and a lot of independent study courses from Brigham Young and transferred them into my degree program. I think it's the best thing in education--at least for a Liberal Arts degree. I really don't know how it could work for a nursing degree. I just finished school, and while surely the lectures could have been replaced by just being home and reading the book, the clinical hours we did could not have been done independently, or at least I don't see how they could have. On the other hand, an RN-BSN might work just fine through Excelsior.

FROGGYLEGS, LPN · May 10, 2004

This school is a total was of your time if you truly want to learn and be confident in your abilities as an RN go to either an ADN program or BSN program. There is a reason way this school was banded in CA. You have no guidance and you truly arent't given the skills you need to be successful as a nurse.

Have you ever been enrolled with Excelsior? What knowledge do you have about their nursing programs? I would be quite interesting in knowing what your experience with Excelsior was that helped you to form such strong and negative opinions.

I have no interest in flaming you, however I do find your post to be inflammatory toward Excelsior nursing students and graduates.

Sheri257 · May 10, 2004

Well, before everybody gets upset, perhaps I could add some insight, at least from the California debate:

Sure, there are good nurses who come from the EC program. But there were people with little experience who were also obtaining RN licenses. And, they were causing major problems for some hospitals. Since there was no way to verify which EC grads would be OK and who wouldn't (and I'm talking about NEW grads, NOT experienced RNs), some hospitals adopted a no hire policy and complained to the BORN.

Case in point: Even in the pro-EC distance learning forum on this board, there are occassional posts from people with little clinical experience who ask: "Should I go through EC?" Even some EC grads and students tell them not to go through EC, since they don't have enough clinical experience.

But, the important point here, is that there's nothing to stop those people from discarding that advice, and going through the program anyway. Some may make it, and some won't, but those who do can potentially cause problems, since there's few mechanisms in place to ensure that these people have the required clinical training.

This was the dilemma for California, especially since some major hospital chains and nursing associations were complaining. I've read the board minutes, and it doesn't look like Excelsior was seriously trying to remedy the situation by making their additional clinical proposals voluntary.

So, California decided that they had to comply with the state's regulations for supervised clinicals. EC said they couldn't do that, and pulled out of the state. They are now suing the board over this issue.

:coollook:

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · May 10, 2004

I have to say that I have never felt that I had "no guidance" at EC. On the contrary, I've found a great amount of support from the staff, my peers in the study groups, and graduates of the program. I've never had a question unanswered, and have never felt in the dark about anything in this program. Most of us are LPNs, so we already have the nursing skills down pat. For those in my study groups who aren't already nurses (mostly RTs and EMTs), there are lots of workshops out there to help with that, and most of them utilize them. No one is going to be able to get through this program without clinical skills, because the CPNE (the final clinical exam) tests you on this. They will fail you over a small detail not performed. There have been people who have failed over not placing a barrier on a scale when weighing an infant, for not checking for blood return in an IV, for not checking the status of an IV, for having a small air bubble in the syringe in the IV push sim lab, for calling a pt by their first name without permission, etc. You are expected to perform nursing care perfectly and to a T, or you are stopped and failed for that particular pt care situation. The same goes with documentation during the CPNE. If you don't document every implementation carried out, if it was effective or not and why, and write out a justification of your priority nursing Dx to the examiner's satisfaction, you will fail. There is no way to pass this final exam without possessing the skills necessary to perform the areas of nursing care they want done, or to document it. Therefore, if you're not on the same level as every other graduate RN by the time you do this exam, you aren't going to graduate from this program.

The study manual for it alone is enough to make some run screaming- it's huge!

RN34TX · May 10, 2004

This school is a total was of your time if you truly want to learn and be confident in your abilities as an RN go to either an ADN program or BSN program. There is a reason way this school was banded in CA. You have no guidance and you truly arent't given the skills you need to be successful as a nurse.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I've seen so much heated debate about Excelsior College since the CA decision. I used to work in a teaching hospital and see LPN/LVN, ADN ,and BSN students rotate through my floor. As an LVN, the only thing that I needed an RN to do for me was hang blood or manage an epidural. LVN's where I worked did their own IV push meds, etc. I know that a lot of states do not allow this broad of a scope of practice for an LPN/LVN, but my question to you is....

If you were my nursing instructor in a traditional RN program, what would you do with me in the clinical setting to give me the "skills and guidance" that you are talking about that I lacked going through Excelsior?

I ask this because one of my instructors from LVN school said that she wasn't sure what she would do with someone like me during clinicals if she were teaching RN students.

My choice was partly based on the fact that I did not want to spend many clinical hours showing my instructor that I can draw up insulin corectly and put in foley catheters, I've been doing it for years. I just did not feel that I would benefit and become a better nurse by going that route. Maybe I'm wrong, what do you think that I was missing to make me a better RN by going the Excelsior route?

Sheri257 · May 10, 2004

There is no way to pass this final exam without possessing the skills necessary to perform the areas of nursing care they want done, or to document it. Therefore, if you're not on the same level as every other graduate RN by the time you do this exam, you aren't going to graduate from this program.

You may be right Laura. But other hospitals and nursing associations didn't see it that way. I assume the board felt they were experts on the subject, and deferred to their opinion.

:eek: