gave up excesior for a trad. school

1. yep...gave up excelsior for a university 2 year bsn. program...i feel as though a weight has been lifted!
   
   no worries about whether or not my RN diploma will be kept from me by a scrutinizing ce ("oops, you touched that glove that fell on the floor with the edge of your shoe and lost your body's sterility...FAIL...go home, and don't forget to send the $1300 usd cheque for the next time around on the cpne")
   
   no more horrible night mares about whether or not i will bomb on the cpne and never get behind the nsg station as an rn. no more cares about whether my 3rd attempt on the cpne will be unsuccessful. forgive me if i am discouraging any other prospective excelsior students...but i dont think that this program is a very honest, and fair way of getting an ADN in nsg. NO nurse is 100% perfect and this should not be expected of anyone at any stage of nursing particularly at the beginner level in a testing situation. i thought that the program prepared one to be a 'first-day' nurse...not a veteren nurse who is perfect with all skills.
   
   as a non-rpn, this school was not going to meet my career goals either...i don't feel that learning how to give a back-rub and distraction activities REALLY WELL is the mainstay of nsg practise and should be emphasized so heavily. and so what if the blood pressure i read is slightly different than the examiner anyway? is this really such a big deal? wouldn't it be worse if i got the correct bp reading,but i didnt even know what to do if it were out of range? there was a little girl who died in a local hospital here from shock presenting with an extemely low and narrow pulse pressure. the oriental nurse who dealt with her was from a bsn program and had said she was never really taught the meaning of shock in school (fool). anyway, the child is dead, this 'nurse' (or criminal, whatever) is still working and the advice given in this act of malpractise was that the school emphasize on the concept of shock for its students. i wonder what excelsior would have to say about that.
   
   to me, skillful nursing practice is much more than 'perfect practise' and being taught to show skills like a robot. i really want to know what i am DOING as a nurse. as a non-nurse in this program i felt i would be at a real disadvantage for, say, moving eventually into fields like ICU, etc.
   
   dont get me wrong, excelsior is a good program in the right circumstance. i still maintain that if i were an rpn, this program would meet my needs. and that is really who the program was intended for. i guess i was just a dreamer and maybe too hopeful that wishful thinking and determination, could help me become that nurse i so want to be. i dont' see it as a loss...the theoretical preparation will position me perfectly to do well throughout the program i'm sure...hopefully this prep will be a little insurance for me, should i decide to sleep in on a morning class or two!
   
   it's never too late for dreams to come true. i'll be starting in sept 2002 and i know each month will bring me a step closer to my dream.
   
   thanks for listening everyone
2. 

   About healthyone

   Joined: Mar '02; Posts: 66; Likes: 1

   7 Comments

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3. 
   Jul 31, '02

   Occupation: ADON-LTC Specialty: 19 year(s) of experience in LTC, ER, ICU, ; Joined: Feb '01; Posts: 5,856; Likes: 36

   i am glad you have found the route to becoming a nurse that will be best for you. all the best to you!
4. 
   Aug 1, '02

   Occupation: Nurse Joined: Oct '01; Posts: 12,715; Likes: 2

   Healthyone, I'm glad too that you found a program that suits you.
   
   Not to sound ignorant but does "rpn" stand for registered practical nurse?
   
   Do you feel that the program would have been a better fit if you had been an "lpn" first? Just curious.
   
   Have a Good Day :wink2:
5. 
   Aug 1, '02

   Joined: May '01; Posts: 2,979; Likes: 7

   Just my opinion, but I think you made the right choice. Mail order nursing degrees are totally frightening to me, and I think you need the classroom instruction, clinical experience, and comraderie of your classmates to help with school. Nursing school is difficult, to say the least, and those programs have you doing most everything on your own, or that's my interpretation of them.
   I had planned to do my RN-BSN with Univ of MD's online program but now I'm not sure about that. I think it makes all the difference in the world if you're already an RN/LPN or have some medical background.
   I remember how lost I was clinically the first semester.... if I had the kind of unsupportive school experience you're talking about I probably would have quit. At least I had nursing school buddies to study with and complain to and go out for drinks with after finals...
6. 
   Aug 1, '02

   Joined: Apr '01; Posts: 154; Likes: 1

   Healthyone - Good decision especially if you were uncomfortable doing it and the money that's involved is astronomical. If it is not violating your privacy too much can you please tell me which unversity you are going to in Sept. for your BSN? also when did you apply? I am seriously considering moving out of state as in Phx we have 2 BSN programs. One is private school so tution outrageous but good repuation and ASU if I apply would not get in until Fall of 2003 and that is IF I get accepted - lots of applicants for only 80 slots.
7. 
   Aug 1, '02

   Occupation: ~Graduate Nurse~ Joined: Apr '01; Posts: 476; Likes: 3

   What is an Excelsior program? Is it some kind of computer class for nurses?
8. 
   Aug 1, '02

   Joined: Mar '02; Posts: 66; Likes: 1

   fulwood,
   
   there is really nothing especially interesting about this 2 yr. program compared to any other accelerated system. i had really wanted to go to u of rochester but i suppose this is a private university because the tuition was somewhere in the neighborhood of $35000/year. course length is one year. i had seriously considered this program, but with relocation expenses and everything else, this financially was not an option at all.
   
   i am a health professional with lots of experience, so that actual practical skills component, though lacking in this program, was not the scariest thing for me--i would have probably started off in a nsg home, and built up my skills from there and eventually gotten into a specialty area. so that really wasn't the stumbling block. it was the practical exam that so many students fail. i just didn't want that stress! i have completed all the theortical courses and did well, but to end up failing my clinical and told to go home because i turned my back on meds or on a sterile field just seems ridiculous to me. i was suckered in, i know. but like i said before, i am rectifying that by going back to trad. school. we also have an option to do a final placement in the setting of our choice for ~ 3 weeks...i will likely choose ICU.
   
   thank you all so much for listening and for the support...it was so hard making this decision. love y'all.
   
   healthyone
9. 
   Aug 1, '02

   Occupation: ADON-LTC Specialty: 19 year(s) of experience in LTC, ER, ICU, ; Joined: Feb '01; Posts: 5,856; Likes: 36

   originally posted by dgfuturenurse
   what is an excelsior program? is it some kind of computer class for nurses?

   it is formerly named "regents college" in new york. here is the site. www.regents.edu you may obtain your nursing degree through "home-study" and take the exams at a testing site located throughout each state.

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