Has anyone contacted EC about the CPNE wait time?

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2007

well to my knowledge it has been this way for years. i think the standard wait time is 6-8 months. i am grateful for that time so i can prepare.

and if they plan on doing anything about it? i read some people get their date in 6 months and others get it in a year... does anyone know if they plan on opening more sites? i always think of these things after work hours :-)

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Dec 19, 2007

Hiring graduate-educated CE's and CA's has been one of the sticking points I think. For those of you who feel prepared, you might check into getting a cancellation date. I got my date that way only a few weeks after registering. I think it helps if you periodically call the RPAC and let them know you're interested. (Call enough so that they know you, but not so much that they hate you.)

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2007

is there way to request a cancellation date after a certain date or do you have to take what they offer if you do get a cancellation date... the only hand up for me is i work weekends and it would be so hard to get replaced in a sudden( plus i cannot afford it anyway) . by having it planned out and betting on the chance i would take it after may 30th i can use my vacation day's.

hiring graduate-educated ce's and ca's has been one of the sticking points i think. for those of you who feel prepared, you might check into getting a cancellation date. i got my date that way only a few weeks after registering. i think it helps if you periodically call the rpac and let them know you're interested. (call enough so that they know you, but not so much that they hate you.)

changeofpaceRN · Dec 19, 2007

I was just wondering since I saw some post about there being 4000 students who enrolled before the deadline (when usually they have a few hundred a month who apply). I was just thinking of how back-logged it can get should those 4000 who registered in October beat me to it :-/

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Dec 19, 2007

I'm sure they could work with you if you call your RPAC and explain the situation - or even if you make a notation at the bottom of your CPNE app.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Dec 19, 2007

I was just wondering since I saw some post about there being 4000 students who enrolled before the deadline (when usually they have a few hundred a month who apply). I was just thinking of how back-logged it can get should those 4000 who registered in October beat me to it :-/

I'm not sure whether this will encourage you or discourage you, but here goes. Keep in mind that an astounding percentage of the people who enroll will never finish the NC exams and get to the CPNE. In fact, a pretty good number get stuck in the procrastination rut and never register for NC 1.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Dec 20, 2007

Eric, you said exactly what I was thinking. I'm betting the usual number of people will proceed through the exams, and the others will just count it as an expensive life lesson.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2007

this is true

i'm not sure whether this will encourage you or discourage you, but here goes. keep in mind that an astounding percentage of the people who enroll will never finish the nc exams and get to the cpne. in fact, a pretty good number get stuck in the procrastination rut and never register for nc 1.

toddalex · Mar 7, 2008

9 months, they say!?!? I can't see how anyone can see 1 year of mandatory down time in a 2-year degree program as anything but looney. Regardless of whether it affords more time to prepare for the clinicals, it's totally WACKO!! How can anyone justify it? You are guaranteed to be 1 year behind schedule, so you need to cram 2 years of coursework into the first year just to overtake the stinkin' waiting period and graduate in a conventional timeframe. Add one more clinical test to this ASN fastrack, and you could be an MD by the time you're done waiting. It's amazingly foolish, especially when it's boxed and touted as an "at-your-own-pace" bridge program for those with prior clinical experience... they're literally burning your time, oh seasoned paramedics and LPNs. A person could apply directly to RN school from McDonald's and get registered faster than this. I can't believe it's being shrugged off by some like no prob. :angryfire Wise up, clinicians! Get angry! REVOLT!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Mar 7, 2008

Most of us go into this aware that there is a wait time. EC knows that students are displeased with the wait. They are beginning to take steps (i.e., adding weekday dates in addition to the weekends) to address the issue.

People have requested a cancellation date and tested in as little as 4 to 5 months. There are ways to shorten the wait time. Is it annoying? Yes. Is it great? No. Did I still choose this path? Hell yes. I'd rather take the wait time over killing myself to commute between work and school and sit in a classroom or do clinicals for hours on end until the wee hours to just get up and repeat the day all over again. Been there, done that with paramedic school. Won't do it again. Didn't sleep much during those couple of years.

I also think it's going to get awfully messy if even a fraction of that huge surge of students applies for the CPNE ... I'm interested to see what happens, and what changes EC might make to the structure of the CPNE, or if they'll come up with a different clinical format.

toddalex · Mar 7, 2008

I'm a medic, too. I hear what you're saying on one hand, on the other hand, I'm waving my cap on my sword, and I want you to be RILED UP like me! I think we can and should be vocal about the fact that it is not a minor inconvenience but absolutely outrageous on its face to have a two year ASN bridge program with up to one year of mandatory down-time baked into it, in effect making it a three-year "two-year" degree. That's like setting someone up to run a marathon with half their body weight in bricks strapped to their backs! NOT FAIR.

Students of Excelsior are cash-paying customers with every right to vehemently opine about this, regardless of whether they knew about it in advance. It seems petty and procedural, it plays on students' lack of alternatives, it does not respect students' time, and it potentially harms underserved students who aspire to nursing. Months and months on end is simply too long to wait in line for a 40% fail-rate test and a livelihood-generating diploma once the coursework is done. Those who shrug it off are helping to keep this procedural green monster in place, in my humble view. :madface: