lpn to bsn program through athabasca uni??

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Hi all, just wondering if any lpns have gone this route through athabasca university? I understand i would need to register with clpn of alberta to do this and do the clinical portion in alberta, but i was wondering how hard it is doing the program at a distance. Any info on this would be appreciated.

thanks

m

Hi,

Yes, that is correct and I did mention this in post #9. There are 4 clinicals that are done in Alberta. I believe two of them are 1 month each, one is 11 days and the last one is about three months. Definitely this is a big consideration but there are lots of people taking this course from out of province and even out of country. I move from Nova Scotia last summer partly with thoughts of enrolling in this course because I have three young children it would have been really hard for me to leave for that amount of time to do the clinicals otherwise. There is tons of work out here for LPN's.

Tina

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What you have to remember as well is, Athabasca clinicals may be anywhere in the province. One person I know doing this course had to go to Lethbridge to do her clinicals and she lives in the Edmonton area. So you have to budget in accomodation and travelling costs.

What I'm waiting to see is how Capital Health is going to pay their PNs in the next contract negotations. Full scope for a PN now include IV meds, starts, etc. The gap is closing in the skill set, so when will the wage gap close up a little?

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hi there,

With regard to your post and Fiona post I really find your information helpful. I am a recent RPN grad and I am really considering doing the distance ed with Athabasca. On the course description page the courses you said that you were doing are not in cluster A do you need to do these courses. Also you stated at exam time you need to find an invigilator. Does Athabasca provide a list or reference as to where you can find such person? Also you have been doing well as to commiting to your studies. Good luck and thanks

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i was just reading over my post and realized that my first sentence was not appropriate. what I meant to say was I find that both edmonton and fiona post were very very helpful and I am thankful to you both for your information.

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You can look at the calender on line under the LPN to BN program. There are three clusters that contain the courses that you are required to take and you must complete the clusters in order. Then there are the electives, which you can take whenever. I did all my electives first but apparently this is not really recommended.

You need to find your own invigilator, but Athabasca does give you some suggestions such as local colleges, career schools, teachers, libraries I don't think it would be to hard to find somebody.

Have you decided to start the program?

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Hello, I am finding these forums verry helpfull. I am a Registered Cardiology Tech but have recently moved to a verry small town due to my husbands job, unfortunatly I can not work in the cardiology field becuase there really isn't one her. I would love to become a RN I would appreciate the help in finding the best way to get there? the closest Uni is 3 1/2hrs away but I can do the LPN course here at a local college. Basically I am wondering if taking the two yr LPN course in class than doing the bridge to BN from Athabasca is the best way to go?? Would I have to work 1700 hrs before I can start my BN? thank you all!

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You do need to get the required hours before going into the bridging program but you can do all the electives first before starting the actual bridging program then once you have the hours apply for the bridging program and then transfer the elective into the bridging program. That will give you a good head start. Hope that helps.

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Thank you EdmontonAB, if you don't mind I have a few more questions. I am wondering how long it takes most people to finish there bridging program? my plan if everything goes as planned is to work casual as a lpn so I can devote more time to the program. Also I am wondering if I get my LPN, and work 1700hrs is that all I need to have in order to enroll in the bridging program? I graduated high school but my marks are less than perfect. I looked at the Athabasca website and it says if secondary schooling isn't up to pare college courses may be accepted??With the Electives is there a pre-req to do those before my hrs? How are you finding everything? thanks again!!

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You do have seven years to finish the program but I think most people do it in around four years from what I hear. Most of the students are also working to some degree. You do need to send them your high school transcript when applying for the program. I'm not sure what is required from high school, it would be best to phone Athabasca and talk with them as they can let you know for sure and they are very helpful. I did most of my elective before applying to the actual bridging program but I just did this while waiting for my transcript and Alberta LPN registration to go through. I finding the program to be really good. I just finished my second clinical and it was an excellent experience.

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For EdmontonAB:

I am finishing up my LPN program this summer and am planning on following your route with the bridging program at Athabasca University. I am thinking of taking most of the elective classes in the year that I will be finishing up my 1700 clinical work hours.

In one of the posts you said that they do not recommend finishing most of the electives prior to enrolling in the program but you did it anyways. So, even though they do not recommend it, i am guessing that they approved of it if you have finished it? Is that correct? How did you find it?

So, how far are you with the program? Almost done? And have you heard about any employers attitudes towards someone with a BscN degree from an online university? I haven't met anyone who have finished their degree that way and was wondering how easy or difficult it was for them to find a job after finishing the degree? I do not in any ways want to be discriminated by my managers or employers in regards to my degree!!!

I would appreciate your response to this or a response from anyone who is taking this route can pitch in and illuminate my way through this quest. Thank you so much in advance.

Boomerang

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EdmontonAB:

I loved reading through your posts..They were really encouraging. Thank you. Good luck with your studies.

Boomerang.

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hi there, tina, its abie

thank you so much for your reply. i have more confident doing the program, i really would like to thank you some more. also i have more question to ask you, one how longe does it take to finish the nursing course, and how many courese were you taking to add up to 30 credit. and how many would you recomend. i realy want to get stared and also finish right away, what advise would you give me. and how is the exam, are they hard. and do you think i can do the program in less than 2 years. and can you tell me what elective you started up with first. you see i live in toronto canada and althabasca sound far away, i wanted to talk to some one that have don or at least stared the program, i wanted to know if this is right for me, i mean the distand internet learning that is what really scare me about the program i feel that there is no one to help me. but i do thank you every much. over here in toronto every thing is too hard, first you need to up grade to a deploma which is one year and another year in college and you need a gpa 3.25 to get in the uni and then if you make it you do the 2years in uni a total of 4 years in school if you don't drop any of the coures. so this is why am asking you al this question, i hope you are ok with it, once again thank you. i wish i can speak to you on the phone or chat. thak you and please repply. thanks

I've been doing the program through Athabasca for a year now and have completed 10 courses (30 credits). I'm really think it is a good program. Some courses are on-line, mostly the books and all course materials are sent to you. In the courses I have done the quizzes have been done on line and asssignmnents are either e-mailed or sent in my regular email. For the exams I go to the learning centre in Edmonton as I live in Edmonton but otherwise you can arrange to write the exam with an invigilator. Such as at a community college or I know my local library will invigilate exams. You do have to do 4 clinical practicums which must all be done (I believe) in Alberta. You also have to get registered as an LPN in Alberta once you apply to the BN program. You can start taking electives right away though and just apply them to the program once you change over to it. They credit you 30 credits for the LPN course and one-year experience. I'm not sure what else to tell you. It was definitely a challenge for me as I had never written a research paper, have no University experience and have been out of school for a long time. But having said that I have made out really good in all of my courses. I haven't had one problem with the University so far so I'm happy with the program. I find it really accessible. I have heard some places of employment will sponsor you through the program if you sign a retention paper ( I really don't know the details, though). If you have any other questions let me know I'm happy to answer them as I know I had so many questions before I started the program>

Tina

Hi abie rn, Did you registered for the lpn to bn program at athasbasca? if yes, how is it going so far? because i am interested in the program and would like more information. Thanks in advance for your reply.

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