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Discussion

Please help! Need advice.

Hello,

I'm fairly new to this site, being this is my 2nd post. I'm in a bind and any advice offered would be fully appreciated. I completed 3/4 semesters of an associate's nursing program but b/c I failed the final by a few points, I cannot progress to my last and final semester. So now I'm on a waiting list to get back in and repeat the course. But who knows how long I have to wait. This is why I'm asking what to do in the meantime instead of wasting a semester. I've considered:

1. Calling other nursing schools but I would have to start all over again and is a waste of time and money. That would be last option.

2. An expensive 11-month LPN program. But does this mean I going backwards? I know if I do very well, it will be easier to bridge to an LPN-RN program.

3. Excelsior Program: I've considered this because a) I have so many credits but no degree to show for it, & b) I qualify b/c I've completed 50% of the RN program. My main concern and fear is the CPNE. I've been reading the posts of students failing for not slowing down the IV push, not microwaving Jell-O. This is a very expensive exam and would hate to fail for any little thing. I've read the workshops are very helpful and the CDs/DVDs from former students are great too. Is it really possible to pass the CPNE with little training? I work as a nurse tech and have worked as a home health aide. The skills I know of are the ones taught in nursing school. Can someone please break down what was asked of you each day when you did the CPNE?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

AFQN

Featured Replies

  • Moderator

First day: skills lab -- IV push, IV drip calculation and gravity drip regulation, IM/SQ injection with med calculations (you won't know which you'll get), and packing a wound using sterile technique. You can fail each lab once, with repeats Saturday afternoon/evening. If you fail the repeat lab, you're done -- failed the weekend.

Second and third days: Patient Care Situations (PCSs). You'll have two adults and one pediatric patient -- yes, real patients. You do two PCSs on Saturday, then one on Sunday (as long as you have no repeats). You can repeat one adult and one pediatric PCS. You have to write nursing care plans, perform assigned areas of care (3 to 5 areas), and document everything without omitting anything Excelsior designates as a critical element for each PCS. You have 2.5 hours for each PCS -- and it does go by pretty quickly!

The CPNE study guide is approximately 500 pages long, so it's a pretty intense endeavor, to say the least.

Also, you'll likely have to repeat all of the nursing exams -- they don't typically transfer nursing credits from other schools. Only LPNs get to waive the second exam. So essentially, you'd be starting all over again, which you already noted would be a waste of time. When will you find out when you'll get to repeat your last semester? I think that would be best ... otherwise you'd have to deal with the whole state BONs not accepting EC grads. Which state are you in?

I failed the CPNE first time through.

Lunah has good advice. We're here for more answeres.

:)

Just wait on your school to see if you can get back in. I don't recommend starting over unless you cannot get back into your traditional program. EC is hard and requires alot of committment and dedication. I would only do it if you cannot get back into your previous program. I went through EC's program and passed everything within 1 year. Good Luck and let us know what you decide.

Kim, GN

Please take plenty of time to consider the next step. See what your school will do for you as far as getting you back in. It takes people usually from 1-2 years to do ECs program, sometimes longer. The CPNE is quite a bear but doable. To add to Lunah's post as an aside, if you get the assignment of 2 adults on Saturday and peds on Sunday (like I did--luck of the draw) and you fail the both adults on Saturday, you're done for the weekend. I couldn't believe how fast the 2.5 hours went. People talk about having an hour left over and stuff when they do their PCSes--I have no idea how. Maybe it's the assignments they get. However, everyone had either breakfast or lunch during my PCSes except the baby, and he just had a bottle.

I generally recommend that if someone is able to do a traditional program to just do it that way because EC is not usually the fast and definitely not easy way to go about getting an RN. Then you probably won't have a licensing issue if you move to another state, either.

Anyway, take a bit to consider. Good luck. :)

  • Author

Thank you very much LunahRN, SuesquatchRN, and NC Girl 35 for your responses.

What I meant by wasting time doing a traditional nursing program again is going to clinicals twice a week for 5 hrs or more, sometimes wasting time standing around looking for something to do just to look busy, writing 10+ pages of care plans, and driving every day. At least with Excelsior, I can transfer my general education credits which I have a lot of and just focus on passing the nursing exams. I understand that my nursing credits won't transfer into Excelsior, but hopefully I wouldn't have to do any extra classes.

I don't know when my school will allow me to repeat the semester. The one letter I did get from them in the mail stated that the committee hadn't met yet and they would let me know what the decision was. That was the 2nd week in January. I called the school today and the secretary told me that if I didn't get a letter or a call, that meant I wasn't starting this semester, but am on the waiting list. I don't know how long that will take.

I don't know how to do IV pushes or pack a wound. Are you telling me when the time comes, if I just remember the critical elements and practice the skills from the study guide, I will have no problem with the CPNE?

I know I'm getting ahead of myself even though I haven't applied and been accepted into the program, but I would like to foresee what I'm getting myself into and if it is doable. So the first day skills are set. With the PCS, one wouldn't know what care to provide to the pt until the 2nd & 3rd day? What are these grids that everyone keeps talking about and lastly, where do we write the plan of care and record initials after given meds, or I&Os?

I know I've asked a lot of questions. Oh by the way, I'm in NY. Before considering Excelsior, I called the NYSBON and the lady told me that Excelsior is accepted in NY, but to be careful if I decided to move to another state where they don't accept EC grads.

Thank you soooooooo much for answering my questions and giving me useful feedback.

  • Author

Were any of you LPNs, nursing students, or work in the health care field before doing Excelsior? So you have 2.5 hrs to complete the PCSs, what if a pt is too slow in eating his food? It's not as if you can rush the pt in order to complete everything on time, can you? Does this have anything to do with time management when assigned to two pts?

  • Moderator

All EC students are either people like you who have attended at least 50% of a nursing program, or we're some flavor of healthcare provider already -- otherwise we wouldn't be eligible for the program. :)

The CPNE does want to look at your time management skills, yes. And no, you can't rush a patient through their food, or deny them that trip to the restroom because you want to do your respiratory assessment, or anything like that. But you do only have one patient at time -- the PCSs are consecutive, not concurrent.

They will extend your time if your patient is eating too slowly. I found the CEs were quite gracious with extending time for things we couldn't control, like the patient's eating. You will only have 1 patient at a time. I am an LPN but have not worked in nursing for a while. I failed, but it wasn't my old experience that failed me. The time management thing comes in when you are writing a care plan, organizing care, charting, giving medications, etc., etc. I am very wordy and particular about my documentation and not the fastest nurse anyway.

  • Moderator
Are you telling me when the time comes, if I just remember the critical elements and practice the skills from the study guide, I will have no problem with the CPNE?

Like most things in life, there are no guarantees. In a perfect world, yes -- if you study and prepare, you should be fine. But there are some fabulous nurses and EC students here who put in the time and still didn't pass on the first try, or even the second try. You only get three attempts at the CPNE before you are dropped from the program.

  • Author

Oh, ok. Thank you so much to you, LunahRN and applescruffette, for clarifying. It makes sense now.

  • Author

Yes, I read that. That's the scary part.

I would wait and get back into your current program.. by the time you did do EC, it would be about 1-1.5 years until your done (I believe you have to take all the nursing concept exams regardless of how much school you have completed). I just passed the CPNE earlier this month. It was worth it for me but if I were you, I would wait on your current program.

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