vonsay

Thanks a lot! I think that I'll take the advice and always use the practice exams. I certainly don't want to fail and have to wait 6 months to retake anything!

How do you get the practice tests? are they on the excelsior website? How much do they costs?

3pm to 11:30pm

If you cannot get federal financial aid for excelsior college. Can you defer old student loans? I know that you can defer loans if you are more than a half time student. But since things at excelsior are not set up as credit hours then how does this work?

Well I'm pretty ****** off because I am one of the "suckers" who have signed up with TCN. I thought everything was kool because I thought that the study guides were basically all that I needed. So they are not?? I haven't taken any of the tests yet and am currently study psychology. So are you guys telling me that I need to get more study books? TCN's guide wont be enough? How am I suppose to test myself before I take an exam so I won't screw up? How do I get the information for excelsiors recommended books? Is there any way to get out of my contract with TCN? They have already sent all of my books!

I totally understand how you feel. I received my license in May and started working in June. Everyday that I went in to to work I would tell myself that it would be my last day there. I was so stressed and so confused about half and what I was being taught. I had never seen so much paperwork in my life and the preceptors were not good teachers either. After about a month things began to get a little better, at two months I was still confused about some things but still it got even better. It DOES get better trust me! I think what messes up a lot of new nurses it that we don't really know what we are getting ourselves into while we are in school. So reality slaps us in the face once we get into the "real" world and boy is that a big giant slap! So through the grieving process of coming to grips with "reality" it becomes very difficult. It will get better! I tell myself this everyday.... It also helps a great amount to get a shift that your body works with. When I was on days I was a mess. I absolutely hate getting up early and takes me hours to finally "wake" up in the morning. I started my shift at 7 and wasn't really with it until about 9. Now I am on afternoons which are really good for my biological clock. So I am now alert and oriented x 3 for the whole day! LOL

There is no way that they can pin something on you if you were not working that day. Try not to worry about that! The proof is in the fact that you did not clock in that day. The protocol for some facilities is that you keep with the normal schedule for BID (in this case it may be 7 - 7 in your facility). So if the order didn't come through until 1pm, you had no choice but to either give it at 7pm or call doc and get a stat order x 1. I am a new nurse as well and I'm telling you that a lot of (not so good) places will ALWAYS try to pin any mistakes on the new nurse! Do not let this discourage you! Cover your #ss at all cost and write down EVERYTHING! If you chart, chart, chart thoroughly then you have your proof. Another thing, we are constantly bombarded with the threat that you will lose your license for anything. Make sure that you know the rules and regulations for your state. This will give you the confidence to know if it will be a "license" threat or just a "job" threat in the case of an error. Trust me you'd rather lose the job then your license so know the difference by knowing the rules and regulations.

Hello all, I am enrolled in college network and have been sent all of my books, materials etc. The problem is that I kinda jumped in while I was still in LPN school and wasn't working. So now I am like 4 months behind on my college network tuition payments ( I pay as I go through one of the credit unions that they offer). They are threatening to send my loan to collections. I was wondering if that does happens before I am able to pay it, will that affect my being able to enroll into excelsior? Do I need to take my 5 clep prereqs before I can enroll and is it another way to go about it? Yes I am going to pay them asap because I have just started working. But it may be too late if they send me to collections. I want to call and discuss this with them but I know that they are going to say "yes your chances will be ruined" because they want me to hurry up and send the money. Thanks for any input.

Well I guess I better stop complaining. I took my boards yesterday and got a lot of SATA and priority (like 25 to 30 of them) and computer shut off at 85. I don't think I did all that well and was praying that the test kept going to give me a chance to reprieve myself just in case I was doing bad. When it shut off I about went crazy!! Everything seemed like a blur while I was taking the test. Almost like I really wasn't there but dreaming instead. Here in Illiniois we can get quick results in 48 hours. So I only have to wait until tomorrow. They should do that for all states because a person can literally go crazy waiting for those results. Vonsay

Well I read the book like crazy. And I did the CD until my eyes became sore. I think I studied out of that book more than any other. The book is good but the CD can be frustrating. Although they claim it is 3000 questions, I kept getting the same ones over and over. I took my Nclex yesterday and I don't think I passed it. I can rattle off diseases and all kinds of content like crazy. But I wasn't prepared for the many many priority questions that I kept getting. I only got 1 math and 3 med questions. I will know the results tomorrow. Back to the book, it is useful and I really like the cram sheet in the front of the book and took it everywhere with me. I just seems that I had a hard test that didn't have much exam cram content.

So did you get the job right after school or were you experienced?

Yes, that makes perfect sense. I guess I wouldn't want to be in a situation where my license is jeapordized because I wasn't experienced enough to know how to do something. I'm anxious to get on with my career, not anxious to have to work in a nursing home for a year to get experience! But I've come this far and I suppose a year is not such a long time......

How likely is it that a fresh LPN could get a job in HH? I am doing a preceptor at a home health agency and they seem so excited to have me. I'm wondering if this means that there is a possibility of them offering me a job? I know that I don't have any experience but is it feasible to think that they may train and hire me? Also, what exactly do LPN's do in the home health setting opposed to RN's?

Congrats!! Good luck, you always have us here for support!!

Oh, good! I graduate next month and am anticipating working overtime on a regular basis to get back on track after not being able to work for the past 15 months! Hopefully I am going to want to work overtime? LOL!

I was taught to give meds and then check back in 30 min. for PO meds. So you told the interviewer correct as far as I know. I think you were correct in telling her no to the emergency situation. You would have looked stupid if you told her yes and then sat there and tried to make up a story. The interviewer my have seen right through it. Don't count yourself out yet!

So are the salaries that you guys list with a ton of overtime of is it just your normal work week? I used to work in the steel mill where I made 50,000 a year but only made 15.00 and hour. It was the overtime that made the difference. I think that as long as I have the opportunity to make extra money with OT then 20 to 25 dollars will do me fine.

I want to go into home health and specialize in wound care/colostomy care. I have tried some hospitals and nursing homes but it is difficult because a nurse must be willing to take you on personally. I don't know of any personally. I figured it was a long shot posting on here but anything is worth a try!

Would there be any RN's out there willing to precep me in February? I need someone who is located in chicago (or outlying suburbs) or Northern Indiana. I am in LPN school and will be finishing my last class this month. I need to do 90 hours within the month. It doesn't matter what shifts or dates or what field the RN is in. The criteria is that the RN has to have had his/her license for 3 consecutive years. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I am in LPN school which cost $21,000 dollars (yes waaay too much). There is a private college which has an ADN program with no waiting list which charges $30,000 dollars! After checking that school out, I met with a college network rep. When she told me that the whole ADN/ASN program was $11,000 dollars I was shocked! I thought I was getting off cheap! LoL! Now I read (after the fact) that I could have saved half of that? Geesh! Oh well, too late now! But I'm going to make the best of it and prayerfully it works out great for me. Hey Guys, please tell me that money is the only negative issue with College Network?

If a person fails an EC exam or prereq course. Can you continue to the next module and come back to that one (since you have to wait 6 months) or are you stuck on that module until you pass? I just signed up with College Network and was stunned to find that if you fail a Dantes or Clep test that you have to wait 6 WHOLE months! Is that crazy or what? Why so long?

Thank you so much!! Definitely never thought about A, didn't even know about B and C! So thanks again!! I wish that I was in PA so I could look you up (I'm in Indiana).

Hello all, I am 3 months from graduating from PN school and need advice on finding a preceptor nurse. I want to go into home health nursing as this has been my plan since the beginning of school. The director of nursing at my school has informed us that we can find our own precep. as long as it is an RN who has had a license for 3 years. I figured that It would make sense to precep in the area that I want to specialize in. Problem is, I don't know where to start looking! Yes, they offer preceptors at the school but it is no difference then med-surg clinicals with 5 to 10 students under 1 Rn. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

I am in LPN school and am broke, broke, broke!!! Most of my classmates are CNA's and can manage to work around the crazy school hours. I am not an CNA and was wondering if there are any jobs that I can do in the field while in school? I need the flexible hours that the medical field can provide. I can sit for the CNA test and am waiting for springfield to mail me the date to take the test. But I would like to find something now. Any suggestions? What kind of job can I get with the nursing school/clinical experience only?

I live in Chicago Il. and a new LPN makes about $22 per hour. If you get with the right place you can make $20 an hour with license pending. Can you make a decent living as a LPN? I'd say yes, but then again, its all relative to your situation. Not only that, but it all depends on your money management skills. If you dont have budgets and spend money with wild abandon, it doesnt matter how much you make you will still come up short. I know people who make 10 to 12 bucks an hour and live better than I was when I was making $25 an hour because I didnt manage my money well! Now that I have the opportunity to make that again, I will manage it better and yes you can make it work for you.