flowerchildnc

There are only a couple left in my area that pay hourly. They start new RNs at $25 hour. Most are changing to per visit which is $30 for a regular visit, $45 for a recertification and $60 for an admission. This is the Fayetteville area.

You dont need college network to do this. They do have everything you need to finish like study books with only the info you need for the particular test you are taking but they charge alot more than you need to pay. You can also buy the college network books from people on ebay for much less. College network charges at least $400 per study book. I bought several of these on ebay for $15 to $25 per book.

I worked at a hospital that had $1500 per year tuition reimbursement and used that for tests. I bought the books they recommended but bought the last edition which costs about 90% less and has same info. There are also some study guides you can buy online which helped alot. The school gave me a student loan of $1950 for the CPNE. You also need to apply for the Pell and some students can get a grant from excelsior or a loan much like the government loans are set up.I took all my other classes at community college (A&P, Micro, humantities, everything except nursing classes because it costs much less than excelsiors) I took my literary class online at penn college online. It is only 1 credit hour and this way was only $90 compared to their class which cost closer to $1000 or a CC class for a couple hundred. They supplied the book and the two tests needed to pass and sent transcripts to excelsior. You can clep out of humantities if you need credit hours there. It gets expensive because every year you are still a student they charge another $400 for tuition. When you take the CPNE you really have to take a workshop to make sure you do it their way. They are very structured and very detailed with this test. So that is $1950 for the test plus cost of airfare and hotel and the workshops are fro $400 up to $1000 and cost of hotel too. Its much cheaper to take anything except nursing tests at a CC. You are able to take the first test without being enrolled and they waive test number 2 when you are an LPN so you could start paying after those two are behind you and save some time and money because as stated before you have to pay that yearly fee before you can finish. And one last note...I studied like crazy for the CPNE, took the test in Wis and failed. First fail she said I touched my shirt with my sterile gloves. they did not have my size and I wear a 7.5. I can hardly get a 7 on so had to wear a 9 which were way too big I still dont think I did this but they dont video it so its your word against theirs. On my PCS they did not like my careplan so failed me again. So..take your own sterile gloves just in case and would be good to do a careplan class. They dont give you a break if you fail it...have to come up with another $2000. Hope this helps...

I too was told that "nurses eat their young" and kept asking myself why I was starting a new career in this field where co-workers only wanted to bring me down. I started in LTC for a few months and now am working on a surgical floor in a busy hospital. I have only had good experiences with my co-workers so far. Every nurse has been helpful and very willing to teach. My preceptors have gone out their way to help me learn and everyone helps out if someone is falling behind. I wonder if the people who tell us this have some of their own attitude problems?

I gained 40 lbs during nursing school. I was hoping when I went to work it would start coming off but so far not a pound! Never thought about a girdle but if it works I may have to give it a try.

My friend was denied coverage for the very same reason and ended up having to pay over $700 a month just for herself. If he can get a job with the state or government they would cover him no matter what his conditions were. It is very frustrating.

My grandson was born with severe brain damage (another story) and put into NICU with no hope of any type of normal life. It was the nurses that helped me and my family through that unbearable time of grief. Two years later with pneumonia, he was taken off of life support with the entire family present along with two of the nurses that helped take care of him during his life. They were the reason I went to nursing school with the goal of working in the NICU. I will never forget how his nurses helped us...they listened while we suffered, hugged us when we cried and sometimes cried with us. He was in there for 6 weeks and then in and out of PICU many times during his short life. I want to thank all of you nurses who make a difference in the lives of the people and families you take care of...and you do make a difference!

I just graduated from the PN program and will be 48 this month. I'm going on to get a RN degree so I'll be 50 when I get there. I've always been about 20+ years behind where I should be but at least I'm getting there....Isn't 50 the new 30? LOL