HemOnc

Hi, this post was from Oct of 2022! It took me 5 weeks from application to approval. I heard that things are a bit slower now.

If you passed your boards and have the certification from AANP or ANCC, I would definitely apply. It takes time to find the right position, interview, and sort out other things. Hopefully, your license will be issued soon! Good luck:)

I definitely see your point, but CNAs are not required to maintain their CNA licenses after they become RNs. NPs are Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, still need that RN license to be an NP

Depending on the facility and specialty, nursing experience does play a role in the scenario you mentioned above. A nurse with relevant experience of 10 years should be paid more than someone with 2 years. It's called equity. Yes, they are both new APNs, but prior RN experience definitely counts. The point value of an RN is lower than that of an APN, but I would negotiate for a higher pay if I had relevant experience. Again, one size doesn't fit all and pay scales are not universal. Also depends on the location/ state. I would at least try:))

I passed my AGNP (AANP) boards 6 weeks ago, bought neither the PSI nor the APEA exams. So I apologize for the irrelevant response!! What I did: For pure exam-style questions, I bought a 5-test package on Examedge. It was fairly cheap and my AANP passing score was similar to my first attempts on these tests. Examedge probably has ANCC content as well, but the style is AANP. The actual questions on the boards were also short, no more than 3-5 sentences long. I studied the Leik flashcards for content. Fitzgerald has great content for learning and for practice AFTER licensure, but quite tedious for board-prep. Don't be disappointed with those scores, they were not true predictor exams. PSI is 75 Qs and APEA is 100 Qs, both random. The exit exam before graduation is a very good indicator of success on the boards. Good luck!!

Mine took exactly 5 weeks from application to approval. I had to call them every 10 days or so to get an update. It also helps to tell them that you already have an NP job that is waiting for the license number.

Congratulations on passing the boards!! I passed mine 6 weeks ago. Rutgers has an online course that meets the requirements for the pharmacology hours.

Thank you all for your responses! I will buy malpractice on my RN license and not renew my LPN license in 2016:)

I recently became a Registered Nurse and my LPN license expires in 2016. I live in NJ and know that it's one of those states will automatically let you practice within the scope of your highest licensure if you hold multiple licenses. Do I have to keep renewing my LPN license? I also buy my own personal liability insurance. Do I have to buy two separate policies? I remember back in LPN school, one of my instructors held both licenses all along.

The biggest disadvantage with online/ non-traditional learning for me was the lack of a peer network. I was all by myself and it was a total learning experience. Does Excelsior prepare you for the NCLEX? I would say, it somewhat does. It familiarizes you with exams at Pearson Vue. Excelsior recommends resources for exams, but you ultimately decide if you are learning for the purpose of just an exam or really build your knowledge base. While preparing for the CPNE, I learned a lot but couldn't retain all of it. The NCLEX is very different from the Excelsior exams. I watched a video on youtube by Kaplan that explained what the NCLEX is all about. I took my LPN boards in 2006 and the computer shut off at 86 questions. NCLEX-RN stopped at 79 questions. I passed both exams, but the questions didn't seem familiar both times. The NCSBN review course helped a lot, I couldn't have passed without it. I came to know about it through allnurses.com. Excelsior gives you access to ATI and I found that very useful as well. I personally feel that prior experience as a nurse puts you at a disadvantage while taking the boards. Reality is different from the material printed in textbooks. Strategy, Prioritization, Critical Thinking, Delegation, and Assessment- know these and you will be fine! I very strongly believe that education starts when schooling stops. Take the plunge and deal with situations as they arise, don't worry too much:))

My post sounded perfect, but I certainly did NOT start out efficiently! That's the 'trial and error' part, which is why I try to tell people not to repeat the mistakes I made! I was officially enrolled on Oct 2011 and took Information Literacy right away...so pleased with myself:)) I paid for my first exam (Lifespan) and bought a huge textbook. Needless to say, it was too much content and took me too long to review. I slacked off and got busy doing other things, 2 kids, new house, full-time job.....Got a call from one of the counselors FIVE months later, who told me that I would be done in 4 years if I went this slow! Oops..that was the wake-up call I needed. I took an exam every 5-6 weeks for a year. I could not transfer any credits from my LPN program as the school had a no-transfer policy. I could waive some general education credits because of my Bachelors in English. I took all nursing exams 4 weeks apart. The FCCA took 8 long weeks! Submitted my application for the CPNE in Dec 2013. I took Contemporary Mathematics (ugh) while I waited for my CPNE date. Cpne prep took 3 months. All-in-all, it took me just over two years to complete the program, a total of 17 exams and 58 credits!

Thanks Tara0219 for all the useful info!

Set yourself short-term and long-term goals. Make it a priority to take an exam at least every 4 weeks if not sooner. I bought SG101 and used Quizlet along with the Excelsior practice exams. The FCCA exams can be taken together and will take 8 weeks (instead of 16 weeks if taken separately), there is no rushing it. The CPNE is the real monster, but can be tamed. Do NOT overwhelm yourself with negative thoughts if you read something that is not positive! Preparation is the key, there are about a 100,000 posts on allnurses about the CPNE, make sure you read as many as you can when the time comes! Just remember that many people have had success with this program and so can you! Good luck!

Congratulations and thank you for the feedback! I stumbled upon WGU on allnurses last week and have been considering it for my RN-BSN. I graduated from Excelsior and was actually going to go back and get my BSN with them, but WGU seems like a faster, cheaper option. I have a Bachelors in a non-nursing field and can probably transfer some credits. Do you have a clinical component to the program? Any community hours/ projects? The $4000 every 6 months is very lucrative, but how soon after they take the first payment do they let you take courses? How about textbooks and other resources? Thanks again!

I graduated from Excelsior's LPN-RN this past July and passed my NCLEX as well:) I did not buy any textbooks while I was enrolled, but used SG101 and Quizlet. I also bought all the practice exams. Before starting to prepare for any exam, I would print a content guide for that exam and highlight all the areas covered. I made sure to review those areas and do the 20 questions that came with the study guide. I would then take one practice exam and read all the rationales, prepare a bit more based on the questions I saw and take the second practice exam. I found that to be the quickest way to study. It's all a process of trial and error...you will figure out a way that works for you! Good Luck!