jrsyjo

I'm sorry to hear of the bad preceptor experience(s). I actually feel truly blessed with my preceptor. I started a CVICU internship this June in a teaching hospital in Dallas. My preceptor and myself hit it off right from the beginning. I look forward to working on the unit each time I am there knowing she is going to be with me. When I make a mistake, she smiles and shows me what she has learned that would work better in that particular situation. She never has an unkind word to say, or makes me feel "dumb" when I obviously make a dumb mistake. She pulls back just enough to let me build my confidence and develop time management skills but knows when to be there at the "right" time when I need help. At the end of the shift, she always has the most encouraging words to say. If I was to sit down and right out all the qualities I would seek in a good preceptor (prior to beginning my internship), I would have missed many of the great qualities my preceptor possesses. What's funny though, is if she was to read this post, she would probably be embarrased by the amount of praise I have for her. My future career as an RN has been enriched by the dedication this young woman has to teaching new RN's. I believe in the deepest part of my spirit she was handpicked by God to be my preceptor. I wish blessings upon all of you, Mark

I thoroughly enjoyed the Excelsior program. Excelsior allowed me to move along at my own pace. I completed the program in one year. I took the CPNE this past March in Amarillo, TX. I thought the site and the examiners were excellent. I actually felt the CPNE was more "bark then bite". I believe those students that fail the CPNE (for whatever reason), pass along the "horror" stories about the CPNE. For example, an acquaintence of mine took the CPNE in Sept. 2005 in Atlanta. He failed. His excuse - the examiners were "out to get him". Emailed somebody else who took the exam at the same site on the same weekend - she passed and had nothing but great things to say about the site and examiners. I graduated this past April. I interviewed at two different hospitals and was offered internships (in the area of my choice) at the end of each interview. I am now in an internship in cardiovascular ICU at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. On a final note, I always received courteous service when I needed to speak to someone at Excelsior. As another poster stated, I did not need much help from Excelsior. I also tend to study better on my own. Hope this gives you another perspective on Excelsior. Mark

I took the exam today. A matter of fact I just got home from the exam. I am not "superstitious" and didn't even give it much thought until somebody pointed it out to me. I put my full faith and trust in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - not some silly number. My exam turned off at 75 questions. If I happen to fail, it's not because of an unlucky day, I just need to learn to prioritize better. That seemed to be the meat of this test. I only had one drug calculation and two multiple multiple questions. I'll find out my results in a couple of days. Mark

Alex1, I will also be starting an internship at UT Southwestern. Are you starting on June 19? My internship is in cardiovascular ICU at St. Paul's- can't wait to start! To let the original poster know - just graduated from an ADN program. This will be the first area of training as a new RN. So yes, you can have a hospital train you in a specialty area. I have a 1 year committment. Mark

I would like to know if any Excelsior graduates had or have any difficulty getting positions in the Dallas area hospitals. Are there hospitals that like Excelsior grads or are there hospitals that are downright hostile to Excelsior grads. I am near completion of Excelsior's program (waiting for a CPNE date). I have attempted to get on as a nurse extern or PCT in some of the major hospitals - Presby, Methodist, Parkland, etc. THe nurse recruiters seem real receptive at first. When I mention that I will be graduating from Excelsior, all of a sudden a wall goes up. I don't even get a chance to fill them in on my background. Very frustrating. I was even blatantly lied to by a nurse recruiter at one of the big hospitals regarding their nurse extern program. If anybody does know of a Excelsior friendly hospital I would be grateful if you could share this with me. If you know of any contacts, please PM me. Any input is apreciated. Mark

Thanks for your reply. I must have missed where it was stated in the guide that it may take up to 6 months for a test date. Your right about making phone calls. I talked to Marge yesterday. She is very pleasant to talk to and understands students frustrations. She seems a bit frustrated about the process herself. They are so backed up on applications that it is taking several weeks just to get to an application (they are4 especially backed up because of the closing of testing centers in CA). Excelsior has been offering this program for many years now. Although I'm not privy to the inner workings of the college, it just seems after al this time they would have tackled the issue of long waits for a CPNE date. If they have I do believe I will get an earlier date unfortunately not at the site I would like to go to (I live about 15 min. from The Plano TX site). Don't misunderstand me, I'm not sour on Excelsior College. I would not hesitate to recommend their program. I just feel that a seasoned school like Excelsior should have a better system in place. Stopping the applications from being processed because one person goes on vacation is a bit absurd. The bright side is I will use this time to know what is needed to pass the CPNE the first time. I appreciate your comments. Mark

Have you taken the online practice exams that Excelsior offers? I took these exams prior to each nursing concepts exam and got a B on NC1 and A's for all the others. I felt the practice exams really helped to understand the way Excelsior would be asking questions (besides, some of the questions actually show up on the exam itself). What specifically are you having difficulty with? There's the breakdown of each area and the percent right you received on the exam. Also, have you downloaded the notes from the various yahoo groups related to Excelsior? The notes available were a tremendous help. I also have notes for each of the nursing concepts that I could send to you. Just let me know. Mark

I've read with great interest the advice for staying the course with Excelsior -not to procrastinate, set up goals, etc. I am currently enrolled in the Excelsior program and enjoy the freedom it allows. I was able to complete NC1 thru NC7 in about 4 months (there is no other program that would allow you to pace yourself in whatever way you are confident in). The problem arises with Excelsior itself. It's taking anywhere from 4-6 months to get a date for the CPNE. A friend of mine sent her application in 7 weeks ago and has not yet received a date for the CPNE. When I called the MPAC to see where the status of my app was. Well, the lady that does the scheduling was on vacation so there was no one to process and schedule. If Excelsior has this many students applying to take the CPNE, doesn't it make sense to have more then one person scheduling and processing? This to me is about the only frustrating thing about the program. Otherwise, the counselors are great and always very helpful. Except for the bureaucracy, the flexibility of the program is awesome. My 2 cents Mark