CrusadersFan

One consideration is this--is this a job you really want to stay at and can you explain your short tenure with the Med-Surg job (i.e.--no opportunity for advancement, didn't meet my skills, etc.)? I can tell you from a management standpoint--when you have three jobs under your belt in less than a year (assuming you held a job prior to the Med-Surg one), the question of why you job-hopped will come up. If you leave the tele job prior to a year, it will be four jobs in two years and that will definitely send red flags to any manager.

Crazy? Not at all! I'm over 50 (I'll leave it at that) and am considering going back to EC after 20+ years in respiratory therapy because the healthcare field is often very nurse-oriented and the RN designation will open a lot of doors. Just know what you are getting into. I teach student nurses computer charting every few months and sometimes never see a few of them again after a month or two because they realize that the working conditions are not always optimal--off hours, high work load and then there's the fluids and exposure to disease. On the other hand, if you feel comfortable--go for it! My wife became an RN at 30 and it was the most rewarding job she ever had.

There is an interesting article from 2005 that the Indiana State Licensing Board put out concerning publishing companies of which TCN is one (ironically, it is based in Indianapolis). It can be found at http://www.in.gov/pla/files/Nursing_FocusV1Ed2.pdf and look on page 21. Make sure you ask TCN these questions. I recently attended one of their events and asked some of these questions and while they seemed up front, the rep danced a little on some of the questions and seemed reluctant to answer them in front of the other people. After that, I checked with this forum for other's opinions and decided that it was better for me to go directly to EC (or ISU in your case) instead of working through a middleman. Especially sticky is the issue of terminating your contract which, as I understand it, TCN will not let you do if you decide to stop taking classes.

Thanks, queenjean and Suesquatch! I will likely go with EC since everything I have read on this board appears to indicate that if they are not accepted by a state, it seems likely any alternative methods wouldn't be either. Plus, after 20+ years as an RT, I should have picked up a few skills I can put toward an RN degree!

You didn't make me feel "dumb", lholland, I can do that on my own without help!

My mistake--I'm sorry (and embarrassed) I know that there was a petition being circulated because MO was considering not allowing EC. I had thought that with the petition they had stopped it. You are correct--MO is okay with EC. Sorry--I'm never so dumb as when I'm trying to be smart!

Good question, Kat7Ap! I had posted a somewhat similar question today since my wife and I want to join travelling nurses after our children are out of the house and I'm concerned about my taking EC courses. Perhaps someone will know how state reciprocity works. I know Missouri, California and Georgia are three of the states that do not. Indiana recently sent out a magazine to RNs that had an article in it about EC and noted that they fulfilled the requirements for licensing so Indiana is good, but I worry if I want to move out of state.

Legal or not, I find the practice of asking consumers to help bail you out of your own errors appalling ($700 million bail-out anyone?). Most people have paid large amounts of money to TCN and whether that money was well-spent is known only to the consumer. However, one of the things that you anticipated was that when you wrote that check to them it covered all of the costs, including taxes--it was THEIR responsibility to see to that. You shouldn't have to worry about whether or not state taxes were paid. Now they find out that they didn't use due diligence in their business practices and failed made a mistake that you, as a consumer, had no knowledge of and should not have known about. It was their responsibility to run the business; you simply wanted your materials. Then, after discovering that they had made a business faux pas, they rush back to you and ask for more money so they can cover their mistake placing the cost of the mistake back on the trusting consumer. I had met with TCN and after reading forums here decided to send them packing--I'll do EC directly. After reading about their ridiculous behavior and the way they are treating the consumer with this incident, I'm glad I did! I just hope they don't expect any return business from everyone affected by this poor management.

I have been toying with entering the Excelsior College RT-to-RN program. However, my wife, who is an RN, suggested that I might see if a program exists that allows online learning of lecture material while doing clinicals on the weekends or in the evening. She is concerned about the states that are denying EC grads (she wants to do travel nursing once the kids are gone and is afraid this may impact it). Does anyone know if such a program exists (I'm particularly interested in the Indiana area).

Thank you for the reply, RNInformatics. The largest hospital system in my home state, approximately 4,000 beds total, will not take any application for Informatics unless the individual is a licensed RN. They have IT positions (systems analysts, programmers) but not Informatics. And, of course, IT positions have dozens of apps for every one. I've had supervisory experience (directing RT and IT departments) and most of my programming and PM work is in the clinical realm. However, there is a strong preference for RNs to head clinical departments and NI is considered one such department at most hospitals in this area. I spoke with two recruiters who prefaced their conversations with "are you an RN" and then advised that their customer specifically wanted an RN. One even asked if the lack of being an RN has impeded my ability to go into other NI jobs and advised me that most of what she gets specifies that the applicant must be an RN. This is why I have toyed with the idea of getting an RN (in addition to the security that comes with the RN degree) to add to my resume. Thank you again for the response.

I am an RRT who has worked in Informatics for over ten years. During that time I've accumulated a wealth of knowledge about computer systems, programming, project management and implementation. About six months ago our Director left for a consulting job and I was turned down for advancement because I was not an RN. Since that time I've been told by recruiters and other hospitals that they will not speak with me unless I have that RN credential. At this time, I'm looking into going through EC to complete the RRT to RN program. Has it been your experience that most hospitals would not hire or advance an applicant with medical and technical background due to not having the RN credentials?

Thank you, Its So Hot in Phoenix and BetterME29! It's good to know I don't have to work another job P/T! :) I have yet to enroll in EC and met with TCN but after reading posts here will probably do EC on my own. I'm keeping tabs on the EC program through this site and it's been a BIG help! All of you have great insight!

I have a concern with the EC CPCE exam. I'm an RT that has been working in the Informatics for the past 10 years. As a result, I've been out of patient care for that period of time. I've been reading the threads where much of what is said is "the CPCE is simply doing what we do daily anyway" but I'm not working in the patient care area. Has anyone had this experience? Should I consider returning to patient care part-time in order to get the experience I need or can the CPCE be passed using the CDs and the EC workshop?