kdsharp

I graduated 6 1/2 years ago with 2 years experience as a CNT in home health & outpatient surgery. My starting pay was $12. Here in Tennessee that was considered good. Now after 6 years, I make $18, sad, huh? I realize our cost of living isn't as high as some of the areas mentioned but gee!

Hi, all! I don't have any files, but would be happy to give you a breakdown of my CPNE experience. It may take me a few days to get it all together, but I passed last July, first try. It's not complicated, but there's a lot of information that is out there to help you. I'd be happy to give you my experience, and I agree that knowing some of what you can expect will go a long way in alleviating a lot of the fear! You might also check on Yahoo, there's a group that I belonged to throughout my Excelsior journey called "nontradnurses" and those members were invaluable to me. Keep watching, I'll get you a detailed description soon!

I did it all in 2 years & 1 month, including CPNE. I am now 45. I was 38 when I went through the LPN program. I agree that age/maturity helped but only because I wanted to get it done yesterday, knowing the value of time, and wishing I'd done it all when I was younger. I don't think you have to be super smart, but you do have to be super motivated. It can be demanding, and it's easy to put it off when you don't have to go to a traditional classroom. You are your teacher. I think the CPNE while scary, is very do-able, it's all about being prepared and having ALL critical elements memorized, and being in control. You have 2-1/2 hours for each patient to get done what EC requires in that situation, and it's easy to lose control. I passed, first try, and you wouldn't believe me if I told you what had taken place in my personal life as I tried to prepare for it. There are a lot of free & inexpensive options for preparing, and alot of people, like me, willing to help you get it done! Good luck to everybody!

I feel certain that if you can handle that situation with no warning that the CPNE will be a breeze for you!

I've heard many stories about people failing for what seems to be a silly thing. What no one seems to say in the same sentence is that you are given an opportunity to repeat each PCS. So if you fail because of a faulty stethoscope or you dropped your pen on the floor, you get a chance to repeat that PCS. Now, having said that, if the stethoscope didn't work, I'm sure the student could have addressed that with her CE, and even appealed. They tell you that in the study guide and at orientation. You can even appeal it to Excelsior if you choose. The thing is that most people can't handle the stress and get so upset that they don't even think to challenge decisions they don't agree with. You are expected to perform to the standard of a first day new RN graduate, and if you got to a job that gave you faulty equipment, you would ask for something that worked. If you are in a patient's room and drop a pen on the floor, bend over to pick it off the floor, it's a normal expectation that you would wash your hands afterward. That's what people fail for. Not dropping the pen, but not washing their hands again. I gelled my hands over and over again just to be safe, doesn't hurt anything, gives you a second to calm your nerves, and get on with your assignment. The CPNE is something that while challenging, is completely do-able. I did it, first try. I think the 1st time pass rate is somewhere around 65% so those people did it, too. We're not rocket scientists, because believe me, this has nothing to do with being smart. It's assumed that if you got this far, you "know" how to be a nurse. Can you do it under stress, with someone watching you, in a timely manner? Tough, you bet it is. But when you are a nurse, someone is watching you, the patient, and you better be able to do it in a timely manner because when you are on a floor with 6-8 patients, you need time management skills. And stress? I don't think there is a more stressful job than being a nurse. But it's worth it!

Well, I can tell you LPN's don't get paid that here in Tennessee, anywhere. At the hospital I used to work for, the LPN's topped out somewhere around $18-19/hr. after about 15-20 years experience, and just stopped getting raises.

I graduate Oct. 16th from EC and highly recommend it. I went because (a) I didn't want to retake a&p and micro because I was over the 5 year limit, (b) because I could do it at my own pace and still work full-time and © complete the program in less than 2 years. I did not complete it in less than 2 years, my own fault, plus the wait time for the CPNE, however, I loved it, it worked for me, and am thinking seriously of going back for my BSN.

What part of Nashville are you moving to? I just left Stonecrest in Smyrna, about 25 miles from Nashville, I know they expect to have open positions in ICU soon. Try there, it's a HCA facility.

I passed the CPNE 7/30 in Racine, Wisconsin. I'm sharing my experience with you, not because I necessarily recommend you do things the way I did them, but so you'll know it can be done. I became eligible in Oct. 2008, and after calling the MPAC, I received a date of 3/20. My father was hospitalized & unexpectedly scheduled for open heart surgery on that same day. Even though he asked me to go I cancelled. I wasn't charged anything to cancel because of the circumstances. After a 7 week hospital stay, my father passed away. I had tried to study throughout but hadn't scheduled a new date because his condition remained so unstable. I got an email that because of the long wait time, EC was scheduling mid-week CPNE's so I called the MPAC again and asked for Mansfield, OH, because it's closer, and I could drive. I would have waited until Sept. so I just asked for the first available, and there was a mid-week in Racine on 7/28-7/30. I took it. I again started to study. I looked for workshops, and found only one that I could attend, that was Lynn Frederick's, held in Memphis the weekend before my CPNE. I also purchased and downloaded Rob's CPNE videos. Let me say this about that: Both were very helpful in taking the fear of the unknown out of the CPNE for me. Even though I could read about it, having someone go through a mock situation, gave me a much better idea of how to handle myself. Lynn's workshop also spent a great deal of time on care planning, and I didn't have one single problem with any of my care plans. So, I'm studying. On July 4th, I get a call at 4 am that my 17 year old nephew has been in a bad car accident, I woke my children, drove to the hospital, and he died about 8 hours later. My sister-in-law sometime during the next week told me she did not want me to cancel this time, and even though I felt sure I would fail, I honored her wishes. I kept trying to study, kept trying to learn the mneumonics. I went to Lynn's workshop, and after introducing myself and telling about my situation, everyone, Lynn included, looked at me with shock, and wished me luck, which is exactly how I felt. I even panicked and called EC and spoke to an advisor, who told me that I would forfeit all monies paid if I cancelled, so I might as well go ahead, and if I failed, then I'd know what to expect the next time. So off I go. I fly to Milwaukee the day before, get picked up by the Marriott shuttle, and meet a fellow CPNE'er. This is her 2nd attempt. She has all sorts of practice things for the labs set up in her room & invites me to come and practice with her. I do, we watch & critique each other, and we both made it through the labs with no repeats. I get my assignment for the next day, go back to the hotel and write out my care plan. I get to the hospital the next day, and my patient has been changed and I start all over again. It worked out fine, passed the 1st adult PCS. I was assigned mobility to ambulate in hall x1, abdominal assessment, patient teaching on abdominal assessment, & medications. The CE gives the meds and has you wait in the hall while she does at Racine. The meds are locked in a cabinet just outside the room, you pull those based on the MAR, compare & check & give them to her. No complications with the PCS. The next patient is my ped's patient, adult substitute. I failed this one in the 1st 20 minutes. Stupid mistake, I was assigned respiratory management, I put a towel in the emesis basin, handed it to the patient, instructed her to take 3 deep breaths then cough, she did, beautiful sputum sample, I then started to listen to the lungs, and was told "can I see you in the hall?" Yikes! The CE tells me to wait, she goes to get the CA and she askes me if I know what I did wrong. I think it's because I listened to the lungs over the gown, but it's because I didn't listen to the lungs before AND after the deep breathing exercise. Nothing left to do but go back to the hotel & get ready for the next day. A patient change again, because my patient was going to be gone for a test then discharged. So I start over, and this one went fine, except that I almost ran out of time. The patient had a leg injury, had surgery, and was NWB on that leg. He didn't want to get oob but had to to use the restroom. He had figured out a way to do it himself that was less painful, so he didn't want any help, but it took him awhile. He was very pleasant, easy to work with, and other than getting nervous about the time, everything went well, and I passed. Next and last, my ped's repeat, again an adult sub, a 98 yr. old lady, deaf, CHF. My assignments were i/o since she was on fluid restriction, easy because she didn't eat or drink anything, and had a foley catheter. Skin assessment, assigned to check bilat legs, 2nd area I chose was the occiput. Reposition x1 but she was up in the chair & didn't want to go back to bed, didn't want a pillow behind her back, I finally used the trashcan with a blanket as a makeshift stool & elevated her feet. I was finished in almost 30 minutes. With each PCS that I passed, there were little things that were brought to my attention to correct. I never in any way felt that the CE's or the CA wanted anything for me but success. Beth is the only one whose name I remember, she was the CA, but she was delightful. Now, having said that, these people are not there to teach you, they are there to observe that you are capable of performing at the level of a 1st day new grad RN. The stress of the pass/fail aspect of the CPNE is the price we pay to be able to do this program at our own pace without 2 years of clinicals. I was never able to memorize the mneumonics, but in trying I memorized the critical elements. Make a grid and check it often. If you think you missed something, say it, then do it, and you're ok as long as you haven't handed in your care plan. Even if you left the room, you can ask to go back in and finish as long as you have time. Check the ID band frequently. Never hurts, can't do it too much. Also gel your hands frequently, can't hurt, can't do it too much. You only wash hands once before you enter the room the 1st time. Stay calm. One thing Lynn recommended was that you use guided imagery for a comfort measure, it only takes a few minutes and it can help calm you down as well as meet a goal. Nothing I did was complicated. No one I talked to that weekend had any complicated patients or assigned areas of care. There were 7 of us, 3 were repeating, and 4 passed. 2 of us passed on the 1st try. I've been a LPN for 6 years and work on a med/surg floor in a hospital. I am scheduled for my degree conferral on 9/18, and then onto the boards. I'm open to any questions! Kim

Absolutely! I'm a few days shy of 45, and I'm 1 class short of having my ASN-RN through Excelsior College. Look at it this way ... would you rather work 15 more years with more money and more respect? Of course you would. Because honestly, I've been a LPN in a hospital on a med/surg floor for 6 years, and physically there is no difference in the amount of work I do compared to a RN, and yet I get paid approximately $8 an hour less than a RN with 6 years experience. Go for it! Kim

Don't give up and don't waste the time and money you've already invested. You already know what areas to work on, and unfortunately, Excelsior's nursing classes won't transfer. You can do it, people do it all the time!!! DO NOT GIVE UP!

I'm scheduled in Mansfield, OH 3/20-3/22, and I don't have the time or money to go to a workshop. I am going to purchase the DVD from Excelsior. I'm just terrified that I'll get there and blow it. I'm a LPN and I work on a med/surg floor; I've looked over the study guide and it seems pretty simple to me, and I'm afraid that I'm overconfident. Need advice, support, encouragement, etc .... Kim

I would love to hear from people who passed the CPNE without doing a workshop. I just don't have the time or money, and I'm scheduled in Ohio 3/20-3/22. Looking over the study guide, it doesn't seem that difficult to me, but I don't want to be over-confident, because I work on a floor, and I'm scared I'll be one of those with too many bad habits to overcome. Words of advice, anyone?