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txspadequeen921, Wow, your post came across almost like a personal attack. I'm sorry if you were offended by what I had to say, but my facts are straight: 1) As of July, 2008, Georgia does NOT grant RN licenses for EC ADN program graduates or recognize their licenses from other states by endorsement. Go to the Georgia Board of Nursing website to verify this (http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/rn/). Because of the public outcry and the impact on existing students, the Board of Nursing amended their policies at a special called meeting in December, 2008, so that EC graduates who are licensed in another state can be considered for licensure by endorsement on a case by case basis. This information can be found at http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/rn/minutes/20081219%20Conference%20Call.pdf. Here is information lifted directly the meetings of that minute: UPDATE ON EXCELSIOR’S STATUS Mrs. Anderson moved that due to the impact of the statutory change, effective July 1, 2008, upon applicants for licensure by endorsement, the Board determined that applicants for licensure for endorsement under O.C.G.A. 43-26-7 © may petition the Board, on a case by case basis, to grant a rule waiver or variance pertaining to the applicant’s nursing education under the following criteria: Applicant must have been actively enrolled in a nursing program on July 1, 2008. Applicant must have completed all program requirements and successfully graduated from the program by July 1, 2010. Applicant must hold a valid license from another state or jurisdiction as required for licensure by endorsement and have applied for endorsement in Georgia by December 31, 2010. Applicant must comply with procedure for rule waiver/variance as provided by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in O.C.G.A. 50-13-9.1. Mrs. Ayers seconded the motion and it carried with Dr. Flynn abstaining. This amendment was done to accomodate current EC students who have already invested time and money into the program, but this option will cease in 2010, giving current students the chance to finish but barring future students from consideration. Please note that the EC graduate must hold a license in another state prior to petitioning GA for licensure by endorsement. I live in Georgia and have been keeping abreast of this development. I also wrote a paper on this for one of my EC courses last semester, and at the time contacted the GA Nurses Association, the GA Board of Nursing, and EC administration, and received email replies from all of them. What are your sources? 2) Please go back and re-read my original post. I did say I could see EC's ADN program being a viable option for an LPN, and that would include an LVN as well. I agree with you, that many LPNs and LVNs have years of clinical experience which is a good foundation for any RN program. BUT--although most LPNs/LVNs like to think they are equivalent to RNs, they do not have the same education/knowledge/training base as RNs. If they did, there would be need for different educational degrees or different levels of licensing. Your clinical experience is at the LVN level, not at the RN level. An LVN does not have ANY RN level experience, utilizing RN level skills. A new RN graduate does have clinical experience at the RN level, employing RN level knowlede and skills. 3) I honestly don't know if EC allows EMTs into their ADN program. I may have incorrectly substituted EMT for Paramedic. I really don't know the difference between the two. Sorry for that.

1) Soft or pureed diet 2) Nutritional supplement, such as Ensure 3) Dental referral (dentures or partial plates) 4) Monitor nutritional status and weight 5) Record food intake and I & O's. 6) Assist with meals (amount of assistance needed would be dependent on the level of dementia)

Thanks. I do understand how to formulate a nursing diagnosis, I understand the three parts of the diagnosis (defining characteristics, problem, and related to), but I just didn't quite see how to word it for a wellness diagnosis. The term "abnormal data" takes on a whole new meaning here, as does the definition of what constitutes a "problem"--the patient is well, and the goal is health promotion and wellness, not diagnosis of an existing "problem". For a diagnosis such as Readiness for Enhanced Nutrition, the "abnormal data" is just that the patient expresses a desire to improve her nutritional status. Stating it as related to a desire to improve is perfect. If I understand this correctly, my diagnosis would then be: Readiness for Enhanced Nutrition related to a desire to improve nutritional status. Does that sound right? This is only one small part of the course, it is the only time all semester that we have to use nursing diagnoses, and I honestly don't have the money to buy a new NANDA nursing diagnosis book for one part of one assignment.

Who is the target audience? Other nurses, nursing students, or "patients"? What is your focus, is it the physiology of CHF, diagnosis and treatment options, managment, patient education needs, etc.? CHF is too broad of a topic to tackle without narrowing it down. There is too much information out there and you will go crazy trying to sort through it. I had to do a 45 minute patient teaching session for one of my classes, and I did it on CHF. My main focus was CHF management, which basically means medication, diet, and exercise management. We did things like have the patients read and compare salt content on food labels (try things like Soy Sauce that has 975 gm of salt per tablespoon!), played games (I made up a word search game and a bingo-type game which my older patients loved!), and practiced some easy stretching and muscle toning exercises that got my audience up and moving and were a lot of fun. I think you're underestimating the length of your PowerPoint. Use it as an outline, and elaborate on each point. If your audience is made of nursing students or nurses, ask your audience questions: Does anyone know the annual cost in dollars spent on CHF in the United States? (It's staggering!) Can anyone name 3 causes of CHF? What are the symptoms of CHF? What symptoms need to be reported to the doctor? Why is it important for a CHF patient to weigh daily? How does CHF affect the primary caregiver? Give your audience a chance to answer, then answer the question yourself or add to what the audience has said. Asking questions makes people think rather than just zoning out as you talk. You can use one PowerPoint slide with the question and the next one that follows could have the answer. Hope some of this helps. Good luck with your presentation!

I am a current Excelsior student. I got my ADN from a traditional community college, and am working on my BSN through Excelsior. I have had to ask for assistance from my Nurse Manager to complete some of the assignments (such as video-taping an assessment in a clinical environment), and she has been very supportive. I am not going to have any trouble moving into another position at my hospital when I complete my BSN. But that statement is based on the fact that I know I am going to have my manager's recommendation and support, and I think that is going to be the deciding factor in my hospital, not where I got my degree. They know me here, the degree is just a formality. I cannot speak to a new hire situation because I already had my ADN, RN, a good work history, and 15 years of experience before enrolling in Excelsior. If I were doing the hiring, I wouldn't hire someone who got their ADN through Excelsior. I don't think they have the clinical experience and supervision that they need. You can only learn so much from books and videos. Real-life patient care is very different. Excelsior tries to skirt the issue by saying that they require the student to have prior clinical experience (as a LPN, EMT, etc.) before accepting them for enrollment. An LPN I could see, but an EMT does NOT have nursing clinical experience. I'm sorry, it's just not the same. The state of Georgia is the only one that will not recognize an ADN degree from Excelsior, and it is because of the lack of a clinical component to the curriculum, not the content of the curriculum, and this is a new development, within the last year. I expect other states to follow suit, and this person's experience with job hunting in California is probably an indication that CA is going to jump on the bandwagon soon.

There are differences besides management options. More and more hospitals are hiring only BSNs--especially those that are seeking Magnate status. You are also limited in the type of work you can do. Anything to do with education, such as a Diabetes Educator, requires a minimum BSN. Community health nurses, school nurses, and research nurses have to have a BSN. Staff nursing gets old and more difficult as you get old. Fewer hospitals are even hiring LPNs now, and the ASN or ADN has become what the LPN once was--bottom rung of the ladder and limiting in career options. The pay scale for a staff nurse isn't worth it, but the career options you'll have definitely makes it worthwhile to get your BSN. For whoever asked in another post, an ADN is an Associate Degree in Nursing.

I just started back to school to get my BSN. I have been out of school for 18 years and never in all that time have I worked in a hospital that had us actually use the care plan information that I learned in school. Needless to say, I have forgotten a lot, and a lot has changed. I am taking a health promotion course and have an assignment due that requires us to pick a wellness diagnosis for our client. I have chosen Readiness for Enhanced Nutrition, but am not really sure how to use this diagnosis. Do we still have to have a related to and an as evidenced by? What would be some good interventions other than nutrition counseling? How would you use this diagnosis? Can anyone help?