lpntobn

I love psych nursing....but it's not for everyone.

I just got my results today in Edmonton. I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tracy12, Where did your friend pick up their results from? In which province did they write the exam? Hopefully, all the results will be out this week. Best of luck to everyone!

For sure, such a long wait! I know CARNA says 6-8 weeks but I wonder how long the last group that wrote in June had to wait.

I took the regular statistics course. It really wasn't that bad. I didn't take the computer course as I wasn't that used to using a computer when I took this course. Each course has a tutor who is actually a professor and they are very helpful. You can email or leave a voice message for them anytime to get back to you plus there are a least time times a week set up were you can call them directly and they will answer your call.

Hi, I can give you some info as I have just completed this program. As Fiona pointed there is also a lot of info in the calender. Anyhow, you will have to come to Alberta 3 times. They may be able to schedule two rotations back to back but chances are that this is really unlikely to happen so I wouldn't count on it. You'll need to come for 1 month for the med/surg rotation, one month for the Public Health rotation and 2 weeks for the Mental Health rotation. The last preceptorship can be done anywhere in Canada as long as AU can find a preceptor and you can pick where you want to go to do it. You can start taking your electives anytime, even before being accepted into the program or being registered in Alberta. But you will have to meet the requirements to be registered in Alberta therefore should be assessed as soon as possible as you may need to take some courses to meet the Alberta requirements for registration. I know some LPNs had to take the Physical Assessment Course. You need to take electives from certain categories so you'll need to refer to the calender. I would pick electives based on your nursing interests. For example I took mostly psychology courses, an occupational health nursing and bio-ethical course. As far as how much it will cost you can refer to the calender and add up the cost per course but keep in mind that the courses seem to go up every year. However, the books come with the course fees so you do not have to buy any additional books. I really can't comment on how hard you will find it to do online. It worked great for me. The on-line system is easy. I had taken my LPN about 20 years ago so it took some work to get back into writing papers, studying, etc. I just finished the program the last week of July and had several job offers. I started working as a Graduate Nurse the first week of Aug. It's been great, and I have no regrets ! Good luck, if you have any others questions just ask

You're right, the longer you're out of school the harder it will get to find employment. Employers will probably wonder why you have no experience yet or if you are leaving out a job off your resume due to getting fired, etc. Also I think employers want you relatively close by so they can call you in on short notice. There is definitely hiring going on now in Alberta so I would take a close look at myself and my resume. Fiona is right, nobody cares about your situation and that response will bring you down every time, employers want you available when they need you, they don't want to hear about your childcare problems because they know this issue will keep coming up whenever they need you. In all honesty your attitude (poor) shows through in your posts so I would really take a honest look at your total presentation.

You can do all the electives before finishing your practice hours. Also, you will definitely need to take time off work to do the clinicals. I'm not sure why you're asking that, how could you do the clinicals without taking time off? The clinicals are full time hours plus hours of doing patient research and nursing care plans at night and on your days off, etc. It will depend on where you work, I think most employers would give you a leave of absence, I have heard that most employers are really supportive. However, the first three clinicals can be held anywhere in Alberta, so you should also take that into account.

Also if you want any information just call student services at AU.:):):)

There are a lot of interesting electives to pick from. I picked all nursing and psych courses as electives. For humanities I did biomedical ethics, I also did occupational health. There is also a chat board on the AU site where you can ask questions about electives. But I think it's really a personal choice. Good luck and happy studying!!!

No problem, feel free to ask all the questions you want. I had so many questions at first as well. I think the clinicals courses run three times a year starting in May, Sept and Jan. But I think it depends on how many students there are ready to do the clinicals. I found the instructors to be very good. I knew a couple of months in advance for each one. I did my public health last March, then psych in the spring , then med surg last fall and now my last placement starting next week. But it really depends on when you are ready to do them, etc. I thought about it a lot before I starting taking the program too, but to me it's all about personal satisfaction and life long learning, etc. Although it was hard at first as I had been out of school for a long time and had no prior University I have learned so much (not just about nursing) and had some great experiences throughout this program. I have also met some great people. Actually, I loved it so much I am looking around to see what else I can take when I am finished this program, maybe my master's in nsg in a few years. I also considered my age when I started the program but came to the realization that I had a lot more years to work.

The med/surg clinical and public health clinicals were ran in both Calgary and Edmonton this year as far as I know. The psych clinical that I was on was only ran in Edmonton so everybody had to come to Edmonton to do it. However, in the past I think everyone had to go to Ponoka. I think it depends on where the instructor is and where they can secure a location. Athabasca does say that you may be placed anywhere in Alberta so you need to take that into consideration. I live in Edmonton and I was lucky because I did all my rotation right in Edmonton. I don't think they will let you do any cluster A courses before you are enrolled in the program itself, however, you can start on the electives. Although, you might want to hold off until you see what they will credit you for. The length of time to complete the program really depends on a number of factors so it's hard to say. I had been out of school for around 20 years and had no prior University so it took me awhile to get into writing papers, readings and taking in large amounts of information, as well I worked off and on and have 3 kids, etc. If they give you credit for some courses or not you could still complete it in under 3 years and it is self-paced. The only requirement is the order of the courses so you can pretty well go as fast or slow as you want as long as you complete the program within 7 years.

So Alberta nurses, when do you think Alberta Health Services will start having some nursing posting that will be open to the public to apply for? What is your best guess???

I found the program to be really good. It was a really good experience all the ways around. I had been out of school since 1990, and had no prior University at all, so it took me a little to get into writing papers. I took the English course as one of my first courses and this helped me.

What you need to do is send them all your information such as high school transcripts, university transcripts, info from your LPN program and LPN license as well as LPN hours (need to have equivalent of one year) and they will assess this information and let you know what credits they will give you. The transcripts have to be sent directly from the schools, they will not accept transcripts that are not. They will give you 30 credits for the LPN hours and license and maybe they will give you credits for the university courses. They have intake into courses every month. You can start the program in any month once you have been assessed and approved for the program. Electives can be taken anytime at all. Once approved in the program there are 3 sets of courses and each set has to be done before moving on to the next and some courses have pre-requisites within the grouping. I didn't start doing clinicals until last March and will do my final placement this May, June and first part of July. The public health and psych clinicals were day shifts (Mon-Fri) but we did do some evening shifts during our med/surg clinical. The last placement can be done anywhere in Canada and you follow your preceptors schedule so that could be a mixture of all three shifts, depending on their schedule. You would definitely not be able to work while you are doing your clinicals, as you also need to do patient care plans and written assignments while in clinical (lots of work). I figure the program cost around $16,000, however, I'm not really sure. You could find out this info on their web site by adding up the figures. Also take into account this isn't counting the funds for lost wages.

I'm from Nova Scotia and it has a lot lower crime rate then the rest of the country. You can look up the crime rate of provinces across canada on the internet. There is lots of work for nurses across Nova Scotia. Truro is opening a new hospital this summer. There is also lots of work in the beautiful annapolis valley which is about an hour from Halifax. Always lots of work for nurses in the Halifax area.

I am wondering how long before I graduate would it be appropriate to start applying for jobs?? Thanks

I usually took 2-3 courses at a time. You can register every month for courses as long as you do it by the 10th of the previous month so when I felt I was ready I would just add a course. The public health rotation is with a preceptor only on site. The mental health and med/surg have instructors on site. I found the med/surg rotation challenging as my background is mainly in long-term mental health, so I had a lot to learn. The tutors are great and I had no problems contacting them although I rarely talked to any of them as mostly I communicated through email. Good luck, I have no doubt the program was well worth it!

Hi there, I am almost done the program through Athabasca, just waiting to do my final 3 month placement. I took me a little less than four years to complete but I am also working, have kids, etc. I think employers love the program as they get an experienced nurse at a new grad price. Although, you do need to come to Alberta for three placements it is not impossible and many students do it. It is true you can do your final placement anywhere in Canada. I started my electives before I got my Alberta LPN license. You do need to finish cluster A before starting B unless you ask for the instructor's permission. They may let you if it's not a direct prerequisite, but I'm not sure. I had a lot of questions too before I started, you can start with taking just one pre-requisite and see how you like it without making a full commitment. Good luck!

I am not sure how many courses I take each year but I do take them year round. I work 5 days a week but usually only 5 hours a day. It's not easy but it's been worth it.

Hello, I am almost done this program. I am really satisfied with it and would encourage anybody interested to pursue it. A lot of the students are from out of town and just rents rooms for the clinicals. Sometimes from other students that live in the area or they are able to rent rooms at the local universities, etc. You can control how long it takes to do the program. By the time that I'm done it will have taken me three and a half years. But I also work and have three young children. Good luck in whatever you decide!:):):)

Hi, You should check out the LPN to BN program through Athabasca University.