barbiedee

You can have 9 general ed credits left when you apply for the CPNE. I did one course while waiting for my CPNE date.

I go to Madison next week (gulp) I have tons of CPNE info, tips and help which I have collected over the year. PM me with your email address and I will gladly email them to you. I think the mneumonics are the best I've seen (I did a lot of research on these!). Thanks to Spazzy Nurse for her help, she supplied a lot of the info! Thanks Spazz!:cheers:

I had a three and a half month wait just to get a date, and due to a bunch of errors (on EC's behalf, not mine!) I received the CPNE package a few days after the date when I was supposed to accept or decline the CPNE date! So obviously I had to refuse. I go to Madison next week, Sept 15 - 18. All good thoughts and prayers for success will be gratefully accepted! I do agree about asking for a cancellation date. Sometimes you can get one right away. But you have to be prepared to travel with little notice and you have to be prepared to take the CPNE at any time. But if you can do both those, its certainly a great option.

Maybe if you could be a bit more specific regarding what you want to know about NC1 it might help us help you! There are lots of great people here who provided me with really helpful support, advice, and encouragement. Notes and tips, too! Hope we can help you too!

DaisyC. check out the used study guides available through eBay. Same info, lots cheaper! Also, used guides are sometimes advertised on the Yahoo/Excelsior College groups. If you need to buy textbooks, check out half.com you can choose from a wide price range for the same text book. Good luck!

Bravo! Glad you weighed all your options before you decided to go with a study guide company. I went with one too, and have never regretted it. Personally, I needed the guided structure a study guide provided. However, I do encourge people to do just what you did...explore your options before signing on the dotted line. I think these study guide companies have a less than stellar reputation, not from the study guides they produce, but from the questionable and misleading sales tactics they sometimes use. (Like implying they are somehow connected with EC.) Well, now that the decision has been made...good luck with your studies!

I used a Microbi study guide and did well. As I usually do, I recommend going to eBay and purchase these study guides for a fraction of their regular cost. Practice exams help also, and a lot are available on the different Yahoo/Excelsior College groups.

I am glad to know you purchased the Excelsior practice exams for A&P. That was a big help to me. I also went to some of the Yahoo/Excelsior College sites and downloaded a bunch of practice exams. You can also find "100 things to know" type notes for A&P also. Most of the Yahoo sites require permission to join, so it may take a few days before you can do this. It took me a LONG time to complete this course (months...and months..and months) ...longer than any other EC course, and that was studying 2 hours a day, minimum. Hats off to anyone who can do it faster. Six weeks is incredible! I think A&P and Microbi were the two hardest and longest courses. I have a HUGE file of notes for A&P if you would like them, PM me. Good luck!

Just to reiterate, Rue is NOT a part of Excelsior College. Rue supplies study materials for the courses that Excelsior offers. They also charge a LOT of money. Many people complete Excelsior without utilizing a study guide company (Rue, Chancellors, College Network, DLSI). I used a study guide company and was happy with them, although the $$ was quite high. If I knew then what I know now, I would enroll in Excelsior directly and buy used study guides off of eBay for a lot less that the study guide companies charge. I agree with Spazz....DON"T SIGN with a study guide company until you have researched them. There are lots and lots of posts here about study guide companies like Rue. And, there are lots of other options if you want to use study guides, (buy them used!!! Cheap!!!) Many of these study guide companies imply that they are part of Excelsior college...but they ARE NOT! In fact, Excelsior college is now offering "guided learning packages" for a lot of their courses. So check out all of your options first.

As an LPN I rarely have much interaction with physicians, however, there was one doc whom we all didn't like for his demeaning behavior towards all nurses. After being called to assess a resident who was becoming more and more aggressive and violent, the doc had the nerve to tell all the nurses present that it was just our approach. It was our fault we were getting hit, hurt and punched. This doc then walked in to see the resident with a jolly "Hi there." Can you guess? Yup. He got a fist right in the kisser. That brought him down a notch or two. And I imagine it didn't do his ego good to have a bunch of snickering nurses watching! Sometimes there is cosmic justice.

I am NOT an ER nurse, and after reading this thread, probablly never will be! A note to Sugar...when people get stressed out, burnt out, have bad days/months/years, etc, there are two things they can do.,...cry about it, or laugh about it. Obviously these dedicated nurses are laughing about it. (good choice) . Not only are they laughing about it, they are sharing their humour so I can laugh too. THanks for sharing. OH, and thanks for caring. Millions of legit ER patients appreciate you!

I totally share your frustration. I am finding insubordination, arguing, fighting, shouting at work among RCA's/CNA's getting worse. Part of the problem is working short staffed almost every weekend, and more frequently lately, on week days. Picking up the extra workload, doing O/T, its all stressful, but no excuse for behavious I have been seeing. I had a near mutiny on my hands a few weeks ago when staff on one wing were working short staffed yet again. It's sad when I don 't want to go to work because of the atmosphere caused by some staff members. And I am not the only one to feel this way. Sad to know its a problem almost everywhere.

Now this one's almost beyond belief! Last evening the fire alarm went off. (It was a false alarm in the end..faulty something or other.) While the NA's and I were running around securing and checking the wing, one of our residents rang her call bell. The reason? To tell us the fire alarm was going off. :smackingf Heck, she had to scream to be heard above the clanging bells.... OH, and while I was there.,...could I fluff her pillow? I love my job...I love my job....I love my job...... :-)

At least you can get a license after chalking up some clinical hours. My EC ADN will NEVER be recognized where I live. So all my money and effort is for naught if I want to stay here. (and yes, I did check with the provincal RN association first. Long story. If you really want to know the particulars PM me!) So smile....it could be worse. And, no, I haven't decided whether to move to the US or not. I'm still trying to figure out what my options are. And thinking of possible solutions so it can be accepted here. Oh well, too late to turn back now. I'll be the most over educated LPN in BC.

I also recommend the practice exams from EC. You get two exams with 100 questions each for $75. The exams also give you the rationale behind the correct, and incorrect answers. I would also recommend purchasing a study guide from eBay. You can get them used for almost every EC course. I know I wouldn't have been able to pass any of the EC exams without using a study guide. I need a more directed approach to learning than just having a course outline and textbook, and study guides provided that assistance and direction I needed. There are four or five different study guide companies, but you can usually find them used, for a heck of a lot less on eBay. Perhaps trying a different studying approach will help!

Help! Are there any recent (in the last year or three) Excelsior College grads from Canada? I am getting mixed messages from EC and others about writing the NCLEX etc. I would love to hear from anyone who has completed this process or could give me some much needed guidance. Thanks!

Each Nursing Concept course (#1 - 7) as well as some of the required courses (A&P) have practice exams available. You purchase the practice exams for a specific course. For $75, you get two practice exams with 100 questions each. Questions on both practice exams are different. I found them to be a real help and definitely worth the money.

Once you have completed the areas covered by the EC course outline, I would suggest purchasing the EC practice exams. They are available for all of the NC courses and other require courses. (ie: A&P). The cost is $75 for two practice exams with 100 questions each. The best part is you are given the rationale for the correct, and incorrect answers to each question. I made notes of some of the rationales and it came in very handy to review. You can only do each exam once, but you can review them as many times as you want (for up to three months, I think). They are a great tool. (and take heart...I have always done better on the real exam that I do on the practice exams!) There are also some EC groups on Yahoo that have files for the NC exams which include notes, 100 things to know (100 things you should know for the exam), and SETH tests. All are great for review. Of coure, you can always come here for more advice and help! Good luck!

I second and third the above recommendations to purchase the EC practice exams for the NC courses and some of the other required courses. For $75 you get 2 exams with 100 questions each, and best of all, the rationale for the correct and incorrect answers. I made notes from the practice questions and rationales and it really helped. The practice exams weren't available when I started EC, but I did purchase 5, 6, and 7, plus A&P. Believe me, it is money wells spent. There are various EC groups in Yahoo with files for most NC exams as well as A&P, etc. The files include SETH tests, NC notes, 100 things to know (basic things you should know for each NC exam) They are all good review material. Plus, you can be sure to get tons of help here! Oh, and study guides from various companies are available on eBay. They give a more directed approach to learning if you are finding it hard to study with just the course outline and text books. The study guides I purchased were a great help. Good luck!

The 100 Things to Know are good, but I think they are becoming dated. The exams change from year to year but some of these 100TTK have been around for years and don't always reflect the latest exams. They are a good tool to use for review. I would highly recommend purchasing the practice exams from EC. It is money very well spent. I just purchased the one for A&P and am I glad I did! Unfortunately these exams weren't available when I first started at EC, but now are available for all NC exams, plus other EC exams. I have found that some of the questions on the purchased practice exams are on the real exam (or some form of the same question). You get 2 exams with 100 questions each, and the rationale for chosing the right answer. On the Yahoo EC sites you will also find Lisa's Notes (again, really helpful for review), and SETH tests for each NC exam. I have used all of them and am very glad for the help! Good luck with NC5!

After seeing the high prices some of the publishing companies were charging, ( $100 plus a month for 6 years as was posted earlier) I checked my contract with the publishing company I used. It was a whole lot less than that! WAY less! So maybe that's why I am satisfied with using a publishing company....I didn't pay near as much as some people. So I guess I got an educational bargain.

I know these study guide companies get kicked around for their high prices and misleading information, but I too agree that I am glad I went with a study guide company. Yes, the price was high, and some information was misleading (they never directly say they are a study guide company), but in the long run I don't think I could have done EC without the direction of the study guides. I went with a company that hasn't been mentioned yet (DLSI), but have found their guides to be pretty good. I know I would not have had the ability or gumption to follow the EC outlines to study all the details and in depth material required. Having the study guides was like having a teacher right there showing you the way. And having the required textbooks included with the study guides was also convenient. Maybe I am a 'sucker' (as per Nascar nurse's description on an earlier post), but I am a happy sucker who is pleased with my decision to go with a study guide company.

This thread has been going on so long, I forgot if I posted this one earlier! A nursing aid and I were working evening shift at a LTC facility. Just before our shift ended at 11 p.m., we each went into adjoining rooms for a final bed check. As I entered the room I was shocked to see an 'orb' (which was a transparent gold sparkly color) go flying across the room. It had come through the wall, flew across the room and disappeared through the opposite wall. Astonished, I went back out into the hall just as my co-worker appeared from the room she was checking. Both of us, at the very same time said "I think I just saw a ghost!" She described the same orb doing the same thing, came through one wall, moved across the room, then disappeared into the wall between the rooms we were checking. One of our coworkers swore it must have been a reflection of headlights. I think not! At least I had an eye witness to this one!

Go to Yahoo and search in 'groups' for "Excelsior college", there are quite a few groups for EC students.

I can not vouch for the CPNE as I am doing mine in September, however I will agree with DeLynn that Chancellor's care plan lab was invaluable. I would really recommend it. It takes the mystery out of the CPNE and shows you that the CPNE is do-able. I also received a lot of support from other allnurses posters (Thanks Spazz!). I have great files with copies of 'the grid" and mneumonics for all of the areas of care if anyone needs or wants them. All very helpful.