chayes

I'm with you BostonNurse, I live in Kansas City, Mo. & there are none close to me. I've been a Paramedic for 27 years and have good assessment skills but none with wound dressing, etc. The CPNE is a critical test that costs over $2000 to take plus additional costs for airfare & lodging. If I fail the first time then I have to reapply and pay the fee again. The two workshops that I'm looking at will cost me @ $1000 with workshop fees, air fare & lodging but they claim > 95% pass rate on the first attempt so it's easy in my mind to justify the additional fees to pass the first time. I think I've decided to take Sheri Taylor's workshop in Atlanta in March. Hope this helps, good luck...

After all this work and heartache I'm finally near the end.. I passed LS3 last week (my LAST Nursing exam) and just registered for FCCA!! The test should be here around Christmas. I'm well into A&P and should be finished with that by the time my FCCA arrives. Microbiology is my final course. After speaking with my Academic Adviser I decided to use the study guides and test out rather than take an online course for an entire semester for A&P and Micro. I've been following BeachieRN & Loops progress and I'm encouraged by their accomplishments. Beachie has to be a STUD to pass NCLEX in 75 questions!!! I've been a Firefighter/Paramedic for 32 years and this is one of the most exciting times and accomplishments in my career! I'm retiring soon as moving on as an RN. This forum has given me much encouragement even tho I don't post a lot, just reading others problems, solutions & supporting each other is tremendous! Looking at some of the posts from new students about Transitions or any of the preliminary Nursing Theory exams really makes me feel like an "old hand" in the exam trenches. Words of encouragement to the new students....keep at it, read your content guides and follow this forum. Graduation, here I come!!!

I just got home from taking the exam for LS2 and it's a very difficult exam but I passed with a C, this is only the second C that I've gotten. The first was Transitions and that was because that class was SOOOO very boring and dry. I'm normally very confident during my exams and finish them fairly rapidly but I had to take over 2 hours to complete this one! I also had to "flag" over %40 to go back and reread those questions and rationalize my answer. For those getting ready to take this exam know your anti-psychotic meds very well, also know your lab values for endocrine disorders. I hope I'm not violating academic policy but I can't be any more specific than that. There were some discrepancies between several of the text reading assignments. One specifically had to do with pain management of pancreatitis. One text states than morphine is the standard of care but another stated that because of spasm of the sphincter of Oddi that demerol was recommended, still another stated that because of the risk of seizures demerol was not to be used?! I can't say that particular question came up during my exam but there is some confusion. I'm now moving on to LS3 which is my final Nursing assignment before FCCA & CPNE. I'll take A&P and Micro while waiting for my CPNE test date. I've seen much discussion on this forum about taking 8 week online classes for A&P and Micro as opposed to just studying the text and then testing out. Is there a particular reason for this or are these two classes that intimidating? I guess that I'll have to speak with my Academic Adviser to get a recommendation. Anyway, good luck to everyone and keep the faith (mainly in yourself!!)

I'm 57 and completing a Paramedic to RN bridge program after 30 years in the Fire Service. I fully intend to work as a Nurse for at least 10 years. For me it seemed to be a logical step to RN after that many years as a Paramedic. Go for your dream, there are many here who have!

Hey Nervous1, I've read a few of your posts on other threads and it seems that we are pretty much on the same track. I'm testing LS2 11-16 and have already started LS3 (my final nursing class before FCCA & CPNE). I still have A&P and Micro to do but I'll try to do those while I'm waiting for my CPNE date. Good luck with your next class, we're almost there...

Just wondering if anyone is planning on going to either Tina's or Sherri's CPNE workshop in Jan. The cost, at least for me with airfare and hotel, is going to be about the same. I'm starting to get a bit nervous about the CPNE.

I had my copy printed in B/W and bound at Office Depot for $42.

Thanks for the confidence. I've done National Registry as a Paramedic, full ACLS, PALS, PEPP, PHTLS, AMLS stations that are far more complex than this but this one has me shaking in my boots.

Thanks for your reply. Seems like we are on the same timeline. Lynn who? Could you provide a link or her website address? I hope to do an actual workshop to work through the stations and get hands-on help. Are care plans required for CPNE?

I've not read many posts about the CPNE workshops in the past but I'm now within 2 classes of being able to apply so it's becoming a priority. Of the posts that I HAVE read most have to do with either Sherri Taylor (EC?) or another provider named Tina. I'd like some input from participants from either workshop about their experiences and recommendations. A Google search for CPNE workshops come up with thousands of hits and I don't have the time or the patience to research that many. One of the websites indicates that they provide or grade care plans. Are care plans required for CPNE? I've spent all of my study time in the content guides and have not done ONE care plan. Would now be an appropriate time to print off the CPNE study guide for early review? I know so little about CPNE that I don't know what questions to ask but I hope to test in mid to late Oct. I live in NW Missouri so any workshop is going to require travel. I need to make a decision in the next several weeks so that I can make reservations, travel arrangements and schedule time off. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey OSUFan, I took Health and Safety several weeks ago and passed with an A. I was really sweating this one because of the emphasis on Electrolyte imbalances and ABG's. I studied out of the Content Guide then found that other texts that were listed for reading assignments, but not particularly for a given subsection, had very good additional reading. Particularly the Med-Surg book then I checked my knowledge base using the appropriate section of the Saunders NCLEX Study Guide to show me my weak points. I also found two websites that really helped me with with ABG interpretation: Welcome to Hansen Nursing ABG Interpretation Quiz I don't know if this strategy will be helpful for you but it worked for me. Always try to see if there is additional information in your other textbooks that may word a concept in a different manner that is easier for you to apply. I know how my mind works & I tend to be more of a visual learner. Hope this helps....

I'll be following this thread this because I'm having some difficulty deciding whether to take A&P through Edukan (which many of ya'll have taken and recommend but seems a little pricey) or self study out of the Content Guide. I've been a Paramedic for 26 years and feel that I have a very good foundation in A&P so I'm a little hesitant about spending @$1000 to Edukan only to find out that it offered no challenge as opposed to self study only to find out that I totally blew the exam!!!! I guess the best approach would be to download the Content Guide and see how comfortable I am with the material before making a decision. Anyone else have the same issues????

Thanks for the support Loops! I hope to take Repo in the next couple of weeks, let me know how you do on it. I've seen mixed opinions on the difficulty of that section. I'm grateful on finding this forum for support and down-right encouragement. My fiance has her degree in Social Work and is very supportive but doesn't grasp the depth of knowledge required for our chosen field so she can't really help with some of my frustration. Just reading others posts about some of the same issues I face and how they successfully resolved those issues with a positive outlook helps me continue.

I passed Chronicity today with a B! I felt pretty confident with the material and perhaps a bit over-confident and smug since I passed Health Differences with an A. The test was tough and I had to flag over 30 questions for review to be answered later but I did pass! I've already begun Reproductive Health but plan on taking a detour after testing this segment. According to EC I need to be within 10 hours of completion in order to take the FCCA & CPNE. I have 11 hours of academics yet to complete so I'm taking Life Span Development Psy. next that will cover my requirements for that class a well as an additional 1 hour for Additional Social Sciences that I have yet to complete then back to LS1,2,&3 for completion of the Nursing core. Since there is a waiting list for CPNE of 4-8 months I'll use that time to complete Micro and A&P then NCLEX study!!!!! I've heard so many good reviews of Sherri Taylors workshop that I hope to attend sometime in the last quarter of this year! Sounds like a plan & I hope it works......

If you're taking your RN through Excelsior contact your Academic Adviser, especially if you haven't take A&P yet.I'm in the same predicament. I called my Adviser and she told me that if I took an A&P that met full body requirements and totaled more than 4 credit hours the additional over 4 would satisfy the Sciences Supportive of Nursing requirement.

I'm 57 and will be retiring from the Fire Service as a Firefighter/Paramedic for 32 years. I'll be 58 when I retire and complete Nursing school and have already been accepted by a local hospital. No age is ever too old to stop learning or give up a dream.

Perhaps this may be a silly question but how much emphasis is placed on care plans in either the FCCA or CPNE? I've devoted all of my study time to the textbooks and studyguides. Are nursing diagnosis and care plans critical? I'm moving on to Repo Health and anticipate being eligible for CPNE by the end of the year. Do I need to lay off the other study for a while and concentrate on care plans?

Hey Rom, Nice to see another paramedic moving into a more stable environment. I used all the recommended study material (text books)in EC's study guide plus the Saunder's NCLEX Study guide. I also used the websites I referenced several posts ago, they really helped me with the logical interpretation of blood gases. Good luck with your test. Yea, I'm ready to take Chronicity and have it scheduled for next Friday. I'm just waiting on my book order to arrive to begin Repro. Health. I looked seriously at College Network but decided on Excelsior itself because I wanted to do my own study and expand on concepts with the textbooks instead of a guided study based only on NCLEX.

The first site that I found is Hansen Nursing that has a very good ABG Tutorial: Welcome to Hansen Nursing The next site that I found is by someone named Adam Weinberg who's tutorial REALLY helped me with ABG's: ABG Interpretation Quiz After spending some time on his site I comprehend ABG's and can NAIL!!! every blood gas given. To also help with my exam I found appropriate sections in the Med-Surg textbook that wasn't listed in the required reading then used the Saunder's NCLEX study guide to get more on electrolytes and took the exams in the book. This is the first time I've done this but for every other lesson I'll use the Saunder's and any other reference material I can.

I took Essentials of Nursing Care:Health Differences today and passed with an A! I was really sweating this one as Electrolytes is 30% of the exam and I was struggling with that. I've not had any problem with acid/base and can nail ABG's after finding two sites that helped me tremendously. I'm now moving on to Chronicity as I have better than half of the reading assignments already finished waiting to take Health Differences.

No, just the opposite. The question would give you outward signs such as mental confusion, general weakness, nausea, etc. They might give something more descriptive such as a positive Trosseau's or Chvostek but several imbalances will have the same sign. Given these descriptors you would need to select the proper underlying condition.

I'm getting ready to take EC's Health Differences exam and need some help determining the electrolyte involved in a stated condition. Several practice tests that I've taken, both from EC and from an NCLEX study guide, have asked questions regarding making a determination of which electrolyte is involved and whether it would be in excess or a deficit based on clinical assessments only, no lab values are given. I've charted all the physical signs for each electrolyte both in excess and deficit and I can see NO clear identifiers. Each has very similar characteristics whether it be weakness, alteration in cerebral function, changes in DTR, etc. I'm comfortable with knowing the physiology of each electrolyte and their normal values so that's not an issue. I don't know where to go from here, any help would be appreciated.