savagetrojan

I have got the respiratory vs metabolic alkalosis vs acidosis down but I'm struggling with uncompensated vs partially compensated. Anyone have a quick tip. I can get 6 out of 8 right when I'm doing them but I'm not sure why I am getting the other two wrong and it's frustrating me. Example: pH 7.48, pCO2 30, HCO3- 23 I answered this as partially compensated respiratory alkalosis The answer key says it's uncompensated considering the ph is normalizing wouldn't this be an indication of partial compensation? Now, I got this next one right: pH 7.62, pCO2 47, HCO3- 30 I answered this as partially compensated metabolic alkalosis because the pco2 is normalizing. So why is the first one wrong and the second one right? What am I doing wrong here? HELP!!

I work twelves also, spend half hour with the family then study for an hour before bed, for about 4-6 hours on days off and the longest I have studied is two weeks, the shortest was six days. I think everything has to be taken into consideration so the answer is different for everyone. A LPN with one year of experience may have to study longer than someone that has been doing it for several years. A LPN that has only worked in one place/specialty for their career may have to study longer than someone that has moved around to different jobs/areas of specialty. An EMT may have to study harder than a LPN because they don't learn the nursing process so there is more for them to wrap their brain around. Some people, no matter how smart they are, are TERRIBLE test takers so they study longer. I guess what I am trying to say is don't base your study time on what others have done. It's such an individual thing that if you study for two weeks and arent' confident you may feel you are doing something wrong, but you aren't. When you get started take Part one of the practice exam, study your weak areas, take part two of the practice exam, when you feel confident sit for the actual exam. The good thing is you came to the right place, we are all here to help!

Welcome to the family! You will find many helpful, caring individuals here. We celebrate each others accomplishments and feel the pain of their setbacks. We are all in this together because even though most of us have families, they don't even know what it's like to go through this. The unique thing about this group(that I have noticed) is when one finishes they don't abandon the site but continue to mentor and advise. Once again, welcome!

One more thing....the recommended textbooks are exactly that....recommended. If you look at each section of the exam it will tell you what books you should NEED. And one more for the record....I've used SG101, Saunders NCLEX review, and some of the "required" textbooks reading(not much) and I took the practice exams. I took six of the exams in seven weeks and got three As and three Bs. Everyone is different but this worked for me.

OK. take a deep breath and relax.....it SEEMS like a lot of information. FIRST purchase the exam so you can purchase the PRACTICE exam. SECOND take Part I of the practice exam to see what knowledge you already have! THIRD study the parts you are weak in and just skim the parts you are strong in. FOURTH take Part II of the practice exam. FIFTH schedule your actual exam, get a passing grade and come back and be proud of your accomplishment. The practice exams are instrumental in keeping you from spinning your wheels. Why study for something you already know? If you follow this formula you may find yourself only studying a week or two for an exam and get through this much quicker with LESS stress. Good Luck!

congrats! I personally thought repro was easy, studied Saunders and SG101 for a week, took 38 minutes to take the test and got an A. I only used those two things to study. Good Luck.

You can take the A&P II without lab for the excelsior a&p requirement. MissingMyErica took it for hers and she will be sitting for the NCLEX soon. I haven't taken it yet but have academic approval from excelsior so I know you don't NEED the lab, of course if you plan on transferring anywhere but Excelsior if you pursue your BSN you may run into an issue and another institiution may require the A&P with lab.

If you live in MD or VA you won't be able to get licensed in either state by going through Excelsior(without stipulations). I currently live in the Shenendoah Valley and am moving to NC before I finish this so I can become an RN. This is a great program if you have a plan. I had most of my prereqs out of the way when I started in the end of March. In less than two months I have managed to get six of the nursing theory exams completed and the only reason it isn't seven is because the testing center I use in Roanoke has been booked every day I've had off. This program has made something possible that wouldn't have been if I had to go back to a traditional program. If you live in VA or MD and you can consider relocating then I would highly recommend Excelsior, if you can't consider relocating then I would look at other options. Good Luck

Thanks for the excellent information. I am only three exams away and at a rate of two a week I am less than a month and a half from being ready for the FCCA. You didn't really go into any detail about the content so I'm pretty sure you are safe as far as the academic honesty policy. Good Luck on the CPNE!

It depends on the college you wish to tranfer to. I would have to assume if you decide to stay with Excelsior through your BSN since they originally approved it then they would accept it. A good question for your academic advisor once you enroll.

Honestly, you will pay a LOT less money and have less aggravation if you take the A&P through Straighterline and they are definately approved at Excelsior. As for the microbiology, why not just study for it and test out of it at Excelsior? Remember before you enroll you can take Essentials of Nursing: Health Safety, and Transitions to the RN role AND any other exams that are NOT the other six nursing theory exams. This gives you an opportunity to get as much out of the way without being enrolled because once you do enroll the clock starts ticking and then at the end of your first year if you haven't finished you have to pay another $440 to stay enrolled(that may be going up). Many of us here have(or had) the same road. I also had only A&P, micro, and the eight theory exams. You will also need information literacy which is one credit and I would suggest PennFoster(also approved by Excelsior) It's only $115 through PennFoster compared to a couple hundred through Excelsior. Just remember to get approval from your academic advisors before enrolling in anything not from Excelsior. I save all of my email correspondences so that I have proof that they approved the courses. Good luck, this road is certainly an adventure and not as "easy" as many people think. Those that are looking for the easy way out soon found out they would have been better off in a community college program because in my opinion, Excelsior is tougher than any community college program but the sense of pride and accomplishment that go along with it are SOOOO worth it!

Repro down, LS 1-3 to go!

Everyone seems to be posting some pretty "disturbing" info about the LS 1-3 exams. For all that have taken it..... If SG101 is inadequate AND the Excelsior exams are not in line with the actual exam then what other sources beside the recommended reading in the text books are good sources? I have the Saunders NCLEX review and just started studying for LS1. I usually go to the CD and take a couple tests in "quiz" mode to see how well I do. It just seems that most of the questions I am getting are review and I'm thinking..."it can't be that easy" and I don't want to be unprepared. Is the Saunders enough to study? I've read that LS1 isn't that bad so maybe this one is easy but when it comes to LS2 and LS3 what suggestions does everyone have.

I thinck yuo shulld tack foul advantaj of the oportunnity yuo half in frunt of ouy and mack the beast uf it! Sorry, I had to do it! Good luck in that class.

Try to look for MissingMyErica. She took A&P II(didn't need the lab) and she said it was pretty challenging but then again she did it in FOUR days! Look for her on this forum and ask her about it.

Beach...just one question...I see under the heading "nursing specialty" you have Telemetry and PCU listed....could that have had something to do with you passing with an A..hmmm???? :)

I agree with you 100% Tasha, I find myself drifting off into my own world with audio/visual but written notes, with some explanation but to the point, I do well with. I have to wonder if this is a male/female thing(I'm not chauvinistic, really) but my wife seems to learn better in a classroom setting or with audio visual cues also. I did 90% of my prereqs either online or a hybrid class where I went to class once a week and everything else was on my own. I should start another thread to see but I think those of us with a Y chromosome a extremely outnumbered on this forum so it wouldn't be a true sampling. Anyway, great advice!

SG101 and then the Excelsior practice exams. I studied for two weeks, that has been about it for me though. I OVERSTUDIED for Health Safety for five weeks, but it was my first exam and didn't know what to expect. Transitions was two weeks to the day, Health Differences was one week, Chronicity was 13 days, and I will be taking reproduction with 6 days, but I went through my Saunders a couple times and realized I had most of the knowledge already. I took the first practice exam for repro last night and got a 73% and all areas were about equal except antepartal and congenital anomolies so I will study them a little more to bring those areas up. I think the key is taking practice exam "A" before you crack a book. If I had done that with Health Safety I wouldn't have taken so long to go through aaaalllll of the material, just where I was weak.

That's too funny! I have LS-1.2.3 AND Repro plus the FCCA and CPNE and A&P II and Micro, so it appears we are at the same point, It's not as far away as you might think. I would suggest looking at Straighterline for your A&P, I just got approval from my academic advisor so this is approved by Excelsior. The cost is $39 per course when you sign up for a monthly membership for $99 a month but if you finish in a month that's only $128 compared to the cost through Excelsior AND it's all online, no Pearson testing center, no traffic, no extra gas expense. You still have to know your stuff but in the end it's just less expensive.

I meant Focused Clinical Competency Assessment(FCCA) not exam

The answer to this question is usually a very sharp sting to those who aren't aware.....but....here we go. AFTER you finish any prereqs and the theory exams you then have to take a three part written simulation known as the Focused Clinical Competency Exam(FCCA). Once you have completed that you get to go on a THREE day clinical examination at a hospital. It starts on Friday afternoon and ends some time on Sunday. You will have to perform to ALMOST perfection the EXCELSIOR way while being watched by clinical examiners. You can read up on all of this here by typing in CPNE in the search bar, and read of others experiences, you can also read about it on Excelsiors website but I think you can get an almost first hand account by reading of others experiences. The first time pass rate of this clinical is around 60-65%.

I see a lot of people that have pursued their BSN and MSN after getting their ASN at Excelsior. What I am wondering is why they venture to another college instead of staying the course with Excelsior. Are the other options better? Less expensive? Faster? It just appears that there wouldn't be as many questions when it came to furthering your education if you stayed with one institution. Any feedback?

Look for anything on the history of nursing, nursing theorists, nurses that impacted history(nightingale, barton, mahoney), legal issues in nursing, nursing associations(ANA, NLN). Any files you open with this kind of information will be on "transitions". The other option is to get in touch with SG101 and tell them. I waited for the CD for two weeks and when it didn't arrive I emailed them and they sent me a link to download the material for HS and transitions and THEN sent me another CD! IMHO excellent customer service!

Thanks, and again..Congrats! How many do you have left?