mya612

I worked full time as a phlebotomist for 6 years. The last 3 years of that time period I was in nursing school. I also picked up shifts as a CNA on one of the floors in the hospital I worked at. Phlebotomy paid better than CNA, but I didn't want to lose the CNA skills I'd acquired. I also trained as a Paramedic prior to nursing school (this was very early in my health care career when I was deciding between nursing and medicine). The phlebotomy training was before the Medic training and it helped my confidence with IV starts as a Medic trainee, and then further on as a RN. So...to sum up.. I started as an ED Tech doing CNA and Phlebotomy, then became a Medic, then transferred from the ED to the Lab where I worked as a Phlebotomist for 6 years, then I became a Nurse. To answer your question and to echo the sentiments of others - do whichever pays better as a full time and if necessary, do the other part time. If you decide to do CNA part time, make sure you get enough hours to keep your certification current. Sorry for the length of this comment. Good luck!

That's awesome! I graduated from Excelsior in 2017, took NCLEX in 2018, and completed my BSN at WGU this year. Currently travel nursing. Congrats on your graduation from UTA.

Thanks!

Thanks so much! It's reassuring knowing I have so many people rooting for me. Y'all don't know how much it means to me.:)

Thank you! I'm accepting all of the well wishes and prayers I can get. :)

I'm heading to Albany, NY to test at Albany Medical Center right now as we speak. I believe I'm prepared, but I'm going up a little early to take the one - day workshop the school offers. The best advice I can give anyone is read the ENTIRE study guide. You will know what skills they expect you to have, and what skills they won't expect you to have. Then, I suggest getting a copy of Taylor's Clinical Skills textbook with the DVD. I also found the Mosby's Nursing Skills DVD to be extremely helpful. Both can be found on Amazon.

Within 48hrs. It took 7 months to get a CPNE test date, and that's because I took a cancellation date.

I took them at the same time with no issues.

The LifeSpan exams are the hardest. I suggest taking the practice exams that accompany these and studying the rationales. I also suggest a really good NCLEX study guide with a CD so that you can make your own practice tests based on the material outlined in the Excelsior Study Guide for these exams. Regarding the CPNE - all of my paperwork was approved in February and I just got a test date the end of July for the end of September (7 months from application acceptance), and that was because I took a cancellation. If I had waited for them to assign me a date, I would've probably been testing in December (10 months from application acceptance). Good Luck!

Similar to some of the comments from other posters - I used StudyGroup 101 exam study guides for all of my exams and took both practice tests that are offered for the exams. I took 10 exams from February-September of this year and I am currently doing FCCA. I only got one "C" out of all of the exams. The rest were "A's" and "B's". I reviewed the study guides to see what material I already knew, then I took practice exam A to get an idea of what my strengths and weaknesses were. I focused the bulk of my study time on my weaknesses but I also reviewed material I already knew just to make sure I was thoroughly prepared. StudyGroup101 was my go-to resource because of its brevity although I did use the recommended textbooks as a resource. I also used NCLEX study guides to quiz myself on the information paying close attention to the rationales. I really like Saunders Q&A and their regular study guide, although I also have Davis' Illustrated Study Guide and Davis' Q&A. A few days before I was scheduled to take my exam, I took practice exam B to see if there were any areas needing further attention. With both practice exams I paid close attention to the rationales for the answers. I know this post is a little wordy, but I hope it helps!

I just read the email from the school! Yayyy! I'm glad they are keeping the exam only option available to students.

klone, I feel you. I got my MBA in Health Care Management from WGU last year, and believe me, by the time I was finished I was burnt to a crisp! YOU CAN DO IT!!!! If I, the eternal procrastinator, can do it, YOU CAN TOO! Take a couple of days to recharge your batteries. Talk to your student mentor. Revisit the WHY of you enrolling in the program. I promise, you WILL see the light at the end of the tunnel and be so glad that you made it through to the other side.

Me too! Nervous, but excited and ready to be done.:)

EBP - can't leave home without it. How often do I see in these threads regarding ADN vs. BSn that the BSN teaches a person how to use EBP? Or think critically? I knew about EBP before I started nursing school. EBP is not something "coined" by the nursing profession. As a matter of fact, if anyone has ever seen any documentaries discussing contemporary medical issues (such as "The Business of Being Born") they would have heard the term EBP and they would have understood the importance of it in our post-industrialized westernized medical model becaue EBP is something that is NOT often practiced here in the US. If anything, it's health care CONSUMERS that have raised the awareness of the need for Evidence-Based Practice in health care, especially with regards to womens' health. As far as critical thinking is concerned - I believe my years on this planet, being a wife and mother, having held a job since I was 15, and my other education has guarenteed that I think critically - though choosing nursing as a second career now has me re-thinking that.

Requires a 30 month commitment - if you leave the "Cone Academy" early, you could owe the hospital system up to $5000. After you finish the "Academy", you still have to apply for a position for employment with the department you did the "Academy" in. Just an fyi.