RHope

Excelsior College Associate Degree nursing program recently lost its accreditation with the ACEN, and a lot of state nursing boards have stopped licensing Excelsior grads. I was one of their LPN to RN grads way back before any of this happened, passed NCLEX-RN on the first try with 75 questions. Finding a job as an RN afterwards was nearly impossible. Even now, it still affects me some. Do yourself a favor, go to a traditional school where you will get a better education that will be accepted more. You will also finish a lot quicker in a traditional program and your credits will transfer easier if you ever decide to continue your education somewhere else.

You feel dumb. The only problem is there were other nurses that cared for the patient before you. So that would mean you're all dumb together. It took more than one shift for that patient to get like that. The nurse that worked before you, don't you think she could have called the MD, obtained a chest X-ray & blood work? You're the only one that really took any real action. Had you not had been that patient's nurse that day, she definitely would have died. Do you really think the other nurse would have bothered to call the doctor and obtain orders like you did? From what you described here, I highly doubt it. And guess what, they didn't. She may have called a pizza place. That's about it. The next time, just call the doctor and give them verbal results of abnormal X-rays & lab results. Fax the hard copy to their office later. You gave that patient a chance, because you took the time to further investigate potential health problems. The family, you, and the nurse that worked after you, worked together and saved that patient's life. No, you're not perfect. Who is? But you sure as hell are NOT dumb. People who try to make you feel dumb are insecure and feel powerless within themselves. Don't sell yourself short. There are countless patients, families, and nurses out there that need you. Like any other profession, you grow as a nurse everyday. ?

You really should consider appealing now before anymore time passes.

I also agree that if they still allow you 2 1/2 hours to complete a PCS, you should not have been rushed. It was up to the CE to stop the clock if the patient had to go somewhere, and restart it upon the patient's return.

I'm so sorry that you were not successful with the CPNE. I do remember that you must chart every assessment finding that you assess according to the critical elements, even if it is not an assigned assessment or area of care. So if it was not assigned or it didn't have to be done, I didn't do it. But pain and a rigid abdomen must be addressed and all the critical elements for those assessments must be documented according to the critical elements. Documentation definitely was my weak spot and I realized that long before I took the CPNE. Excelsior faculty from the documentation online conference I took and Sherri Taylor mentored me on my documentation for months before the exam. Back then Excelsior had the electronic peer network where you could view other students experiences and get real world advice about the CPNE. One of the things that stuck with me about documentation is that you must document things Excelsior's way during the CPNE. I performed a PCS perfectly and still failed that patient because I forgot to label a dressing with the date, time, and my initials. I was an LPN and that was not the way we did it in the real world. I wanted to give up. But I retook that adult PCS and was successful. I passed the retake on the IV push station. Failed the pediatric PCS, just totally falling apart. I had to seriously regroup and basically thought I would be taking the CPNE again. Soon as I let go, I was able to focus much better and passed the repeat pediatric PCS. Passed the CPNE on the first try by the skin of my teeth and I knew the critical elements with its rules. I always retraced my steps and tried to find out where I went wrong, learn from my mistakes, and not repeat them. I did not give up. I fought for what I wanted. I fought mainly against my own doubts and fears within myself. Even if you decide to go to another school, please don't give up on your dream. I do agree with some of the things you were saying about their clinical testing and the set up of the program. I don't really encourage people to go to Excelsior. I don't really encourage nursing at all now and that has nothing to do with Excelsior. That's another story. On that note, I will leave you with this, "If nursing is still what you want, you can do it." But if you no longer want to, don't lose any sleep over it. You can do better.

This is so true. I have encountered some BSN prepared nurses who have NO CLUE what they're doing and they graduated from the prestigious schools. I'm not exaggerating. Trust and believe.

I think that study on patient safety decreasing when there are less BSN prepared nurses working is seriously flawed and should have gone right into the shredder. It seems to be more of a gimmick to bring in more money to 4 year universities. The future of nursing education seems to be taking a downward spiral. Learning research and how to write papers is good in its place, but assessment, procedural, bed side nursing skills are still needed. How can someone really be a safe effective RN if they can't assess? Its really a pity. Nursing is becoming more corporate and less patient centered. I cannot wait to be done with this circus of a profession. The only problem is that someday I may have to be a patient again. What a scary thought for the future.

If you like hospital A better, you may do better staying there. Would also consider things like staff to patient ratios, unsafe policies, working conditions, attitudes of staff, managers, and doctors. Even though hospital B may offer a dollar or two more, it may not even be worth it in the end.

I worked on a hospital floor that was very clickish. Half the nurses had no clue in hell what they were doing or how to be a nurse. I never bragged or put myself on a pedestal. I was nice and helpful to everyone. The new doctor and the NP were horrible along with the nurse manager who cared nothing about the patients or the unit. The manager would just sit in her chair all day and eat. When you're working under a poor management with poor staff, what can you do with that? I did not have to report most of what happened because the things they did were out in the open. Management was already there to witness and knew what was going on. I had no desire to try to get others in trouble anyway. But I wish we could have worked together to improve patient outcomes. A patient fell and bust her head open do to the blatant neglect by the day shift staff who was in the click that she was the ring leader of. Thus, she did absolutely nothing about it. Another patient had severe signs of a UTI that the nurses in her click neglected. These nurses actually told the patient that she was faking her pain. The physical therapist who knew everything told her to quit winning and stop trying to avoid physical therapy. When I encountered this patient, I immediately got an order for urine C&S, collected the sample, & sent to lab and addressed the pain. She was treated successfully and was so thankful that she and her family invited me to their home for dinner. The manager was aware of all this and turned on me rather than discipline those who neglected her for days. There were other patients who deteriorated in a room all day with no one to notice or care until I came to work. Supposedly the nurses and doctor had gone in to see them. Supposedly they were fine all day, but soon as my shift started, I would notice things like sudden lethargy, hypotension, tachycardia, signs of sepsis, hypoglycemia, chest pain, shortness of breath. I was extremely good at what I did. But because I did not fit into the click, the manager and those she used to work with her, went on a witch hunt to bring me down. She would find any little thing she could, blow it out of proportion, switch it around to make me look bad to human resources. She knew she could get away with it because HR really has no clue in hell about being a nurse or what it really even consists of. Never did I ever do anything on that unit to harm a patient. A lot of times I was the only thing standing between them and death, even though most of them and their families mistreated and humiliated me. I have barely even touched the surface of what was going on at that unit. What a circus. The mental and emotional pain I endured on that unit has left scars on me. I really set out to do something good and it ended so bad. I find that a lot of nursing jobs are the same or worse. So then I'm asked, "Do you like being a nurse? Do you like your job? I'm supposed to like that? Knowing the truth about nursing and healthcare like only a nurse can know, I must tell you: try your best to avoid getting sick or having to go into the hospital. The golden years may not glitter much at all. Please follow up with a primary doctor, and take care of yourself as best you can if you can help it. Do not get caught up in this healthcare system. It only gets worse every year. I don't want to think about what its going to be like in another 10 to 20 years. I hope to be out of it by then.

Does anyone feel they should end all associate degree nursing programs being that most employers are beginning to no longer hiring them? What's the use of graduating new associate degree RNs if they can't get hired? Nursing homes are still using associate degree RNs and LPNs. You don't need a BSN to paste cream on a butt and pass pills or supervise and/or manage those who do it. But those jobs are going to start becoming scarce as the new ADN grads have no other options.

Nice. Nursing is just such a rewarding, welcoming profession. When people say, "You must really like being a nurse", is it hard to hold in the laughter?

That sounds like the school I went to. But thank God there were a few professional, ethical instructors and managers there too. I stuck close to them. The unreasonable, rude, unprofessional ones, I'm so glad I had no interaction with.

This is all true. 100%.

When I was an Excelsior College associate degree nursing student, I was enrolled in a phlebotomy program and an EKG/monitor tech program at a local college. I also had LPN med-surg experience at local hospitals through a temp agency for a few years and did that until I passed the CPNE and the NCLEX-RN both on the first try. I had also attended two workshops, took online conferences, and practiced the study guide on a daily bases for about 10 months prior, up until the day of the CPNE. Soon, I was hired by one of the local hospitals I had done agency work for right after the hospital started phasing out all the LPNs. They had a good training program for new RN grads, but most of what was being taught was not new to me and my preceptor noticed that. I did have an excellent nurse manager and charge nurses who taught me new RN responsibilities every day. My first year as an RN was a wonderful experience. It was a dream come true. It was a wonderful place to work and many of those nurses and I are still friends to this day. Then all hell broke loose. My nurse manager was replaced with the boss's best friend. The wonderful doctor who had been there for 40 years retired and the young man who came after her brought an evil on the scene, which I thought I would never see again in this day and time. The new doctor along with his new NP wife also made a lot of unsafe decisions leaving us nurses holding the bag. All three of them together created an abusive, toxic, unsafe environment along with deliberate short staffing for budget control and top management bonuses. The abuse and mental trauma I endured there has left a lasting effect. Lots of people would complement me on how good a nurse they thought I was, but it sure wasn't helping the situation. I did really appreciate the complements, though I really didn't feel like I was holding it together. I knew if things didn't change eventually I would probably break. I had reservations about leaving, but began to do other work on the side until I eventually left. But I left stronger with much more experience nursing wise as well as politically and socially. I work at another hospital as a Med-Surg/Vascular/Neuro/Telemetry and its great. A much better environment where I have been able to thrive and start to heal again. I have also done some temporary oncology work. I also work on the side as a Nursing Supervisor at a SNF. I am treated much better and actually work under people who actually respect and appreciate us nurses. Recently, I have worked with some BSN nursing students from a local university in their senior year and some of the things they don't know may scare you. Basic nursing knowledge that I was taught even as an LPN, some of them don't even know, like basic medications and basic procedures. When I graduated from Excelsior, I had a much better handle on things than some of them. I guess regardless of the nursing program one graduates from, to some extent it depends on the individual student what they get out of it. Nursing itself can be vicious and horrible, but also has its rewards at times. I was able to intervene and save the lives of several of my family members and others around me and patients on the job. I'm sure some of them will go on to do the same things. Something good came out of my Excelsior education. Those are the things that make me not regret becoming a nurse when sometimes I may start to. I think at this point, what's done is done and I have very little desire to get a BS, but always strive to continue learning daily. And maybe after I get my finances together, maybe I'll just get the hell out and spend my later years just enjoying life. Best regards.

Hearing about situations like this make it all more clear to me that I should not invest anymore time and money into getting a BS in a profession as awful and unfair as nursing.

True. Nice pic by the way.

You will get much better education using Excelsior College books, online conference, study guides, and practice exams as opposed to "My Study Group", "College Network", "Rue" or one of the other publishing companies. The publishing companies materials are substandard and don't contain even 30% of the indepth knowledge you would get from the Excelsior books and resources. And not only that, the publishing company books are way more expensive and Excelsior does not recommend or endorse those products. When in doubt, call Excelsior College and speak to them directly toll free at 1-888-647-2388. I did and am ever so glad I did. At one time I was an Excelsior College associate degree nursing student. I'm speaking from experience having used both resources, the latter being Excelsior's. I had started out using publishing company for my first nursing exam and barely made a C. Started using Excelsior resources and my grades shot up to an A and I also gained much more understanding. If you're gonna do the Excelsior RN program, get all you can out of your education because you're gonna need it. You will need it for NCLEX-RN and working as a nurse in the real world. I personally would not do an associate degree program again anywhere, I'd just go straight through a traditional BSN because of new hospital requirements. Also, some states will not license Excelsior grads without additional requirements. California will no longer license us at all. And of course BSN grads get hired before we do, which sucks because we both pass the same NCLEX. And there are piss poor BSN nurses as well as ASN, so its highly unlikely that taking more management, liberal arts, and business courses will make someone a better bedside nurse. Its the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. At the end of the day, its your decision to make, so always do you boo. Good luck to you whichever route you choose.

Amen! You said it right.

Oh am I? I am so familiar with this company. DON'T DO IT. The College Network is NOT a college at all, its just a publishing company with hell of a marketing scheme and has "NO" affiliation with Excelsior College. They will charge you thousands of dollars for their materials and they are not quality materials anyway. At least Excelsior College has textbooks for all of their courses that are the actual text books used by the other comparable colleges. If you do go the Excelsior route, using the books in the study guides for each exam that comes directly from Excelsior College bookstore along with its online conferences, and practice exams will give you the best possible grade, give you a wealth of knowledge and critical thinking skills, give you excellent prep for the boards, and at the same time you'll save yourself thousands of dollars. On the other hand, Excelsior College itself also has some risks. Its a good school and is accredited, but unfortunately there are a lot of bad factors that outweigh the good. There is a clinical performance exam at the end that is highly subjective and may not test you fairly. You can only fail this exam 2 times. Some of the best nurses and students fail this exam because of its high subjectivity. Some of the clinical examiners are extremely rude and unprofessional. On the 3rd failure, they dismiss you from the program and fail you for the entire program and all the money and time you put into the program is lost. Excelsior is much harder than a traditional program. Even its prereques are considerably harder. Your credits from Excelsior may not always be accepted for transfer to other colleges and universities. The associates degree in nursing from Excelsior is not accepted by some employers and now a lot of employers are not accepting associate degree nurses from any school. Some state boards of nursing do not accept Excelsior and will not license us. What may seem quicker and easier may not always be the best option. So overall, your best option may be to go straight through an on campus acredited traditional BSN program.

What I say might not sound nice. But one thing I will do is tell you the truth like I wish someone would have told me years ago. You want the truth about a school, talk to its students and graduates. You may get different stories, but you will get it straight. If you want me to add a little sugar, I could, but that may not necessarily give you all the tools you need to make an informed decision.

DON'T DO IT. DO NOT GO TO EXCELSIOR COLLEGE. GO TO A TRADITIONAL BSN PROGRAM: I tell you from experience, please go to a traditional BSN program. In the long run you will save yourself time and money and you will get a much better education that will be more accepted by employers and the community. The College Network is not a college, its just a publishing company with hell of a marketing scheme and has NO affiliation with Excelsior College. They will charge you thousands of dollars for their materials and they are not quality materials anyway. At least Excelsior College has textbooks for all of their course that are the actual text books used by the other comparable colleges. Excelsior is actually a good school, but your credits will not be accepted for transfer to some other colleges and universities. Some state boards do not accept Excelsior and will not license those nurses. When I saw Melissa Nave's story on youtube all I could do was cry. And I'll tell you something else, most of the hospitals are starting to phase out associate degree nursing, regardless of the school its obtained from and will only hire BSN. Even RN jobs outside of the hospital are starting to only hire BSNs. Why waste your time and money on a degree that most likely won't be marketable. My story is not quite as bad as Melissa's, but bad enough. I live in upstate NY and none of the hospitals would hire me with my Excelsior Associates Degree RN. Now they won't hire associate degree nurses from any school and its getting like that everywhere. I got into a hospital because I worked for a temp agency there as an LPN, the manager on that unit liked my work, found out I was an RN, pulled some strings and hired me as an RN (this was before they stopped accepting all ADN nurses). I was excellent at what I did. She was a wonderful manager and person, but they fired her at the end of the year because her boss wanted to give her best friend the job. My new manager was very catty, set me up every chance she got and set out to ruin my nursing career along with a brand new doctor who made many dangerous mistakes who hated me for not fitting into his click. Together they made my life a living hell. The hospital put more and more work on us and unsafe patient loads and began harassing all of us nurses like you wouldn't believe. The horizontal violence became too much along with the physical and mental stress of the job and I left that hostile environment. I had to think about my license and my own well being. So after all these years do I want to work in a hospital? No. They can kiss my ass. I know the kind of RN and person I am and I sure as hell deserve and can do better than that. So can you. Just get your BSN. Do a hospital for a year or two and then go outside to something else. Just get in with your BSN, get your experience and get out. Nursing is a beast. You just have to know how to tame it.

Excelsior NO. Local BSN program, yes.

May I ask what agency are you with?

I was a new LPN in 2002. None of the nursing homes I applied to would hire me except for two. One was way out in the middle of nowhere. and the other was a low star inner city facility with multiple issues and deficiencies. My situation left me no choice but to start there as I did not even have two nickels to rub together and mainly walked everywhere I went. They started me off at $12 an hour and I felt like I'd won the win four lottery. There I meant some of the most highly skilled, professional LPNs and RNs I've ever worked with. In no other nursing home have I ever found the high level of professionalism among nurses. There I really gained a good foundation. Later I went on for my RN and that's its own horror story. Not as bad as Melissa Navie's at times, but sometimes worse. Nursing is not an easy profession. It can be very cruel, challenging, and rewarding.

Thank you so much SirJohnny