GN1974

Hi! I had 75 questions and it took me two hours to complete. I tried to focus. I am from Florida and have been an LPN for about ten years. I took it on Tuesday the 31st of May and the results showed on Pearson the 2nd of June. My license was up on the boards web site Monday. Good luck, Dee

Anyone else feel like everytime they are at work they are constantly politely changing the subject or avoiding the back stabbing, sarcasm, and pumped up egos? I am a new grad and find the way team members trash each other to mirror a bloody dog fight. I want to remain neutral...and I will if it kills me. People walk around with chips on their shoulders and matches to light sparks(to cause big fires)--UGGGHHH!!! Why do nurses chew their own???Why do people have such inflated egos and make mountains out of mole hills??? Maybe I will become rich and get outta nursing once I find the answer to these questions--and the solutions to effectively solve them(I am dreaming now.) Maybe we can all make it a goal to become humbler, respectful, and support each other--Lord knows nursing isn't easy...and to pile more crap on it by picking away at each other is a shame! Yes, there are times I feel like doing a major smack down but instead I look at the person and give them a nice smile or compliment. Thanks for reading my vent...I just sat through hours of he/she is this, that, and everything else. Seems like when your new everyone has a complaiant to "warn" you about another. I can make up my own mind and then keep it to myself--unless of course someone is causing undo harm to THE PATIENT! Anyone else trying to remain neutral and dodging bullets???? Kudos to the many great nurses who bite their tongue for the sake of peace--and I know there are many out there! Karen

Not everyone seems to test well like you. I am not at all surprised it took 6 tries. Some great and wonderful nurses are just not good test takers. Kaplan, from what i hear, is good at helping break it down. I took 75 first try and passed as well...but this was a tough test. Congrats on your passing and thanks for sharing! Karen

Yes, Chip is right, the program is about $5,000. This includes all testing fees and clinical fees. You can get the books from half for a fraction of the price. You really only need some basic books like fundamentals, med-surg, peds, and maybe psych. A great book that has it all combined is Lippencott's manual of nursing. Good luck, Karen

I 100% agree with you on the non LPN students being admitted into the program. They did some damage. I define incompetent by several facors--safety. critical thinking, time management, making priorities, personal communication skills............... Karen

It really just boils down to common sense....there will always be good and bad nurses no matter where they graduated from. I work with 2 other Excelsior grads and they are way better nurses than most of the others on the unit. One is agency and one does much of the precepting on the unit. One new grad that started when I did, who graduated from a local traditional school, has already been deemed incompetent and won't make through her 90 day trial period. Yes, Excelsior is not without error, but so many traditional schools let incompetent nurses loose every year as well. One thing I can compliment Excelsior college on is teaching INDEPENDENT and CRITICAL thinking skills. I recently took PBDS and was the only new grad to pass that thing in a year on my unit. I have spoken to other EC grads who have taken and passed it on the first attempt while other new grads from traditional programs fail. Several Excelsior grads pass NCLEX with the minimum 75 questions. I recently attended a GN orientation course at the large hospital system I started at and was amazed that no one else passed PBDS and most who passed NCLEX took well above the minimum. The nurse educators had to coach all the other nurses on how to pass PBDS...show and example and discuss it. I came out of Excelsior knowing how to think independently. I know several other new grads from traditional schools pass these tests with colors as well. There are good and bad to both types of schools. Karen

I just passed the NCLEX and think saunders is great. I had a bunch of review books but found Saunders the best with good questions. The Mosby's online CAT style assessment tests are the closest to the real thing by far. You pay about $40.00 and have 30 days unlimited tests. These tests are like the CAT and go up and down in difficulty as per how you answer. It also gives you a break down of the areas you need work on. Very well worth the money. Karen

I had a MA give it to me at my ob/gyn office during my last pregnancy. I see no reason why an LPN can't administer it. It is a blood product but does not require the checks and verification of transfusions...or the monitoring. Karen

wooohooo!!! Yeah! I passed also. Best wishes in your new career. Karen

I passed the NCLEX!!! I just had to share. It was an extremely hard test. I had 75 questions and many of the new style questions. Thank you Lord and thanks for the support of the board. Karen RN :)

I passed and I hope the rest of you did too. I really thought I failed. What a wild and crazy test. Karen

I really thought I failed the NCLEX. I had 75 questions and the last few I missed were level 1 type questions. I had several (like 10+) select more than one answer. I was so sure I had failed. It has been 2 of the most stressful days awaiting the results. Thank you lord and this board for the support. I wish you all success. If you feel you failed know that a lot of people feel this way. I have gone from being a total wreck to flying high. Above all I thank God for the opportunity to even make it to this day. Karen

Yes, I really like the job so far. There is a lot of support for new grads and my preceptor has been really good. Have you started yet? Let me know how it goes. My advise is be prepared for that PBDS and a long week of general orientation :)

I think a large part of the stigma with Excelsior grads has come to light fairly recently. Californias decision made several other boards look into the program. Kansas stopped taking Excelsior grads with no warning ( I think something was worked out now) and in Utah a company owned by two Excelsior grads was shut down by the state for shady dealings. Several other states have the issue of Excelsior on their agendas to further evaluate...and largely because of this negative publicity in the past few years. I have also heard from local CC instructors that students who can't make the traditional program tell them they will just do Excelsior...hence the easy out stigma as well. I know it was NOT an easier road but it can be for those who buy answers from the internet and such. I agree there are many great Excelsior alumni out there (I work with two are competent) but for recent grads this cloud does hover above. I myself got a quality education from the program and had 10 years LPN experience in various settings to carry with me. I personally would be hesitant to go this route again unless there was absolutely no other alternative. I think Excelsior needs to make some more changes to the program to make boards and employers view it as favorable. I also believe it may become more widely repected as more college and universities launch internet classes. This is my own opinion but I stand by it--go to a traditional school if at all possible. Those who have done the program and been working for awhile, I am sure haven't much of a problem (if they are competent)..Craig and featherz are great examples.

I must agree with Chris on going to a traditional school versus Excelsior. Even if you make it through the program , people do tend to question the degree. I am fortunate to have been able to get a good job with lots of training for new grads...but it wasn't easy. I really wish I would have just gone to a traditional school. Hurrying through the program may only make it worse for you....if you didn't retain the material and then hit the floor and have too many questions or aren't familiar with common concepts, people will chalk it up to being an Excelsior grad. If you do the program, I highly suggest doing it in a paced manner so you get a balanced education and retain the info. It took me from Oct 2003-January 2005(I had 7 classes to take) to complete all the courses and CPNE...it then took from January to mid march to get my degree. Karen

Florida does only take LPN's who are currently on their registry. I just finished Excelsiors program and am taking boards soon. I had no problems getting my authorization to test here. I called prior to starting the program and they told me I must be an LPN already here in Florida in order to sit for boards. Karen

The clinical part is given over a weekend once you have completed the nursing concepts exams (it is a performance exam that gives credit of pass or fail upon completion..no teaching involved) and are within 9 credits of completing the generals. It is given at one of many regional hospitals the school has contracted with. I know they have them in New York, Wisconsin, Atlanta (I went there), Texas, California, and soon to be Florida (Tampa). I am unsure of the exact cities, other than Atlanta and Tampa. The clinical is something that provides NO teaching. You are observed giving 1:1 patient care with a clinical evaluator. The clinical evaluator observes you carry out the patient care assignment...you must do it with complete accuracy or you will fail. You can fail one adult situation and one pediatric...you must pass two adult and one pedi situation. They also have a lab portion of the exams that includes IM/SQ, IVPB med, IV PUSH, and packing/sterile dressing of a wound. Should you fail a lab you may repeat it once...but again it is done with complete accuracy. The school sends a big study guide to assist with prep. They also have workshops and internet classes. You must write a perfect patient centered care plan for each patient, implement it, and evaluate it. I will tell you the truth...this is a tough exam! (but it can be done)... Karen

That really does stink! I really feel for you. Hang in there...we all have had days like that! I agree with blue eyes take a hot bath and do something nice for yourself. No one can be the super human and nurse that we are expected to be. Karen

No LPN's here in the ICU at my hospital. I just got hired as a GN and will have to complete an ECG course, ACLS, and the critical care course to maintain employment on the PCU/ICU floor. There are no LPN's in the hospital I work, except on the well mother/baby unit--and from my understanding they have been there a long time and only work with the stable moms/babes. But like BOB said, it is highly varied as to your nurse practice act and the hospitals view on it. There are some LPN's on the board who have been doing ICU work umpteen years...and have probably more than proved their ability to care for critically ill patients. Karen

Wow, Hazel I am sure that you have plenty of experience! I agree I think LPN's are suited to work in infectious disease. I am sure you have seen plenty of changes in the profession over time Hazel!!! I admire that you have remained in nursing that long. Karen

You will find people in all professions who may not be deserving of their titles. Just because I have seen an RN act unprofessionally certainly does not mean that the RN profession is over rated. I have seen some LPN's do some things that are dangerous and unprofessional as well...but by no means should I disrepect and belittle their profession. I really think your remarks are childish and geared at making generalizations on groups of people based on some of your personal experiences. Yes, LPNs are being phased out of some areas but I really believe there will always be work for LPN's. Some of the best nurses I have worked with have been LPN's. It seems you swing from one opinion to the total opposite...first you say RN's are over rated then you say do away with LPN's. You make no sense intellectually......what a bunch of hog wash !!!!

That is a great post nursemike? I could not have said it better myself. Karen

:smiley_ab :smiley_ab

Their are things everyone can improve on...to error is human. There are good and bad in all professions. Sometimes you have to take things with a grain of salt and let them roll off your back. Karen