Beeks

I would suggest giving Exceclsior a go. I'm an RRT that was laid off in December and I'm having a heck of a time finding work. With the way my studying is going, I am hoping to be a licensed RN by this time next year, where (hopefully) my job opportunities will be better. There are always a ton of RN job listings and only a very few RRT ones in my area, and with all the hospitals having made lay offs in the last 6 months (one area hospital laid off half the RT staff) the market is saturated and very competitive. I love respiratory, don't get me wrong, but there is better mobility (upwards and lateral) in nursing. With your background as a medic and an RRT, the excelsior classes shouldn't be too difficult. For me, the worst part so far has been the care plans lol. It's just something I"m not used to since we don't do that in RT. I am nervous about things like starting IV's and such since I won't have hands on practice, but I can draw a gas and start an a-line so I'm sure I can figure out an IV after a couple of tries.

So, I am currently an RRT in nursing school to get my RN. I was laid off in December from the hospital I worked at, and have been having a rough time finding work since. I'd really LOVE to get into hyperbaric wound care (most of the wound care centers in my area, FL, are Healogics, and in the job descriptions it says that they offer the HBO Tech positions to RRT's). I have applied to probably 10 different jobs in the last couple of months with no call backs. Obviously, I am not a desireable candidate at this time. So, I was wondering about just going ahead and getting my CHT certification on my own. There is a class certified by the NBDHMT in my area at the end of April that I'm willing to pay to take...but then I read that before I can sit for the exam I need 40 hours of clinical preceptorship. My problem is that I don't currently have any job offers; I was hoping to get certified on my own to look more attractive as a potential employee but how would I go about getting my 40 hours of preceptorship? Should I just call around to each hyperbaric center asking if they'd sponsor me for a week or is this a hopeless cause? I'm not sure I'd be allowed access to medical records or patient care if I'm not an employee of the facility. I don't know how this works. My only other option is to just wait to get my RN license and hope that being dually licensed is enough to pique an employer's interest because I am not having any luck at the moment. ANY advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated!

I am nearing the CPNE as well. I have only the 3 lifespan classes to pass, one of which I am studying for now. I am getting nervous as well, but I know that I can do this. It's just a matter of being prepared, which there is plenty of time to do since the waiting list is so long. I'm planning on taking an in-person workshop as well while I"m waiting for a date which I'm sure will help with my nerves. If you can afford some kind of workshop, I'd recommend it.

I'm inclined to want to choose "A". The answer "green thick mucus" doesn't mean that they have a strong cough necessarily. Though they're obviously getting something up (because you know what it looks like), that doesn't mean they're not still at risk for an occluded airway, moreso because the mucus is considered "thick". I would assume that a "dry, NP cough" means that they don't have anything to bring up. Just my two cents. It's a tricky quiestion!!!

Congrats! I am anxious to get there myself! Do you know how often the FCCA's are scheduled? I'm just trying to figure out a rough guideline of whether or not I can be done with all the classes by the end of the year or not. Are they just held every other month?

Thanks for posting this! I recently spent half a week trying to register for a class before I broke down and emailed the school. An adviser quickly ok'd me to take the exam I was ready to take, but what a headache. I thought I was going crazy, or that something was wrong with my computer, haha!

I was so nervous for this test, but it wasn't bad at all! I passed with an "A". It took me a little over an hour to take the test (including going through each question twice). Most of the questions seemed like basic common sense. There were 3 or 4 that I was really stumped on, so I just tried to pick the answer that seemed most of out place of the four choices. For this test, I'd suggest understanding the nursing process inside and out and backwards. It's not enough to just know "ADPIE". You have to understand what each step entails. Also, understanding the therapeutic nursing approaches would be good. I think if you take your time and read the chapters for this test you will be ok. I honestly found the Transitions test to be a lot harder, but then again I didn't really study for it and got a "C". I also used the SG101 notes. The practice tests helped a lot for Health Safety. I did take both practice exams through EC for Health Safety, and surprisingly couldn't get more than a 65% on either of them, so I was nervous for the rest thing. But it turned out to be a breeze. I'm moving onto Health Differences next, which I'm hoping to have finished the week before Christmas so I can take a few days off. I think, with your scores on the practice tests, that you'll do fine. This test really wasn't rocket science, it was very straightforward. I remember wishing I had focused more on the different types of communication (therapeutic, deflecting, etc) because I didn't feel as confident on that area as I would have liked.

The only clinical portion of the program is the 2 day weekend for your skills checkoffs. It's like a final for clinical skills. You are expected to learn the clinical component of the courses on your own time. There is no preceptorship or mentoring available. Basically, first you take all your core classes, the FCCA (I think this has to do with assesment and diagnosis) and then you sign up for the clinical competency class. This is taken at a hospital that Excelsior works with. You may have to travel out of state depending on where you live. It's a 2 day weekend, and a pass/fail class. If you fail, you have to take it again. Excelsior does offer workshops that you can take for home based or in-person clinical skills. I hope this explanation helps. Excelsior is a great program if you are a motivated self learner. The clinical skills that you need to learn are things like basic assessment, starting an IV, inserting a foley, giving injections, wound care, etc. It is my understanding that the more invasive procedures are done on a dummy in the clinical competency check off. Everything else I believe is done with a real life patient. I'm sure someone on the board will correct me if I'm wrong on this. :)

I found Health Safety to be a lot more interesting than the Transitions. I just passed it last week. I think if you read each assigned chapter carefully you shouldn't have any problems. Most of the material is pretty straight forward. Take your time with the nursing process (ADPIE).

Yeah, I'm using an older edition as well and I don't think it's a problem. You will need the book for most, if not all, of the courses. Some of the chapters are a little bit off. For example, the syllabus might tell you to read Chp 8 (Nutrition), but it's really chapter 12 in your book. Other than that, I've had no trouble studying from an older book. I don't think the fundamentals of nursing change all that much year to year!

Congrats on passing!! It's a great feeling, isn't it? You can do this! I found Transitions to be the hardest test so far. I passed with a C. The material is just so dry and boring (to me). I found it hard to focus when I was trying to read or study. But it is passable - you can do it! At least you know what to expect since you've already seen the kinds of questions you'll be asked. :)

I was so nervous for this test, but it wasn't bad at all! I passed with an "A". It took me a little over an hour to take the test (including going through each question twice). Most of the questions seemed like basic common sense. There were 3 or 4 that I was really stumped on, so I just tried to pick the answer that seemed most of out place of the four choices. For this test, I'd suggest understanding the nursing process inside and out and backwards. It's not enough to just know "AIDET". You have to understand what each step entails. Also, understanding the therapeutic nursing approaches would be good. I think if you take your time and read the chapters for this test you will be ok. I honestly found the Transitions test to be a lot harder, but then again I didn't really study for it and got a "C". I also used the SG101 notes. The practice tests helped a lot for Health Safety. I did take both practice exams through EC for Health Safety, and surprisingly couldn't get more than a 65% on either of them, so I was nervous for the rest thing. But it turned out to be a breeze. I'm moving onto Health Differences next.