LilstrideRN

Looks like you have some great advice here! I found a great little website called purposegames.com . I was able to make games out of information I was required to memorize (Bones, muscles, veins, arteries) By the time I made the game, I didn't even need it anymore. The fun part is when someone else plays your game and beats your high score, it encourages you to play it again. There is also a school that posts A LOT of study material online... I think it is Mesa Community College (MCC)... lots of free quizzes. I used their site as well as Khan Academy.

Try this, if you haven't already. Have you tried Walden? Online LPN to RN Programs

I have a coworker who did the LPN to RN bridge through Excelsior, she said it was a nightmare. Although she is now an RN, so it is doable! We live in Washington State, she said there were a lot of loopholes to maneuver to register for the NCLEX and get her licence.

Hi all! After 8 months of putting it off, I just finished my intake this afternoon. I will pay my tuition in the next few days and see what happens from there! I have 34 credits to complete, and hope to finish in a year. Anyone else on here going to join me on this adventure?

I hope last week ended well for you! I am in week 10 of my 12 week orientation, and I feel the same way you do. I am so worried that I am not going to be ready to be on my own the second week of Feb. Twelve weeks just doesn't seem long enough. I feel sick on my way into work every day! I have today off, and all I can think about is how sick I feel that I have to go back tomorrow. Please let us know how you are doing.

I lost a little one at 24 weeks, I know the pain you describe! Awful I am so sorry you went through this. (((Hugs))) to you and BF.

I returned to school at 43 with the same plan you have. However, I didn't get accepted to the LPN program my first try (thank goodness!). I took the year (that is what it takes to get into a program where I live) and worked on the rest of my BSN requirements so while I waited to get into the RN program I would be able to go right in to the BSN program when I finished. At 46 I graduated with my ADN and am about to start a residency in L & D, my dream job, since my goal is to be a midwife :) I will continue to go to school online with WGU. WGU requires you to be working as an RN for at minimum of 20 hours a week in order to complete your schooling with them. I think it is a good idea. And because it is self paced, I don't see why I will be much farther behind my cohort who went right on through to the BSN program. Anyhow, I was worried my age would be a factor when I started looking for jobs. I wasn't getting interviews and I watched my younger classmates get interviews and jobs, it was very discouraging. When I stepped back and evaluated the situation, I realized I was not applying for the same jobs they were applying for. I didn't WANT med/surg. I wanted L & D and I was holding out! I am really glad I did. I am watching most of my classmates who took LTC jobs quit already... I am happy to not be among them. You are never to old to start IMO. But I do think the track you are considering may end up taking longer than you think, especially if you get a job. I don't know about Sacramento, but I know Ventura is building a big beautiful hospital btw!

I get awful test anxiety too! I truly feel for your husband. I like the hypnotherapy idea, I wish I had thought of that!! Money doesn't grow on trees, so every program you try and ever test he takes must be financially draining... I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on programs like Kaplen, which I thought was out dated. I ended up paying $30 to NCSBN for a 3 week refresher course and worked on every single question. Without doing the review. While I did find it helpful, I supplemented with a one week free trial of UWorld. If I had to do it all over again, I would have paid for UWorld instead (Super inexpensive), and just used them. The reason I am going to suggest them to him is because you can alter the exams so you can take only the topics you are weak on and the screen looks EXACTLY like the NCLEX screen. Obviously the questions are not going to be the same, but reading the rationales, even if you get the question correct, is going to be a huge help. Don't give up!

78 questions in an hour. I thought I failed, but I passed. I will give a shout out to UWORLD. I really felt like they prepared me the most for the NCLEX. My best friend took the State Boards many years ago when it was a 2 day affair, with 1000 questions, and 6 week waiting period to know if you passed. Thank goodness we don't have to wait that long anymore! Here is an interesting read on Computer Adaptive Testing. https://www.ncsbn.org/InFocus_Spring2014.pdf Read "Pencils Down, Booklets Closed".

I didn't read all of the other posts so I don't know if anyone else has written this answer. When I was taking A & P I found a sweet website called purposegames.com. I was able to cut and paste pictures of bones and muscle groups and make quizzes for myself. I found that making the quizzes was the most helpful thing I ever did! They are fun to make, then you can use them as a speed drill. You find other people using yours tests (if you make them public) and try to beat your times. If you are competitive like me, this will really get you going! I aced A & P I and II using this free site, and would suggest it to anyone! There are also some schools that put out quizzes on random sites, I found some of them helpful too. However, not every instructor puts the same emphasis on individual parts, that is where purposegames.com was great for me, I could individualize my quizzes for my instructor. Good luck to you!

No real advice, but I feel your pain. I am watching my cohort get interviews and residencies and I don't even get a call. I am seriously wondering if it is because of my age (46). The people I am seeing getting jobs are no older than their mid 30's. I applied to WGU's RN to BSN program, because I think it will make me more marketable. I have also decided I will take an ACLS course online as soon as possible too (maybe even a PALS) I just need to find a facility to do a skills check for a reasonable price. I am feeling really discouraged! I have a lot of positive attributes to offer an employer, but I can't even get an interview! Maybe I should also take my resume to a professional resume writer. Have you done that?

My enrollment counselor for WGU told me I could be working as a CNA, as long as I was working in the healthcare field, using nursing skills and that many people are working in home healthcare as CNA's. Is that not true? I have already been accepted to the RN to BSN program at the school I attended to get my ADN, I would not have to work as an RN to be enrolled full time. However, the hospital we have here offers the Versant Residency program and they tell the new grads, who have been accepted, they may not work on their BSN while in their program. I realize that not all residencies are as rigorous as Versant. I already feel like my age (46) has played a factor in me not getting some of the interviews or residency positions I am seeing my cohort get. I want to get my BSN as quickly as possible so I feel more competitive. I am seeing people with no experience in healthcare or management get called for interviews while I am being emailed and told "we have found a candidate with more experience..." I am getting discouraged. Maybe it is my Resume that stinks, or maybe I should have gone through the ACLS course my clinical instructors advised against (saying, "why would you take that now, when your employer will pay for it once you are employed?" I know most of the people who took the ACLS did in fact get residencies... I feel frustrated with the bad advice :/ )

I am considering enrolling in WGU's RN to BSN program. From what I understand, you must be working in a nursing related field for 20 or more hours per week in order to be eligible for enrollment. I am currently working 30 hours a MONTH as an Independent Provider CNA (I just graduated last month and passed the NCLEX last week). I could take on 20 hours a week with my client as a CNA and I don't think that would really be too much of a problem. I don't believe he is eligible for any RN hours, but I will check with his case manager Monday. Anyway, I am feeling like maybe I should be applying for residencies, but from what I understand a residency works out to 40 a week between online assignments and in class lectures plus working on the floor. Maybe I am answering my own question here... I really want the BSN, but I want to be successful and not stressed out... this is seeming stressful. Maybe I should just stay where I am, or possibly look for another home healthcare position as an RN. Please tell me what it is you did, or do, for work while completing your degree at WGU. Thanks!

I am so glad I ran into your thread, I signed up just so I could reply. First of all, congratulations! Was USF your only choice, or did you apply to others? I am a new grad and just took the NCLEX last week, glad that is over! Because of my age (46) I am afraid to take too much time earning my BSN. I was accepted to the RN to BSN program in the school I recently graduated from, but am looking into WGU. Eventually I would like to apply to Frontier, but like another poster here, I am concerned the pass/no pass grading (giving a 3.0) will render me noncompetitive. I have a 3.74 overall GPA so I wonder how much a 3.0 over 20 units will bring my GPA down. (213 quarter credits = 142 semester credits I believe.) I guess I have to figure out the math... In the past I have heard/read stories of people completing their BSN in 6 month, but now I understand there is one course you are not able to take in the same semester as another course, so you have to pay for the 2nd semester anyway... I figure if that is correct, I should take may time and enjoy my classes. What do you have to say about the rumors? How long did it take you? Did you have any prerequisites to complete, or did you just have nursing classes? I already have my humanities, Stats, and microbiology... are they required prereqs? My husband has been playing devils advocate, so even though I have done quite a bit of research, I am nervous about getting my degree there and people thinking I just went to a "degree mill". Reading that you were accepted to Nurse Practitioner school gives me a comforting feeling. I know I have many more questions for you, I hope you wont mind. I think I will call Frontier tomorrow though and ask them about the amount of WGU grads they accept into their program. I don't have anything else going for me, I am not a doula or lactation consultant, I have never assisted with a birth (just watched a few in nursing school, watched my grand babies be born and had 5 of my own). And like I said earlier, I am getting older and I can't waste any time! Thanks in advance! Update: I did the math and it seems WGU would only bring my GPA down to a 3.64