Is Excelsior the right choice?;)

No....it was determined that those rules that got EC students caught in the mix was actually directed at those fly-by-night nursing programs were taking money from students but folding before granting any degrees. Depending on your background, the only time the maximum precept hours will be imposed on an LPN is if you had not been working for a couple of years or worked night shift in a nursing home. It is spelled out on the BON website finally but it wasn't before I got my bloomers in a knot. Lol! You will be more than fine with EC!

Awesome that makes me excited! I just have to get off the break I have been on From school;) this makes me very confident I think I have around 750 clinical hours do u think I will have same issue with the board?

Near Savannah. Love it!

Aliakey: Your post was soooo helpful! I too live in Texas and will be graduating from a local LVN program this March. I've been researching affordable schools that offer LVN-RN transition. I've just recently learned about Excelsior, and now I'm seriously considering this College for completing my ADN. If you don't mind, will you please explain how the clinical aspect of the programs works. Also, are Online students invited to attend Commencement Ceremony at the time of graduation? I'm sure I'll have more questions as March approaches, but this will do for now! Lol. Thank you so much!!

I just graduated on November 16 from the Excelsior program, passed my NCLEX-RN the first time on December 20 at 75 questions, and received my RN from the Texas Board of Nursing on December 27. Wooo hoo! It took me a bit over a year and a half to complete the educational part of the program and the CPNE; I was not in a rush, and GPA was very important for future educational goals. The cost was comparable to the brick n' mortar nursing schools in my area... about $9000, which included the textbooks that I buy new since I keep them and can't stand having highlighters and writing in them, lol!

I have two emergency department job interviews lined up this month, so the "Excelsior College" stigma that sometimes we hear about obviously doesn't apply in this area. As one of the nurse recruiters told me, "If Texas accepts it, we accept it".

I have no regrets. Even though California (my original home) doesn't accept it, I have no plans to return back there except to visit family. Do make sure your state's BON accepts Excelsior before you apply.

The ability to earn this education and continue working full time as a paramedic was a very important consideration in this decision... I know where you're coming from in that aspect, and is very doable. Just don't expect to have a life

Good luck!

Aliakey, Your post was soooo helpful! I too live in Texas and will be graduating from a local LVN program this March. I've been researching affordable schools that offer LVN-RN transition. I've just recently learned about Excelsior, and now I'm seriously considering this College for completing my ADN. If you don't mind, will you please explain how the clinical aspect of the program works. Also, are Online students invited to attend Commencement Ceremony at the time of graduation? I'm sure I'll have more questions as March approaches, but this will do for now! Lol. Thank you so much!!

...If you don't mind, will you please explain how the clinical aspect of the programs works. Also, are Online students invited to attend Commencement Ceremony at the time of graduation? I'm sure I'll have more questions as March approaches, but this will do for now! Lol. Thank you so much!!

The clinical aspect is where your study habits, time management, documentation skills, and self-discipline is going to be put to the hot coals. It is called the CPNE exam. It is very stressful for many, but can be passed the first time around.

The clinical aspect of the program (CPNE) is a three-day adventure at a participating hospital that you'll tackle near the end of your entire RN program. On the first day of the exam, you'll perform your "lab skills" where you demonstrate an ability to properly calculate, draw up, and administer various routes of medications to manikins, set up and accurately adjust a gravity-drip IV, and set up a sterile field for a sterile wound dressing change on a fake wound. Seems simple enough, but you must be absolutely accurate in your calculation, skills, and stay within an alloted amount of time. Some people cannot pass this portion of the exam, and so do not move on to the actual patient care on days 2 and 3.

On days 2 and 3, you will be assigned a pediatric patient (unless the hospital does not have an acceptable one available) and adult patients... one at a time. A Clinical Examiner (minimum of an MS in Nursing and completed Excelsior's other requirements for this position) will watch your every move during patient care. You will be assigned certain tasks for each patient, which could range from complete vital signs to I&Os, dressing changes, medication administration, respiratory hygeine, comfort management, nasogastric tube management, etc. You will not be inserting IVs, foleys, NG tubes, or other invasive equipment, but will be expected to know how to work with them safely and properly. The Clinical Examiner is not permitted to educate you or guide you unless you are using a particularly uncommon piece of equipment, such as an unusual syringe pump for pediatric medications. In this case, you are shown how to use the equipment once (before you meet your patient), allowed to ask questions or work with it yourself a bit, and after that... it's all you!

The major resource for this exam is the CPNE Study Guide, which will become your 500+ page "bible" for the CPNE once you've been qualified to take the exam. It outlines every major and minor expectation/requirement for each skill you will be expected to perform. Unlike the brick n' mortar nursing schools, you will not be guided, instructed, or coached into how to perform your skills by a precepting nurse. The Fundamental of Nursing and Medical Surgical textbooks you use during your Excelsior nursing education *will* be your resources for learning the skills properly, and the CPNE Study Guide will be the rulebook. You will have to understand the documentation of your nursing diagnosis very well using a specified nursing diagnosis reference... you will be expected to determine the patient's needs, physically address them, and accurately document it all.

I found the experience to be challenging and kinda stressful, as you will find that there are very few "textbook perfect" patients. But, the patients are screened by the Clinical Examiner before being assigned to you to be sure there is no change in their status, where they would no longer considered as a fair subject for your testing. You must be well-prepared for this exam though. Out of my group of 5 or 6 (can't remember now, lol!), I was the only one who passed that weekend. But, I treated this exam as a part-time job when I was qualified for it, spending many hours practicing skills and reading my textbooks over again. It really paid off in the end.

Not trying to scare you off, but just want to be sure you are well aware of the time committments that will be required. There are those who would think a 3-day weekend of clinical testing is sorely inadequate for a nursing student, but that assumption does not take in consideration the perfection expected during the exam and the hundreds of hours of self-study that preceded it.

As for the Commencement ceremony question, you will be invited to the ceremony in New York if you wish to attend. Graduation dates are monthly though, which is a benefit to you so you can apply for the NCLEX testing with your Board of Nursing.

Hope it helps!

Wow! That's an excellent illustration of the CPNE. Several of my friends have conquered this giant. The clinical is definitely difficult but a me to be accomplished. I really appreciate all the information I'm learning on this forum.

I am in the process of starting Excelsior, I live in VA and I know as of today, I will need to work in another state; ie Washington DC (900 hrs as an RN) before I will be able to apply for a VA RN license. Any one out there in the same boat???

whats the difference between a nursing home and long-term

whats the difference between a nursing home and long-term

No difference in these two. But there is a major difference in long term ACUTE care, which is like an extended med/surg, ICU unit combined. These patients require long IV therapy and care (several weeks or months), depending on the illness. Lots of them are on ventilators as well.