warning to all excelsior students- i want all potential and current students to know what happened to my girlfriend. take it for what its worth. my girlfriend was a california excelsior student for 6 long yrs (worked full time, supported and took care of her 3 kids) . she spent thousands & thousands of dollars for very expensive books, tests (about $200 per test). skills bags ($150), dvd ($130) , flashcards ($25), audio cd ($25), workshop ($700), and the outrageously expensive and outrageously easy to fail cpne (the 3 day clinical examination that must be passed to receive your rn degree). she failed the first cpne (as way more than half do). that meant another $1800 to retake that. of course, there were airline tickets (about $500 per trip x 2), hotels (about $450 per cpne) and car rentals ($250 per trip). all together she spent close to $20,000 to obtain what is essentially a worthless degree. not one of the 14 hospitals she contacted would hire her when she told them she was an excelsior graduate. are you hearing me? not one. so, when they tell you they're accredited, yada,yada,yada - remember it doesn't mean you can get a job. she tried to enroll in 3 regular, legit college programs. they all refused her because she already had her degree and rn license. so now, she can't even do that. excelsior knew years ago there was a problem. they had the opportunity to work with the ca board of registered nursing. they didn't. if you don't believe me - go to their site. type in 'excelsior' and see for yourself. also, go to georgia's nursing website. see the problems there. nurses are being denied jobs because they're excelsior graduates!!! don't let this happen to you. go to a respected and accepted college.
I have PERSONALLY called Excelsior recently when things weren't going so hot last semester and I thought I may have to drop out, but things turned out OK in the end.
The FIRST thing that they said, "What state do you live in, because our Excelsior graduates are not accepted in all states."
So, had your friend lived in Georgia at the time, they would have informed her of the change in that state. But she didn't live there, so Excelsior did nothing wrong.
I don't think your friend is telling you the full truth...are they specifically telling her that they don't accept Excelsior grads or is it more along the lines of she can't get an interview because some hospitals are laying off, not accepting new grads or want nurses with experience.
There is A HUGE difference.
Your comment doesnt make sense. CA does not accept Excelsior any longer. This is what the post says. Lay offs has nothing to do with it. You just said it yourself. Excelsior is not accepted everywhere.
Your comment doesnt make sense. CA does not accept Excelsior any longer. This is what the post says. Lay offs has nothing to do with it. You just said it yourself. Excelsior is not accepted everywhere.
California will still license an Excelsior graduate if they have been continuously enrolled since December 3, 2003. Because the EC enrollment is a max of 7 years, there could potentially be EC RNs who complete the program up through 12/2010 who get licensed. A couple of people I know graduated from EC last summer and are working as RNs in California -- neither had a problem getting hired, either.
Yes, on a case by case basis, but that's too general. California has to put some parameters regarding a case by case basis that way one can see if they qualify.
From what I was told "case by case" means 1000 or more CLINICAL practicing hours with no major issues. I mean come on, this is the same state the will let a CNA site for the LVN exam with 5 years experience and a pharm class.
I agree with you 300%, but the CA BRN & CA BVNPT are two totally different boards. I personally don't agree with the whole CNA-LVN thing because there is a difference in clinical experience. Don't get me wrong, I love CNA's and I still have my CNA, but after going through nursing school, YOU REALLY NEED TO DO THE LVN PROGRAM!!! There are things that you do as a VN student that you don't do as a CNA and you do need the practice. I wouldn't be too keen on a new LVN who challenged the board as a CNA. I know that there are a lot of smart CNA's, but after going through nursing school, I believe that's a very important. Not to mention it makes it look like anybody can just challenge the LVN board.
Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.
a- men....i just don't understand ca's justification for allowing a cna with no assessment skills to challenge the lvn exam and then exclude graduates from a nln approved rn program.....makes no sense
i agree with you 300%, but the ca brn & ca bvnpt are two totally different boards. i personally don't agree with the whole cna-lvn thing because there is a difference in clinical experience. don't get me wrong, i love cna's and i still have my cna, but after going through nursing school, you really need to do the lvn program!!! there are things that you do as a vn student that you don't do as a cna and you do need the practice. i wouldn't be too keen on a new lvn who challenged the board as a cna. i know that there are a lot of smart cna's, but after going through nursing school, i believe that's a very important. not to mention it makes it look like anybody can just challenge the lvn board.
California will still license an Excelsior graduate if they have been continuously enrolled since December 3, 2003. Because the EC enrollment is a max of 7 years, there could potentially be EC RNs who complete the program up through 12/2010 who get licensed. A couple of people I know graduated from EC last summer and are working as RNs in California -- neither had a problem getting hired, either.
S
Yes I read that afterwards. There are EC grads working in CA. the problem is TX, VA and GA.
Yes I read that afterwards. There are EC grads working in CA. the problem is TX, VA and GA.
Texas has no problems with EC. For Virginia, RNs can endorse in with 960 hours of time as an RN (about 6 months, basically) for grads who finish after 12/31/09 (I'm in Virginia, finished last year and had no problems). Georgia has allowed EC grads after a preceptorship (I believe our member nikpik is almost done with the preceptorship, for example). There are very few states that are completely off limits for EC grads. This link has good info:
Texas has no problems with EC. For Virginia, RNs can endorse in with 960 hours of time as an RN (about 6 months, basically) for grads who finish after 12/31/09 (I'm in Virginia, finished last year and had no problems). Georgia has allowed EC grads after a preceptorship (I believe our member nikpik is almost done with the preceptorship, for example). There are very few states that are completely off limits for EC grads. This link has good info:
I'm having a reeeeeeeeeally hard time understanding why someone would choose a program based on thinking it would be the "easy way out." I'm concerned when I see nurses that aren't academically minded and just want to get school over with but I'm also really worried about how people plan on learning how to give the best nursing care they can if they just want to slide by. One of my biggest pet peeves is a minimalist attitude. Drives me up a wall. Choosing a program that meets your logistical needs isn't what I mean (ie. I'm not downing EC) but choosing one because you think you can use it to skate by? Lame.
I believe THAT is the single biggest reason why there is such a high failure rate on the CPNE (and by the way, OP has it wrong - the majority of students DO PASS - the pass rate is 60+%). It's not that the exam is unreasonably hard, or a scam to fail people and collect money. It's that a whole lot of people join the EC program thinking it's easy. It's not easy. I think successful EC students are more independent, more motivated, and better self starters than the average nursing student. But those who are unsuccessful are those who signed up thinking it was a diploma mill.
I admit that I found the EC written exams pretty easy, but I've been a healthcare provider for a long time. However, the CPNE is next month and I have no guarantees I'll pass it. But if I don't, it'll be because I didn't prepare well enough and I'll know what to do the next time. It would take something really bizarre happening to make me blame the school.
Enough have said it already: EC is not a training program. It is designed for people who believe they have the skills and knowledge to be an RN, or can obtain that on their own. They don't owe us anything beyond a fair assessment of our skills.
The NLN is very protective of their reputation and would NOT accredit a school or give it an excellence award without it being scrutinized in detail, and that constantly. The person who said the awards were "bought" doesn't know anything about the National League for Nursing. I've seen very few organizations that are more militant over programs conforming to their standards. If they say it's a good school, then it's a good school.
And by the way, it IS possible to for current EC grads to get licensed in California. Check the latest decisions. I enrolled in 2003, even though I wasn't planning to start until 2006, just so I could have the California option if I wanted it. But current EC grads who license in another state and have 6 months of experience can apply on a case by case basis. I know a couple who got their Nevada license and either worked in Nevada for 6 months or worked for the VA in California under their Nevada license, then successfully applied and got a CA license.
Seeing as OP posted once and then never again, I think he was just an upset troll.
katherine100, LPN
310 Posts
Your comment doesnt make sense. CA does not accept Excelsior any longer. This is what the post says. Lay offs has nothing to do with it. You just said it yourself. Excelsior is not accepted everywhere.