What do you say to people when...

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Does anyone find themselves explaining how you "become an RN in one weekend"? (excelsior lpn-rn) My family/friends are very supportive, but I find myself constantly explaining the program and how it works, and many seem skeptical and it justs frustrates me! Just wanted some insight on how others handle this and the best way to explain it. I feel like I've learned a lot so far studying and taking the nsg exams. I feel like I'll learn even more and brush up on skills with a pre CPNE workshop and clinical weekend. I have one more exam and maybe I'm just getting nervous that I actually won't be as prepared as my other nsg friends in "regular" programs. Any insight would be appreciated, thank you! :redbeathe

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When I first heard about Excelsior when it was Regents College I was impressed. I think it had to do with the nurse herself. She was the nurse that everyone wanted to be like. She was very knowledgeable and sharp too. I ran into several other nurses after that and grew even more impressed. You have many graduates on this forum and you can see what great nurses they have become. They are accredited by NLNAC and you can add that in your conversation. Keep going at it don't let their rude comments get to you. You said yourself you are learning a lot and that's what matters. In traditional schools you hear how students cheat on exams day in and day out. With Excelsior you can't because you are watched under a microscope at pearsonvue center. So yes, Excelsior is different in it's nursing education but it produces excellent nurses.

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I would not worry about what they think. Tell them that you became an RN by taking and passing the NCLEX-RN the same way anyone else becomes an RN.

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Specializes in Tele/Neuro/Trauma.

You tell them you aren't becoming an RN in "one weekend". You are completing an associate's degree with pre-reqs and nursing courses just like them, and your clinical weekend is an exam that is strictly graded by a doctorate prepared nurse watching your every move. The EC program is not designed for slackers.... we are our own teacher, so it says alot about someone to be an EC grad. The CPNE truly will show you what you're made of.

I,along with many others on this board, am a proud EC grad and a registered nurse... EC gave me a chance when no one else would. So ignore them. Don't say anything. Focus on your course work and graduate! If you pass the NCLEX-RN, how you got there doesn't matter :-)

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Thanks fellow nurses for the insight/support :)

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I seemed to find, that the people I worked with or bashed Excelsior, had at one point and time tried Excelsior and did not complete. I love Excelsior and the oppurtunity it gave me. THe nurses I work with, know that I went to Excelsior, I am a resourse for them and I help in any way possible.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I tell people that there is a rigorous, exacting, demanding clinical exam at the very end of a long trail of coursework. I challenge any of the people who bash EC's education to a) read the CPNE study guide, HAHAHA, and b) go pass the CPNE with their awesome, traditionally educated brains. :D When I showed the CPNE study guide to my RN coworkers back when I was preparing, they were like, "OMG, we couldn't pass this thing." LOL. These were fearless ER nurses who had been practicing for 20 years. So you can just tell the naysayers to go "kick rocks." (That's the nice way of putting it. ;))

I've noticed that with the proliferation of online degrees -- legit online degrees -- that there seems to be less EC-bashing, here and elsewhere. Anyone else notice this?

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Erikadawn..I've found that out too..a lot of bashing comes from people that tried and did not succeed, "slackers" that didn't study enough, etc.

Lunah..good insight! I like your first sentence of how to explain it. You KICK ROCKS! (in a good way! lol)

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I am an EC grad and I find it difficult to explain my education to someone who has never gone through a program like this.

I have a varied educational background:

1. completed my bachelor of science in respiratory care in 3 years (taking 18-21credit hours per semester)

2. sat for 7hrs worth of examinations for my RRT

3. went through 3 semesters of traditional nursing school with straight A's (7 credits left to graduation)

4. Went to Excelsior college and took all the written examinations

5. Passed the CPNE 1st time (with tremendous hours of studying and practicing)

6. Took the NCLEX and passed the 1st time with 75 questions

7. currently in grad school for nursing in will be taking my 4th class next monthh

What do I think I felt was the most challenging and worthwhile towards my education????

It was completing the EC exams and taking the CPNE. It was almost like a right of passage for nursing. I feel I gained more from this experience then all the time in the traditional brick and mortar nursing and respiratory therapy school. It takes a special person to complete. You must be self motivated, disciplined to study and set timelines, and enjoy reading tons of books and tap into your previous or current experience of being a nurse(LPN)/RT/paramedic/etc.

It is a great way to cross over to another area of health care. I really didn't enjoy the elementary feel of traditional nursing school and sitting amongst other nursing students without any health care background. I didn't want to come across as a 'smartypants' but didn't want to sit and waste my time learning stuff I already knew. That is the joy of distance learning, it is tailored to what you need to study and learn and then test with examinations on what you know. It is very efficient that way.

I also homeschooled (online instruction) my 4 children for 8yrs until this year and there is so much wasted time in learning in the classroom and then spending hours at home doing homework. I would instruct my children and teach them within a few hours everyday and they are quite advanced in school academically this year in the traditional setting. Time in the classroom/clinical is not always a measurable way to evaluate how well a person has learned and knows material for children and adults.

So what do I tell people: I am not apt to freely share my EC experience unless I really know a person. I explain I attended nursing school in Nebraska with one more semester left and then decided to finish my coursework online since I moved out of state in order to graduate. It is true. I don't have to explain my educational decisions and if I do decide to share my entire experience and have time, then I will. EC is a great program and I will stand behind it when needed.

FYI: my example of why I don't choose to share my EC experience all the time is because: sometimes I don't like to justify or explain my educational background. I have a child with spina bifida and I don't always like to explain to people I don't know very well my experiences with it. I usually tell people I have a child with special needs. I don't tend to go into the specifics unless someone is really curious or I am in the mood to share. The same goes with my education. I am not ashamed of my schooling or my child, it is just a unique and different path not shared by many and one I sometimes like to keep to myself.

Hope this explains my experience. Also, the respiratory therapists I worked with all knew I was attending EC and were skeptical of the process. After they watched me go through it and obtain a RN position in critical care in the hospital setting I work in, 2 of them decided to enroll in EC. They wanted to see if it was possible and I set the course that it is.

Kirsten

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Specializes in Surgery, Med/Surg/ICU, OB-Peds, Ophth.

I really try not offer too much because it seems to generate questions and critics, so I usually just come at them with, "I need to pass the same boards that everyone else does, and as of this year my college has a better success rate of passing on the first try than the local community college." and this shuts people up pretty fast ;)

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Specializes in Tele/Neuro/Trauma.
I tell people that there is a rigorous, exacting, demanding clinical exam at the very end of a long trail of coursework. I challenge any of the people who bash EC's education to a) read the CPNE study guide, HAHAHA, and b) go pass the CPNE with their awesome, traditionally educated brains. :D When I showed the CPNE study guide to my RN coworkers back when I was preparing, they were like, "OMG, we couldn't pass this thing." LOL. These were fearless ER nurses who had been practicing for 20 years. So you can just tell the naysayers to go "kick rocks." (That's the nice way of putting it. ;))

I've noticed that with the proliferation of online degrees -- legit online degrees -- that there seems to be less EC-bashing, here and elsewhere. Anyone else notice this?

One of the neuro docs at work used to always give me crap about getting my RN online. So when I was getting ready to go for my CPNE he's all like "I can't believe you get to do 3 days of clinicals and be done" and I was like well, here, smarty pants, and handed him that monstrous study guide. I said you memorize this and squeeze it into 2 and a half hours.... He walked away all huffy with my study guide, and came back a few hours later with a Starbucks for me, and an apology :-)

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
He walked away all huffy with my study guide, and came back a few hours later with a Starbucks for me, and an apology :-)

I love it! And he must be a pretty great doc to work with if he's able to admit that he's human. :D

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