Everything You Need to Know About Excelsior Nursing

Listen up, everyone.  There is a buzz in the nursing community right now about Excelsior’s Nursing Program…and for good reason, Excelsior’s Nursing Program is the largest nursing program in the US.  In years past, their program has been criticized due to the fact that it is mainly a distance learning program…however, the Excelsior School of Nursing has developed quite a reputation in the nursing community in the past decade...for excellence.  In fact, Excelsior’s Nursing program is one of less than twenty nursing schools in the United States to earn the title from the NLN a Center of Excellence.

There are tons of questions about Excelsior’s Nursing program, and I’m going to answer as many of them as possible in this article.

First of all, to be eligible for Excelsior’s Nursing Program, you must either be a LPN, paramedic, respiratory therapist, or physician’s assistant.  In a few states, corpsmen who meet certain specifications can qualify as well.  This all varies by state, and more specific information (state-by-state) can be found here.

Now, Excelsior takes a little different approach to awarding credit hours towards a degree.  This is one of the main reasons why people choose to go to Excelsior.  With their program, you can earn your degree without even stepping foot in a classroom.  No hocus pocus, they use a pretty standard approach to awarding college credits…you’ve probably heard of it…ever heard anyone say they ‘clepped’ out of a class?

Excelsior uses this same principle.  There, you can take a series of tests, some CLEP, some DANTES, and some ECE (Excelsior) and once you pass, they award you that class’ credit hours toward your degree.

This makes it possible for many of Excelsior’s students to earn their RN without attending class, on their own time and schedule.  Once you earn the necessary credits, they award you your degree.  You can earn your degree (with no previous college) by taking approximately 16 tests.  Many of Excelsior’s students have earned their RN degree in LESS THAN SIX MONTHS.

Now, Excelsior does offer ‘prep’ courses that you can take to prepare for these exams, but you can find the same study materials online here for a fraction of the price.  By the time the average student completes their degree at Excelsior, they have saved a tremendous amount of time and money.  Considering the average nursing school costs $17 per year (for at least two years), the average Excelsior student spends less than half of this amount.

Once you take the tests and earn your degree, you must apply to take your state nursing boards just as you would if you graduated from any other nursing school.

In our opinion, Excelsior’s program is great.  It allows many LPNs the opportunity to go back to school and earn their degree when otherwise, they would not be able to afford it or have time to attend traditional classes.

Forget Student Debt…Say Hello To Distance Learning

I have blogged from time to time about distance learning.  If you have read any of my blogs, then you know that I am an avid supporter of distance learning and, to be honest, I would never consider attending a brick and mortar college after my experiences with the Excelsior distance learning program.

You see, I earned my RN degree through Excelsior’s program.  By doing this, I managed to graduate in six months…and I did it debt free (no student loans, nada!).  I never had any problem taking the boards, or finding a job…in fact, I found my experience to be very similar in contrast to many of my nurse friends and colleagues who chose to attend traditional nursing schools.

Knowing this makes reading stories like this especially worrysome.  Seeing these young people and couples in debt from 60k to 180k just from financing their education reminds me what a blessing distance learning was for me and how many other people could potentially benefit from this type of approach to education.

5 Reasons to Begin Earning Your RN Degree TODAY

If you are currently working in the healthcare industry, or have ever considered nursing as a career choice, now is the time to make your move…

Reason #1 Jobs, jobs, jobs!

The economy, the recession, unemployment…these words have plagued the news for years now in the US…but guess what industry not only survived…but is currently thriving…you guessed it, healthcare!!!

According to a recent report from the The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

*From 2010 to 2016, the expected growth rate in employment of RNs is 26% (the average is 7-13%).

*587,000 are reported to open for RNs during this period.

Dixie Sommers, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, recently recited a list of the 10 occupations that the BLS expects will provide the greatest number of new jobs over the next decade…and guess who’s at the top?

Registered Nurses.

Reason #2 More Money!!!

The average salary of an RN is $78k, according to indeed.com.

This is double what the average salary of their nursing counterpart, LPNs.

Reason #3. Diverse Job Potential!

In the past, as a rule of thumb, if you didn’t enjoy patient interaction, then nursing was probably not the career choice for you.  Luckily, the old rules are out the window and the field of nursing has opened up, even to those who prefer not to interact directly with patients.  The nursing field is blossoming with opportunity right now, and you might be surprised at many of the exciting new types of positions such as:

-occupational and environmental health nursing.

-travel health nursing.

-telenursing.

-nursing informatics.

-legal nursing.

-forensic nursing.

-school nursing.

-cruise ship nursing.

If that’s not enough, a background in nursing can also be used to obtain positions not otherwise open to nonnursing college graduates, such as specialized pharmaceutical, supply, and equipment sales and research positions.

Reason #4 RNs Have More Opportunities!

Simply put: there are more opportunities out there for RNs.  RN positions commonly earn higher salaries, provide better benefits, and offer better schedules and long-term potential than other areas of nursing.

Reason #5 Shorter Education Requirement

A nursing degree is one of a very few skilled career choices that does not require a degree that takes a decade to earn.  In fact, you can earn your RN degree in as little as six months.  There are online programs, accelerated learning programs, and many other options available to those seeking an alternative to the horrors of traditional nursing school.

The Round Tuit

When I was around ten or eleven years old, my grandfather gave me a small, round piece of wood with the letters TUIT scribed in large print on the front.  I was fascinated by this little trinket, and I could not wait to find out what it meant…when I asked him about it, he just smiled, and told me that the older I got, the busier I would become…and that it was easy to get so busy in life doing the small things that you never accomplish the big, important things…

So what did this have to do with the rounded piece of wood I asked…and he explained that it was a reminder to make sure that all those things that I promised to ‘get around to doing’, I got a ‘round tuit’.  I remember looking solemnly back at him, and assuring him that I would never forget the important things and when I got home, I placed the ‘round tuit’ in a drawer, never really thinking of it again.

This past weekend, I was over at my grandparent’s old house, cleaning some boxes and such out of the basement that I had moved there years ago when I moved into my first apartment.  I glanced over the contents of a box jumbled with what seemed to be all the mismatched items…a tennis racket, an old pair of shoe laces, a broken CD, and, there it was…the round TUIT.

Finding this item, a little tattered from the years and a bit smaller than I remembered it, had a profound impact on me.  My grandfather has long since passed away, but his words from that day lingered in my mind as clear as the summer sky…

It is so easy to get so busy with everyday life, we forget to do those important things that we keep promising ourselves we will ‘get around to’.  One of those things, for me, personally, was my nursing degree.  I knew it meant more money.  I knew it meant more job security.  But I had a list of excuses that I let stop me from doing what I knew I needed to do.  I kept promising myself that one of these days, I would ‘get a round TUIT’.

I did this for years…something always got in the way…first, I couldn’t afford it, then I had kids and didn’t have the time, and then I REALLY couldn’t afford it…yet every month I was so frustrated because I wasn’t making enough to pay my bills on time.  I finally figured out that if I didn’t find a way to MAKE it happen, it never would.  Instead of finding excuses not to do it, I found a reason to get it done.

Grandpa would be proud…because that big thing that I kept putting off, I finally got ‘a round TUIT’.