CA wanting to kill Excelsior's RN program

BOARD OF REGISTERED NURSING
P O Box 944210, Sacramento, CA 94244-2100
TDD (916) 322-1700
Telephone (916) 322-3350
Fax (916) 327-4402
www.rn.ca.gov
Ruth Ann Terry, MPH, RN Executive Officer
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Board of Registered Nursing
SUBJECT: Excelsior College Nursing Program Update
At its board meeting on February 7, 2003, the Board of Registered Nursing voted to defer (postpone) action on the Excelsior College Nursing Program until its June 13, 2003, board meeting.
At the June 2003 meeting, the board will consider whether to remove recognition of the Excelsior College Nursing Program effective with students admitted after September 1, 2003. Students who are currently enrolled would not be affected by the board action. The main issue of concern is whether the program provides adequate clinical experience to be equivalent to California education requirements.
The board's Education/Licensing Committee will meet May 9, 2003, and consider information about the Excelsior Program. The Committee will bring its recommendation to the June 13, 2003, board meeting.
Anyone wishing to comment on the matter may submit their comments via mail or fax to the board. They may also attend the committee and board meetings at the locations listed on the board's website.
2/03 – Excelsior College Update

 

Ah! Bliss! Nothing like monopoly (licensing) pricing power.

-Orson

 

Would anyone who lives in California care to phone the Board of Registered Nursing, and find out what they decided?

 

Ah, 'tis true, but nothing new! The ABA, the APA, et al, have been doing it for years. Wonder what Lincoln would have thought of the ABA and Frued of the APA. Doesn't matter, really, they are dead and we are stuck with the system.

All things wise are not legal and all things legal are not wise, but he who has the gold rules!!!!!

 

This does not surprise me in the least--nor is this nonsense limited to the Nursing Board. The lack of competent and visionary leadership (at many levels) in California is appalling. Evwery effort at educational innovation has been (at least) attacked or (at most) shut down.

The UC system has derailed attempts by the CSU system to offer a much needed doctoral program, the charter school movement has been virtually destroyed and replaced by a clone of the failing public school system...so I am not surprised that attempts to offer an innovative alternative to nursing education (another great need in this state) is meeting up against roadblocks.

Once we recall Grey Davis (or, as he is becoming better known in California, Great Dufus) we may be able to get someone who can appoint some decent leadership and reverse some of the terrible trends that have brought this state to its knees.

(Gee, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!)

Tony

 

I don't know what the latest decision was on this. But I do think that the Board of Registered Nursing has a legitimate concern.

Nursing is a very hands-on subject. A lot of it is technique. That's going to require some serious laboratory instruction and clinical experience.

While there are many DL bachelors programs in nursing, to the best of my knowledge all of them with the exception of Excelsior are upgrade programs for already-licensed RNs, who have already received their qualifying education in-person.

It may be that Excelsior students are placed in local hospitals or something, and receive fully comparable hands-on experience and instruction. But this would have to be assessed very carefully. It would have to be reasonably uniform among all Excelsior students, well supervised in each case and offer all students the whole range of instruction and practice that on-campus students normally receive.

So while I'm not expressing any opinion about what the Board of Registered Nursing should decide, I am suggesting that they are entirely justified in being concerned.

 

Good point Bill,

If someone is taking my blood I would prefer that they have done it before, and not just studied how to for an exam.

 

Speaking as someone who knows a fair amount about Excelsior, be assured that there is a substantial proctored clinical externship as part of their program. So while the didactic portion is done by distance learning, all of the program participants go through a hands-on training program done in local hospitals.

I get calls all the time from my client hospitals asking about taking on Excelsior students as part of their training. And the funny thing about that is many of those hospitals are here in Washington, but Washington does not accept Excelsior for licensure purposes. Those student nurses are planning to be licensed in other states.

There was an earlier thread discussing Excelsior and nursing at some length.

Regards,

Michael Lloyd
Mill Creek, Washington USA

 

EC nursing

EC does not offer externships as part of their program. This is part of the problem. The students must arrange for (or already have)clinical experience. I think it would be a great move on EC's part if they did incorporate a proctored clinical portion instead of the weekend pass/fail assessment they presently offer. By no means could this be considered a substantial proctored clinical externship. Seems to me that many hospitals offer preceptorships to newly licensed nurses, so why can't EC come up with a suitable clinical agreement with hospitals or agency's?

ml

 

One cannot be admitted to the program without previous hands on patient care experience. LPNs, Military Medics, RT, RRT, paramedics, emergency medical technicians are the primary students.

This is not a new concept, not accepting Excelsior or Regents, is old hat for Florida. I know some remarkable Regents RNs. In fact the only idiot nurse I know went to the local Junior College.

Regents students do not, and did not simply read the books and take the tests. The final clinical practicum involves complete patient care and tests all facets of nursing.

The web site lists the persons who may enroll, http://www.excelsior.edu/nur_home.htm , as you can see not just anyone who wants to can start the program. You must have hands on patient care experience.

Give me a new RN who was a X-ray technologist for a few years over a new 4 year RN graduate with no prior patient care experience outside of school any day. I learned a great deal in nursing school, but I learned much more after school with my own patients, even in clinical rotations you didn't do too much, the preceptor was either too busy or too scared to let you do anything invasive.

Florida complains about a nursing shortage, yet will not license Excelsior grads who were not LPNs.
The specific quote is fromL
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/nursing/nur_faq.html ....
"Q: Can I apply for a nursing license in Florida if I graduated from Regents College?
A: Licensed Practical Nurses who had integrated clinical and theory in their practical nursing program, and subsequently graduated from Regents College, may apply for licensure in Florida. Non-LPN’s my apply only if they were enrolled in the Regents College program on or before August 10, 1994."

Florida is full of morons, unfortunately a few got onto the board of nursing.

 

Actually that is incorrect, there is no clinical education component to the Excelsior program.

There is a three day long clinical practicum before you can be awarded your degree and they are looking for perfection there.
For more info on the CNPE see:

http://www.excelsior.edu/enrolled/nur_csum.htm

 

I misspoke. It would be more accurate to say that many states who accept Excelsior graduates for licensure require those nurses to complete a clinical externship. This externship, done at local hospitals, is different from the CNPE. I do not know, because I have not researched it, if any states accepting Excelsior grads for licensure require only passage of the CNPE, and not a clinical externship, in addition to passing the NCLEX.

The point of the externship requirement for Excelsior graduates is to ensure that all recipients of a nursing license have some hands-on experience with patients, as opposed to gaining all their knowledge via didatic training. Given that bricks and mortar nursing schools customarily have hands-on clinical education as part of the curriculum, they generally do not have to worry about making a special effort to meet a clinical requirement.

And at least in my area, Excelsior does seem to offer assistance to its students in finding externships: I have spoken to Excelsior staffers regarding this. I don't know if this is unique to my area, or if other Excelsior students have to go out and find their own arrangements.

So my understanding is that although Excelsior may not require a clinical externship as part of their curriculum, many of their students have to complete one in order to be licensed. Thus my statement that an externship is required; it is, but by the individual states, and not the school.

And I always tell people considering this to make absolutely sure that if they want to work in a particular state, make certain that an Excelsior degree qualifies them for licensure in that state first.

Regards,

Michael Lloyd
Mill Creek, Washington USA

 

Would anyone who lives in California care to phone the Board of Registered Nursing, and find out what they decided?

 

From http://www.rn.ca.gov/news/news.htm:

EXCELSIOR UPDATE
Action on Excelsior College has been deferred until the September 12, 2003, Board Meeting. For further information contact Excelsior College at 1-888-647-2388 (toll free within the United States) or 518-464-8500.