Jamie LeSage LPN

My name is Jamie LeSage.  I’m from Waukesha, Wisconsin and I’m an LPN. When I found out about Rue from a girl at my work, I was really happy to know that there’s a way that I would be able to keep my full-time job and continue to get my RN, which was my original plan. 

I chose Rue because I really like the flexibility.  With traditional nursing schools, you’re scheduled for a test ... and you better be ready to take the test when you have to take the test.  There’s no flexibility in there. Also, with work, it’s really hard to know if you’re working more hours one week versus another week - you might not do as well on a test because you weren’t able to study.  So I was always able to study, and then finish, and then take the test when I was ready.  That was wonderful flexibility. 

I was very nervous with all my exams.  I’ve built up a lot of confidence by passing every time.  I don’t know why I ever worried.  The Rue materials prepared me rather well because I’ve gotten A’s and B’s.  I knew what to expect, and I had faith in the program because it worked for me every time.

Every time that I’ve called in to Rue, everybody has been really good about motivating me, telling me about different ways to study - if I wanted to try a different way, answering my questions, making me feel more confident, trying to keep me from feeling overwhelmed, and taking it one step at a time.  They were great.  Every time I called into Rue they gave me different study tips – some things that I’d never thought of.  Sometimes I would think, “Should I call, or should I not call?” And I would think that every time I called, I was happy that I did because it helped to motivate me to keep going.  Also, there’s an online chat that you can go on and see what other people have said about the different nursing concepts on the Rue website.  That helped me a little bit, too.

I do traveling with my job, so I’m able to study.  I’ve found out when trying to incorporate studying into my life that there’s a lot of time wasted: waiting in line, waiting for appointments, lulls at work.  There’s a lot of time that you could be studying.  I’ve been able to work it into my life and keep up with a lot of other activities, which has been great.

If you want to be an RN, you should just go for it.  It’s great.  Rue’s flexible.  It’s a great way to get your RN ... and if you’re already working as an LPN, you can make a lot more money as an RN.  It takes some time, but it’s really good to keep up on nursing skills and keep reading anyway, so you might as well be achieving a degree at the same time.

In a traditional college, you waste a lot of time driving back and forth to school.  When you’re busy with family and working, it’s hard to make time for that.  With Rue, I felt like it was basically the same thing – just avoiding having to drive back and forth to school, avoiding gas money, and a lot of moving around to different classrooms.

One thing I really liked with Rue is that the research is done for you.  They are able to (with providing you the different page numbers) save you from a lot of wasted time; whereas a lot of traditional colleges, you’re looking up things, you don’t know where to go, and you’re reading a lot of unnecessary things that don’t pertain to the topic that you’re trying to study.  By having all the page numbers at hand, and being able to read exactly what you need to be reading, which is what you need to learn, I think that was a great way to save a lot of time and frustration with achieving the knowledge you needed to pass these exams.

If you just stick with the Rue program, stick with your studying, it’s going to happen.  I did it and I know you can do it.  You’ve just got to take one exam at a time and you’ll have your degree before you know it.