Angela Jacquinto started her journey to become a registered nurse in December 2004.  Angela had been an LPN for one year and was working in a nursing home.  Angela wanted to become an RN because of a previous experience she had in her life.  Angela’s grandmother was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.  When Angela saw the impact that the hospice nurses had, she decided right then and there that she would become an RN and work in hospice.  She wanted to provide the same support and care to patients and their families that she and her grandmother received.   

In May 2005, Angela reported that she had passed her first exam.  In 2005, Angela also switched jobs and began working as a hospice nurse.  She continued studying and progressing in 2006.  Angela put her studies on hold for a very brief period in January 2007 to welcome her third child into the world.  Angela jumped back into her studies passing the remaining exams, and applied for Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination (CPNE®) in November 2008.  

For nursing students, the CPNE is the final hurdle in the ASN degree earning process.  Angela’s CPNE was scheduled for May 15, 2009.  On May 14 Angela was at the Cincinnati airport on a layover on her way to the CPNE in Albany.  She had missed her original flight.  Luckily Angela had decided to schedule her flight the day before her CPNE allowing her plenty of time to travel.  On top of the missed flight and layover, Angela was not feeling well - all three of her children were sick the night before.  This is not the way she wanted her CPNE experience to begin. 

On May 15, Angela spoke to her Innovative Academic Solutions Academic Advisor several times from her hotel room where she was mentally preparing for the CPNE.  She was nervous, but she was ready.  At the end of the weekend, Angela sent a text message letting her Academic Advisor know that she had successfully passed the CPNE!

Congratulations to Angela on her achievements thus far!  Everyone at Rue and IAS is proud of her achievements, and we’re sure her grandmother is as well. 

We realized one of the most popular searches when researching an RN program or nursing degree system is testimonials from actual RNs who are in a nursing program or finished one. This is a valuable source of inspiration for hopeful RNs as they can hear first-hand from others who were in the same position and decided to make a change in their career and lives and become an RN. We put together a short testimonial video featuring the biggest celebrities in the nursing world: YOU! Real people, real nurses, just like you. Listen to their success stories!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGCkS7hb2Mo

Jason Jonas began his educational journey with Rue Education and Innovative Academic Solutions in June 2009.  He started with the Life Span Developmental Psychology. A month after signing up, he ran into some conflicts with work and had to put his studies on hold for some time.   

Jason was studying independently, so putting his studies aside to focus on his work matters created no difficulties in his progress.  In January 2010 an Academic Adviser spoke with Jason and he was back to his studies and ready to tackle his first exam for Life Span Developmental Psychology. After speaking with Jason in April, he reported that he received a B on his Life Span Developmental Psychology exam! 

At the end of January, he ordered his next learning system, Microbiology. Jason was ready to tackle this learning system, but he was quite nervous about the Microbiology exam.  His Academic Adviser discussed with him how to use all of the great resources Rue has to offer learners.  He signed up for the Mentor Connection to utilize the student submitted study notes and to communicate with the Alumni members about the Microbiology exam.   

On December 3, Jason called in to report his score.  All of Jason’s hard work and preparation paid off – he scored an A on his Microbiology exam!  Jason said the most helpful tools to supplement the learning system were the Rue Mentor Connection™ study notes and the content outline guide from Excelsior College.  

Jason has now completed his required general education courses and is moving into the core nursing curriculum.  He is currently working on Health Safety and is looking forward to conquering his first nursing exam.  Rue and Innovative Academic Solutions look forward to seeing Jason progress through his educational journey.

What motivates a paramedic to become an RN? For some, it’s the increase in salary. This is an obvious driving force behind many career choices. Paramedics that transition into an RN position will appreciate an increased income of more than $34,000 per year as an RN compared to their pay as a paramedic. For many individuals, this financial security associated with the salary of a nurse is all they need to make the decision to bridge to an RN. Take Rick Leone, a paramedic who decided to become an RN and explains “I’ve been a firefighter/paramedic for seven years. I decided to pursue my RN licensure as a good second job. As a firefighter I work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. I thought that since I’m already in the field of dealing in emergency medicine, that I could continue it on my days off and make it at a nurse's rate.“ Aspirations such as investing in their children’s college fund, renovating their house, affording a new car, taking a vacation they’ve always wanted, or securing their future retirement all become more of a reality.

For other paramedics, their drive to become an RN revolves around developing themselves professionally, acquiring advanced skills, and opening other career opportunities. For example, to fit into his active lifestyle, Michael Beilfuss explains, “With my 29 years as a paramedic I’m going to get my RN and work with my wife in emergency rooms as we travel.” Mike porter focused on developing his skills as a healthcare professional, explaining “I work for the fire department as a firefighter/paramedic. Being a paramedic, the nursing side of things is related.  And once I get that RN, I think that the paramedic things I do will help me to be a better nurse.”

What do all three of these paramedics have in common? They all decided to advance themselves and their careers and become RNs, and they all chose to do it with Rue Education. Another paramedic, Doug Reid shares “I’ve been a paramedic for about 18 years. I’ve researched and looked at other products on the market for the same RN program, including some from the colleges, and I feel that Rue products walk me step-by-step, but they also teach me what I need to know to function as an RN.” Are you ready to make the move from Paramedic to RN?