Achieve Test Prep Reviews: LVN to RN Bridge, Keishia’s Story

Find Your Path to Become a Nurse 

Not every nurse takes the same path to obtaining a license and beginning their career. This is definitely true for Keishia Gordon. While she always knew that she wanted to care for others in some capacity she took a non-traditional path to reach her nursing goal. 

“It has always been my goal to become a nurse. I stayed with my grandmother in the last few years of high school. I told her that I would become a nurse. I’ve always liked helping people, and I have a passion for helping others,” said Keishia. 

Keishia put her dream career on hold while she worked and raised her children, and even when she became a grandma. She worked for many years, even before she decided to go back to nursing school. 

“My daddy was the one who told me to work for Austin State Hospital, and he pushed me to go back to nursing school even though I thought I was too old. He’s always been a big support to me.” 

Keishia got to a point where she began thinking that she was too old to become a nurse, but she still had her dream, and she was determined to make it happen. 

“I’m a mother and a grandmother, and I’m married. I play piano at church and am one of the soloists. I started my LVN journey when I was 48, and I wanted to be an LVN by the time I was fifty. Well, I turned 50 in April and then graduated in May 2017!” 

Take the Step to Become an RN 

Keisha started working at the hospital and eventually moved to work as a nurse at a local elementary school. She loved her job, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she really wanted to become an RN. 

“All of my friends that were in LVN classes with me went on to bridge. But life happened for me at the age that I was. I started working, but I still had this goal to become an RN.” 

Keishia signed up to earn her RN with a local university and quickly realized that the program was not for her. The classes weren’t flexible enough with her work hours and she realized she’d have to take a lot of nursing prerequisites before she could even dive into her core nursing courses. That’s when she first saw information about Achieve. 

“I got sick and was bedridden. One day I was in bed looking online and guess what pops up… Achieve. I have no idea how it appeared on my feed, but I called. The person I talked to was really sweet. They told me this would be less time, less money, and a faster way to earn my degree. It’s really hard to find a place to bridge from LVN to RN, so I got started with Achieve.” 

How to Start Nursing Prerequisites with Achieve

Keishia dove right into her courses despite being nervous about taking classes online. 

“Achieve is keeping me out of a classroom. I go at my own pace. I do it all online. This was my first experience with an online class and I was nervous, but I knew I didn’t want to go into the classroom.” 

Keishia excitedly signed up for her first test prep course with Achieve: Introductory Psychology. She did everything right. She attended classes. She reviewed the extra resources that Achieve provided. She connected with her instructor, and she studied. 

“I took my first class, Psychology. I loved the class but then when I took my exam, I didn’t pass. I was heartbroken. I missed passing the exam by 13 points.” 

Keishia could have given up on her dream to become an RN. She could have given up on Achieve and walked away. But Achieve Test Prep wasn’t ready to give up on Keishia. 

Achieve Supports Your RN Goal

“When Achieve says they are there to help you succeed, it’s true. I was at a point I wanted to quit, and my Advisor told me not to quit. They set me up with a mentor and I absolutely love her. I’m still with that mentor today.” 

Keishia decided to try out a different course and enrolled in Introductory Sociology. 

“I took Sociology for my next class, and loved it too. I’m still in contact with the professor and she’s become almost like a second mother to me. I passed this time!”

She decided to go back and take Introductory to Psychology again. This time she had a different professor, but the results still weren’t what she wanted. 

“I went back to the Introductory Psychology course and took it with another professor. I failed again. I missed it by 5 points the second time and the third time, I missed passing by only 1 point!” 

Keishia was determined to succeed, but this class wasn’t coming easy to her. It was in a weekly meeting with her mentor that she noticed something wasn’t clicking for her. 

“My mentor noticed that something was wrong. I couldn’t remember anything. She asked when I was supposed to take my next exam and when I told her it was in a few weeks, she told me to reschedule it. She then set me up with a tutor (which happened to be Kelly Lawson, the Sociology professor I loved). Kelly tutored me every week, and I passed the exam! Going through that struggle but seeing the reward at the end is just awesome!” 

You Need a Strong Support Network in Nursing School

Keishia has a great personal support system that she relies on to help her push through when things get tough. She also has a great support system at Achieve Test Prep. 

“I have a great support system with my husband, my daughter, my RN friends, my mentor, my advisor, and my tutors. I tell them all the time that ‘I don’t care if I scream. I don’t care if I cry. Do NOT let me quit.’ They’ve been supportive and every time I go to them and want to quit, they tell me to turn around and keep going.” 

Even though Keishia doesn’t always get the results she wants the first time, she knows it’s important to keep working and pushing toward her goal of becoming an RN.

“Achieve will not let you give up. They keep working on things with you to make sure you understand the material and they do whatever they can to help you pass.”

It Takes Hard Work to Achieve Your Goal

Keishia isn’t a stranger to hard work, and when it comes to taking courses and preparing to earn credit by exam that will transfer to her chosen LVN to RN bridge program she’s learned to use every resource available to help her succeed. 

“Use the mentors and the tutors. Use the external resources. Achieve gives this all to you, and you should USE them. I’m not a person who likes flash cards. They just aren’t for me, but many people love them. The extra external resources and the stuff Achieve gives you in the Moodle - those things help A LOT. I know we all have busy lives, but if you just take 10-20 minutes a day it adds up. I turn my lessons on in the car and listen to them anywhere I’m going to go. I like repetition and this helps the lessons stick with me.” 

Keishia knows first hand that CLEP exams aren’t easy. They are designed to test a student's understanding of a subject area, and this can mean some tough questions. 

“CLEP will try to throw you curves. If you don’t have a full understanding, you won’t pass. You’ve got to study. You can’t wait until the end of the class and try to cram before your exam. You have to study throughout the entire course. If you have a problem, talk to your Achieve instructors. When they say they are there for you, they really are.” 

Don’t Give Up on the Goal to Become an RN

Keishia is committed to working through struggles and continues making progress toward her RN goal. 

“I’m 57 and now my goal is to be an RN by the time I’m 60! Take it one step at a time. My Daddy always said, ‘You gotta work for what you want. It’s not just going to drop in your lap. You gotta work for it.’ I take it one class at a time. And I’m going to get there — just keep going.” 

When asked if there was something that really inspires her or encourages her to keep going no matter how tough the journey, Keishia said, “I was getting really discouraged early on. My husband came to me and asked, ‘Babe when you take your NCLEX, are we going to San Antonio?’ I was like ‘what? I’m nowhere near that.’ He said, ‘I already see you taking it and passing your test.’”