Anyone challenged the NCLEX?

U.S.A. California

Published

The board allows anyone with > five years of advanced medical training (independent of a doctor) to challenge the NCLEX. Just wondering...

Specializes in ED, Cardiac Medicine, Retail Health.

Alpha RN I believe that West Virginia is the only state that still allow military trainied Medics and Corpsman to challenge the board. I went to Navy IDC school in 98 with hopes of challenging the California board, but in 2000 California changed the rule and now only allow military medics and corpsman to challenge the LPN/LVN board. Are you saying that the only state that you can work in is West Virginia? I have one week to go before finishing my RN program, I had to take the conventional brick and mortar route to obtain my license.

alpha rn i believe that west virginia is the only state that still allow military trainied medics and corpsman to challenge the board. i went to navy idc school in 98 with hopes of challenging the california board, but in 2000 california changed the rule and now only allow military medics and corpsman to challenge the lpn/lvn board. are you saying that the only state that you can work in is west virginia? i have one week to go before finishing my rn program, i had to take the conventional brick and mortar route to obtain my license.

yes gerry that is correct.

i took my nclex in 1993. i hope to complete my bsn this year. so i've had a license as an r.n. for 13 years, and thirteen years of experience before getting my degree. and prior to that expericence as a medic and as an lpn.

good to hear you are also finishing your degree.

be proud of your service and don't allow anyone to denigrate the knowledge, skills and experience you gained as a corpsman as somehow substandard. it does enhance your ability to assess, plan, and implement care.

after all military medics provide care for america's best under some of the most demanding conditions.

my license says registered professional nurse, at the end of the day that is what matters.

I was in nursing school for 10 months before i was kicked out, i only had 1 week of peds. , one week of leadership, and 2 weeks preceptorship left.......................do i have a chance of challenging the NCLEX in CA for my LVN??....im working right now as a CNA does that help??:uhoh3:

I was in nursing school for 10 months before i was kicked out, i only had 1 week of peds. , one week of leadership, and 2 weeks preceptorship left.......................do i have a chance of challenging the NCLEX in CA for my LVN??....im working right now as a CNA does that help??:uhoh3:

You might fit into Method #3. Contact the Board for vocational nursing.

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/

http://www.bvnpt.ca.gov/factvn.htm (The different methods for qualifying to take the exam are shown here.)

Requirements for vocational nurse licensure are specified in the Vocational Nursing Practice Act. There are four (4) methods by which one may qualify for the licensure examination. Each method is designed to provide an individual access into the job market as an entry-level practitioner.

Method #1: Graduation from a California "accredited" Vocational Nursing Program.

Method #2: Graduation from an Out-of-State "accredited" Practical/Vocational Nursing Program.

Method #3: Completion of equivalent education and experience.

Pharmacology - 54 Hours

Paid Bedside Nursing Experience - 51 Months

Verification of Skill Proficiency.

Method #4: Completion of education and experience as a corpsman in the United States military.

Twelve (12) months active duty rendering direct bedside patient care.

Completion of the basic course in nursing in a branch of the armed forces.

General honorable discharge from the military

Last Updated: July 2007

I'm an Army 91C (Madigan, 1967-68) from the Vietnam era who successfully "challenged" the CA RN boards way back in the early 1970s. I'm proud to say that I never met another CA RN with higher board exam scores than mine! This backdoor pathway to become an RN in California often brought raised eyebrows from BSNs but I always proved myself to be competent. I had a mixed nursing career working mostly in direct nursing care in ICU/CCU/ER during the 1970s. I soon realized that professional advancement was not likely going to come my way because of my route to the RN license. So, I pursued admission to medical school. Of course, not everyone is accepted to medical school so I switched gears and became a Medical Laboratory Technologist. I served as a Navy Medical Service Corps lab officer (Active & Reserve for 22 years, recently retired as a Commander) and along the way gained two MS degrees with study in Public Health, Health Care Administration & HRMD. Even after leaving hands on nursing in the late 1970s, I can't say the RN experience hasn't been professionally valuable. I've drawn on that RN background more than once and held positions as a Blood Donor Center operations director plus had a couple of hospital quality assurance, risk management & performance improvement jobs. Most recently, I've been an I.S. systems analyst supporting clinical & nursing related applications and I've just started a new job as a phyisican peer review abstractor and data analyst.

I'd like to point out that any WV or CA military equivalency RN license holder who has experienced state to state reciprocity problems, as I did, can probably land a position at a government health care facility as an RN. I was a civil service risk management RN at a military hospital about 10 years ago.

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