Is NLNAC or CCNE required for VA Hospital RN's

[RLeeRN]

Hello all, this is my first post on Allnurses.com. I am currently seeking employment as an RN with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as a New Graduate, and would like to know if every VA hospital requires all of its RN's to be graduates of NLNAC or CCNE RN programs? I have seen some job announcements on usajobs.com that specify NLNAC or CCNE and other that say that your professional education must be on the list of accepted accredited schools according to the Federal Dept of Education. Does each VA Hospital vary on its education requirement above just having and active unrestricted license in the US. After applying for a position I received a letter stating that I have been found qualified and referred for consideration. I submitted my school where I attended the RN program which is not NLNAC, but rather regionally accredited, and of course by the State BON. If you have any insight on this please send it my way? Thank You.

[elkpark]

It makes no sense that the handbook also states that "In cases of foreign graduates, possession of an unrestricted nursing license will fulfill the NLNAC accreditation requirements." That should apply to nurses who graduated from US nursing schools also.

It makes plenty of sense, because the ACEN and CCNE don't accredit foreign schools -- therefore, requiring accreditation for foreign graduates would mean, effectively, that no foreign graduate nurse could ever work for the VA. US-educated nurses have the choice of attending schools with or without accreditation, and the VA feels (like many other employers) that accreditation, in the case of US-educated nurses, is an important distinction.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I know this thread is old, but hoping RLeeRN could answer they ever worked for the VA or not. I an active duty veteran and military spouse who got my ADN from a non NLNAC college. Since then, I received my BSN through a CCNE college. Wondering if it is worth my time applying to a Dept of VA job. I don't want to call a recruiter to ask because then I feel like my application is flagged. Maybe I should apply and just see if it goes through.

A call placed to the Nurse Recruiter is worth the time, as you are NOT "flagged" in any way. Either your application meets the requirements or it doesn't. Bringing it to the attention of the recruiter that your school's accreditation might not be right does not harm you any more than if you hoped it would "slip by". It does get picked up, trust me.

Hopefully, the facility in which you have interest is also ok with your situation, and you will be able to board :)

[DinoJack]

Thank you!

I did leave a message with the nurse recruiter last week but did not hear back from them. You are correct, I want to put the information right out in the open and be honest from the start - no use wasting the VA's time or my own. I know the process is long. Whatever information I find out, I will post here so others can be informed as well.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

The process can be as fast as three weeks, or as long as several months. Much depends on the clarity of the original application (if it isn't complete, forget it), as well as how fast your references respond to the VA's requests for information. If it takes your references (friends, colleagues, former employers) weeks to respond, you can just tack that time onto the wait.