Pennsylvania does not accept license from RN program

Nurses LPN/LVN

Updated:   Published

I need some help please. I was in an RN program in Pennslyvania but had to withdraw the last semester of the program. They would not let me take the LPN test because I had not completed an LPN program. So I went to New York and took the test because they allowed me to take the lpn NCLEX. I am now trying to transfer my license back to PA because I live there but they will not accept my NYC LPN license. What do I do??!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

The PA Board of Nursing is not granting you LPN licensure by endorsement because you do not meet their minimum qualifications for practical nurse licensing, which is graduation from an approved practical/vocational nursing program.

You will need to return to school and actually graduate from a PN program if you want to be licensed in PA as an LPN. Partial completion of an RN program does not the minimum requirements for LPN licensure in PA and many other states.

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(Another option, of course, is to work in a state that will license you as an LPN. Is your PA home close to the border with another state? Is moving an option for you?)

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Specializes in PACU.

That is the caveat with challenging the NCLEX-PN without actually going through a PN program. Other states are not required to recognize your license for endorsement.

Your options are: stay in NY or take a PN program in PA.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

NJ won't endorse your license either

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Why not just finish your RN?

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Hi. Ok why is PA so stringent?? if you have Lpn license for NY keep it current. Finish RN program. Commute

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Specializes in PACU.
Hi. Ok why is PA so stringent?? if you have Lpn license for NY keep it current. Finish RN program. Commute

I hardly think that requiring a person to go through a PN program in order to have a PN license is being stringent.

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Thankx to everyone for your response.

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What if I have been working as LPN for the past year? Will that still not give me PA LPN?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
What if I have been working as LPN for the past year? Will that still not give me PA LPN?
No. The PA Board of Nursing requires endorsement applicants to have graduated from an approved practical nursing program. Experience is not a substitute for education when dealing with the PA BON.

If you have not graduated from a practical nursing program, you do not meet PA's minimum requirements for LPN licensure. As previously mentioned, partial completion of a registered nursing program does not fulfill PA's licensing requirements; therefore, the PA BON will not issue you an LPN license by endorsement.

The only way to get around this issue is to return to school and graduate.

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Hi. Ok why is PA so stringent?? if you have Lpn license for NY keep it current. Finish RN program. Commute

PA is not the only state with the requirement. Some states will allow individuals who have completed some specific amount of an RN program to sit the NCLEX-PN, some won't. It's each state's individual choice. Why does it seem strange or "stringent" that a state would require people to complete an LPN program in order to be eligible for LPN licensure? It's no different than the requirement for RN licensure (that individuals have completed an RN program).

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