Getting a California License

Specialties NP

Published

I said never again but this same recruiter has contacter me with an "almost" sure position out in California.

I'm not getting excited, but I wonder if I will even be able to get a license there, as I got my ASN from Excelsior College just after the date they stopped accepting Excelsior grads.

Will they notice that if I have my master's? If it's an issue I think I read at one time you could make arrangements to fulfill your clinical hours to get licensed, but I don't know the specifics.

If someone who knows can share with me the obstacles I will have trying to get an APN license in California?

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

As you must already know, your obstacle will start with the fact that California will no longer grant a Registered Nurse license to those who graduated from Excelsior College from December 2003 and beyond. There has been "no ifs and buts" about this as even those Excelsior grads who have completed an RN-BSN program via traditional routes have been denied. The first step in obtaining a Nurse Practitioner license is to endorse your RN license first and if this can't happen, no further steps will be open for you.

Having said that, I encourage you to call the California Board of Registered Nursing and be persistent in trying to get a person on the phone. Tell them your circumstances and see what they say. Be prepared to be told to apply anyway as they always look at applicants on a "case to case" basis as they always say. Unfortunately, this puts you in a position of uncertainty as you could still end up getting denied so make sure your recruiter is aware.

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It was inferred by another source that since I would be applying as a master's prepared nurse it would be easier than if I was still an ADN. I guess all I can do is apply and see what happens.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

Threads on allnurses.com have described Excelsior grads who have gone through RN to BSN completion programs and were still denied a license as RN's. The Board of Registered Nursing is charged with processing all RN and APRN applications and they may look favorably on your application as a whole. That's why I'm recommending directly speaking to someone at the BRN.

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