CA Board of Nursing

World Registration

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I was eligible to sit for the nclex for California.

Wow.. so I took my exam this September, went the distance all 265 questions. Unfortunately I didn't pass. Got my results and "near passing standard" all across the board so the news of failure basically tore me apart.

Now what makes it worse is after submitting the reapplication form and waiting for four weeks for a reply from the board, I get a letter today stating

:::: The Board has determined that the program you completed in the Philippines is not equivalent to the minimum requirements for licensure set forth in California Code Section 1426(d).

You may be able to view Section 1426 (d) and all other codes of the California Code of Regulations by going to our website at: www.rn.ca.gov. Once in the website there will be 'Tabs' at the top of the screen. Go to Regulations then to Nursing Practice Act and finally to California Code of Regulations.

California Code of Regulations Section 1426(d) states that theory and clinical practice shall be concurrent. The documents received state that some of the training was completed several semesters after the theory classes. ::::::

I email the evaluator in charge of my application and she explains ::::

You have options and that is to apply to the LVN Board or in another RN Board in a different state or go for your master's degree in nursing but in California you are not qualified as a RN without the Master's degree.

According to the RLE and the school's curriculum you should have completed the scrubs in NCM 101 and 102 but they were completed in NCM 104, 105 and 103. I am enclosing a copy of the letter that was sent to you yesterday.

I'm angry and sad at the same time. How is it possible that I was eligible to take the nclex the first time I applied and not eligible to retake now? I went from meeting the requirements of an RN to now meeting the requirements of an LVN. How is this possible?

They are saying I'm ineligible based on the dates of completion of my cases. The school requires 5 major, 5 minor, 5 assisted delivery, 5 actual delivery, and 5 cord dressing clinical cases which I completed or else I wouldn't have been able to graduate. All of a sudden Ca board is being technical about the completion dates of these cases. The school is well aware of the fact that completion of these cases is impossible to be concurrent with the theoretical classes. It is not always guaranteed that students will complete the needed cases in concurrent with the theoretical because there are times when there aren't any patients in the hospitals that we are rotated in. It is for this reason that the school allows completion of the needed cases through out the following semesters. We took the theoretical classes before we were allowed to go on our clinicals but the lack of patients made it difficult to complete those 5 cases during that semester. That's why some of my cases were completed one or two semesters after the theory classes.

Am I understanding this correctly? I thought all that matters was that my cases were complete regardless if it was completed in concurrent/along with theoretical or after theoretical. I learned what I was suppose to learn it just so happen that exposure to the actual thing came a semester later.

So now they are saying I can't sit for the nclex in California and I need to complete a masters degree to be qualified as an Rn in California. Is this possible? I went to school graduated with a BSN and in the end I'm told that I only qualify to be a LVN after submitting a reapplication for nclex. .

Clarification would be nice and I would appreciate any advice. This just makes me question if nursing is even the right fit for me cause it's been obstacles after obstacles.

guys can u please help me regarding lvn application??? heres my emaill add pass_away18@ yahoo.com FB and YM :D thx

Well, I think California is not going to budge on this. It's been set and implemented. Any RN applicant (specifically from the Philippines) who completed their OR, L&D, and Newborn Nursery cases outside of the Level Year or Semester when lectures on Surgical Nursing and Maternal-Child Nursing were offered do not qualify for licensure because the cases were not done concurrently with lectures. Hard pill to swallow but that's a decision that's hard to argue especially with a Board of Nursing. Sad part is it will disqualify graduates from excellent schools that really made sure students took time to complete 10 deliveries (5 actual, 5 assist), 10 OR cases (5 minor, 5 major), and 5 umbilical cord care on actual patients even if it took the whole Level 4 senior year to complete the cases. Even sadder, the terrible schools will just send fudged records to make it look like the cases were done concurrently with lectures.
I am an NCLEX applicant educated in the Phils. waiting for ATT..and reading all this is discouraging like wasting money for the application process is sad to say for those philippine nursing graduates who wish to be an Rn in CA cannot be eligible to take NCLEX..Why cant CA BON understand Philippine nursing programs..amen!!!..well said!!!
I am an NCLEX applicant educated in the Phils. waiting for ATT..and reading all this is discouraging like wasting money for the application process is sad to say for those philippine nursing graduates who wish to be an Rn in CA cannot be eligible to take NCLEX..Why cant CA BON understand Philippine nursing programs..amen!!!..well said!!!
CA BON should give us chance(s) to take NCLEX and take risks for it is a goal to be an RN if u took nursing school..

Sorry guys been so busy at work and in life... Nway [email protected] hit me up..

Highhope, I'm also from Lanting. I took the NCLEX in the philippines june 2008. I am now a nurse here in CA. I have other batchmates who recently submitted their applications to take the NCLEX that have also been denied due to the same reason. I think they are becoming much stricter now when it comes to international nurses. There are already a LOT of american nurses without jobs, mostly new grads, so I think their priority now is for american nurses to have jobs first.

hi melai,

i have sent u an email hope to hear from u soon...

Guys any updates? Thank you

When a fresh US nursing graduate saddled with a huge college education loan gets hired immediately, that graduate will be able to pay the loan and pump money into the US economy, that in turn spurs growth. Paying this debt helps keep the US economy moving.

I don't think so. My cousin who took up a fast track BSN course in the Philippines, took the exam in 2009 (& passed) just renewed her license here in CA with no problems at all. This is a new requirement why should it affect those who already have a license? The new requirement is for those applying -whether first takers or repeaters. In my opinion, those who have already passed are safe. It's just those who are re-applying for an exam or who applying for the first time who are going to be affected.

There's no problem at all in renewing in CA as a first-time renewal, it's kind of automatic if you just pay the fee, but AFTER the 2nd time to renew, any CA nurse needs to complete 30 units of nursing education. It's on CA BON renewal application website.

There was early discussion of CA BON going back to review all international applicants from the 2004 year on, but I think we have not seen that happen yet as maybe there's been none having to renew within those years yet. There they may find the same concurrency issues and can cause licenses to not be renewed or if they do, it will be on a temporary basis as they can complete certain refresher courses to relieve that problem. I don't know this for a fact, other than what's been posted here.

I understand how hard it is to take the NCLEX in Cali. I just graduated this year from the Phil, and BRN slapped me with the darn concurrency problem when applying for the exam. Is this how it is with other states? If not, then why not trying to apply in other places? Quite frankly, I just want to get my license and find a job, no matter where it is, but that's me speaking from a new-grads perspective.

Hi every1!

Am one if your kabayan.. I got the same problem, took nclex but unluckily failed. So same thing i re-applied getting ready and anxious for exam, waited for bout a month for their reply, i got the letter asking for my clinicals which i already submitted with all my applications, so requested that to school and sent to them, again waited for the reply for more than a month then i got letter from them saying am not qualified which i am before, saying my clinicals and theory are not concurent and they want me to take those concurency before i can be eligible taking the cali board. Problem so hard to get into the school, and they not really offering such as concurency. So i wondering with those people who have the same problem what did u do??

Hi melai12,I just received the declaration of nursing education form. May I ask were you able to fill up all the info ( like date started & completed, no of hrs worked). I'm trying to use our copy of clinical cases to answer this. For question #6 is it PRC? Then #7 CHED? Thanks for your help :)

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