CA Board of Nursing

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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.

Of all the posters here, only one person has been granted a CA ATT, that was fim123 or fim1234. I hope fim123 passes the NCLEX soon to show it can be done!

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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 :)

Check out the thread under the declaration of license and nursing education for better answers.

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Guys I have the same problem BRN wants me to take additional course work both theory and clinical practice thats what they told me but they did not specifically told me what to take. But they told me to have my transcript and the detailed description of Med/Surg and OB courses i took be evaluated by the nursing director in schools here in CA. :( I am so frustrated. I do not know what to do now, I plan to submit an application for LVN. What did you guys do about this? I need advice :(

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I'm very much upset with the CA BRN. Once they see that it's a foreign grad that's applying for the NCLEX, they pretty much just toss the application without giving them a single chance. They tell us to go find a school that would be willing or able to take us in to complete our clinical and theoretical problem, but the problem is, there are too few out there. They cash in our checks, with no hope for a refund. Where does that money go? To the board members? To the evaluators? It seems to me they are making easy money by saying, "Oh another foreign grad, lets send him/her the same letter we've sent to thousands of other foreign grads and take their money. I'm sure less than half of them will even be able to solve their problem." They should at least warn us by putting something on their website reading, "To all foreign grad nurses, we will take you're money, and make you do additional coursework. Will NOT let you take the NCLEX even once until you do as we say." I read so many comments about foreign grad nurses that have the same exact problem, but no one ever warned them that it was sure to happen.

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Guys I have the same problem BRN wants me to take additional course work both theory and clinical practice thats what they told me but they did not specifically told me what to take. But they told me to have my transcript and the detailed description of Med/Surg and OB courses i took be evaluated by the nursing director in schools here in CA. :( I am so frustrated. I do not know what to do now, I plan to submit an application for LVN. What did you guys do about this? I need advice :(

The BRN want you go to a nursing school. They should have given you a list of approved schools with that letter of denial they sent you. When you go to that school, you need to talk to the Nursing Director and show her you're letter and you're transcript plus all other school documents you have (RLE). Good luck with finding a school that will have a spot for you. I've heard about hundreds of people like you (and me) all competing for one spot in a program. Unfortunately, the reality is the nursing schools here refuse to squeeze us in.

I suppose you could try to take the LVN. That's not the road I took, but maybe someone here on allnurses can tell you their experience.

You could wait. For what? I don't know. For California to be more open to foreign grads? For nursing schools to let foreign grads slip into their programs? I don't know.

You can do what I'm doing now and apply to other states. California is not open to us, but one of these 49 states is.

You really should do your research. I was like you. I applied in Cali without knowing the current situation. Make sure you research the state you plan to apply in, if you do want to apply to other states. That's what you have allnurses for.

Good luck to both of us.

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To Lanze and others: yep, I agree with you. Unfortunately, it does say that the application fees is non-refundable, so guys, if you plan to take the chance, you know now, it's like taking a bad gamble and better off putting that money at the jackpot machine.

The problem is that even the top 5 PH colleges are truly not meeting CA BON requirements, of all my friends and their friends, not a one has gotten approved and I would safely say, we talking at least 39, but there have been other posters here claiming their friends and batchmate got approved? But I think they are mostly referring to those that applied before the stronger enforcement month/year or they submitted false documents, one big reason the CA BON is looking into the overseas applications, but it's not just us PH grads. Even those coming from the UK, Russia, India and China are having problems with the concurrency problem or they lack certain courses and do not meet the CA BON standards.

Here's a list of the CA BON schools, good luck in finding one, we've called and e-mailed them all. Same story, either NO, we don't have any courses, YES, we do, but it's on a very limited basis, YES, we accept applications once a year, NO you can't just take one course, you must enroll in the entire program. I know the schools are obligated to their already enrolled students and the offering to outside students is not something they are required to do. Realize also, that all CA schools are already cutting out courses, less teachers, etc due to budget cuts, while raising the student fees to attend.

Board of Registered Nursing - RN Programs

I hear you on not wanting to go the LVN way yet, it's not what our career goals were. As just like the new grad RN nurses, LVN's are also having a very tough time finding a job and as you go thru the topics here, many LVN's are being phased out and more places are hiring CNA's as they are paid at half the wages of an LVN, so more places are using CNA's and RN's to make for better profits which is ok, profits are needed to pay everyone, but it comes at the LVN's expenses. Then, even if you are an LVN, to cross that bridge into the RN-BSN program, the schools have a 3-4 year waiting list, but some now offer a lottery system, but that's hard to get into also as there are certain ways to get a lottery number. The other places that don't have a waiting list are very expensive and as foreign students we must pay from $22,000 to over $30,000, which is the same for any US student, but they are offered financial aid.

So many PH students today going to nursing school now still think CA is having a nursing shortage and that everyone and anyone can work at any nursing job once they pass the NCLEX and start making $35 an hour as a new grad.

But at the end of the day, we must blame the CHED, PRC and PNA for not meeting the CA BON minimum requirements and leading us on for many years. These are the agencies that messed all of us, not the CA BON.

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Don't forget guys that the CA BON started and has it written in their rules and regulations policy of the concurrency requirements since 1987.

Guys, that's probably the year most of us were born around in plus or minus 5 years here and there and yet OUR own educational system FAILED and failed with that in mind, to ever change to meet the CA BON standards!!

The CHED, PRC and the PNA have ALL everyone single one of them from their board members to anyone connected to them FAILED US!

25 years and they still insist on NOT changing their DUMB AND OLD ways! Typical PH cronies!

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Guys.. I tried calling every single one of the list. THey said they are not offering single classes. I have 1 school left I haven't called which is UCLA, still waiting to answer my call i am on hold. Right now I am confused, so lost and so frustrated I don't know what to do now since I can't even enroll to a school that offers a class that the BRN wants me to do. Guys any advise please? :(

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The letter says that i have to look up for an accredited school of nursing in their website right now I don't want to take a risk because they are already so strict any little mistakes would cause me a denial and a waste of money.

Well I called San Diego State University they told me fall enrollment is full and they will have to see for spring and the University of California Irvine does offer but only the theory but I am not sure if the BRN will allow me to take the theory and clinical practice 2 different school. Anyone knows? Any advice would help.

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The letter says that i have to look up for an accredited school of nursing in their website right now I don't want to take a risk because they are already so strict any little mistakes would cause me a denial and a waste of money.

Well I called San Diego State University they told me fall enrollment is full and they will have to see for spring and the University of California Irvine does offer but only the theory but I am not sure if the BRN will allow me to take the theory and clinical practice 2 different school. Anyone knows? Any advice would help.

I would send an e-mail to the CA BON to better answer your question. Keep us posted if you do and get an answer from them.

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Hi, htodab

So you mean even you pass all the requirements that they ask they still denied your reapplication.

Im confused now because Im processing my reapplication. I already send my Clinical cases that there asking me. Im stress out after reading all the blogs that even I pass my clinical cases.They will denied it because of concurrency issues. Because I have one cases I did after graduation just to experience different kind of cases. But they are asking me if i have extra/additional cases aside from the 25 cases, which I have a copy on my logbook.

I dont know if Im still gonna process my extra cases and in the need they will just gonna denied it.Because I will need to have my clinical instructor bfore to sign my cases and sealed it by schools.

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pnay_doll: I think you will get rejected due to completing a case after graduation, the rules are you're suppose to complete all your cases BEFORE graduation.

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