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.

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OMG!!!Im also planning to have my reapplication again hir in CA..kabayan just wanna ask from what school did u graduate from d PHL.and what yr.?

Its vry confusing how come they allow u to take NCLEX d first time if they think ur not qualified as an RN..why they are making it difficult to be RN in CA now..:(

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@htodab : Really? i reapplied too and just waiting for the CA board's reply, its quite frustrating if that's the case...i feel for you kabayan and worried as well...they must have set new rules now and it's quite hard for us retakers....good luck to us all.

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Those are NOT new rules, they have always been in place. The BRN has just began to enforce them. Look for more enforcement in the future. It's only going to get worse with them. Good luck.

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I always check this nclex thread and it's always the California board comes up with this problem. Kababayan (yes, I'm filipino too), I feel your pain right now. But I'm guessing this is only in California? Because I know California is one of the few states that don't require CGFNS evaluations. Other states like FL (where I am), require a full course by course evaluation of your bsn degree in the Philippines. Now I'm guessing this is California's new rules since you've taken the exam before. I'm also guessing that California does its own evaluation since they don't require CGFNS. They don't understand the way our clinicals work in the Philippines. They don't understand that we have so many nursing students fighting to gain clinical cases that we don't get to complete them on time on that certain ncm 101 or 102 etc. But we can't blame them either, that is their rules and it's highly unlikely they'll change their minds anytime soon as your evaluator said.

That in mind, I think it's utter ridiculous for them to consider you an RN till you get a master's degree. I mean most of my friends are GN's here and they're working now. Sure they're required to get a BSN degree soon but not a master's degree. Anyways no point in fighting the California board with their new rules.

What can you do? If I were you, maybe contact your evaluator again? Tell her what if the school can send a letter concerning the date of completion of those cases? Maybe the school can explain and they can acknowledge that? If that doesn't work maybe you should just apply to a different state. Sure you'll start all over again but it's better than getting a masteral degree to be considered an RN in Cali (that's so stupid). Other states will require that you get your transcripts evaluated by CGFNS. Mind you it took me 3 months for them to process everything and evaluate. But on the bright side, my state board have no further questions regarding my education background because it's been already evaluated by CGFNS. Either way, it's going to take some time for you to retest so it seems. I'm sorry. But just posted my opinion and what I would do if I was in your situation.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the International forum,

We are seeing this more frequently with CA

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I feel for you. I too am under the same predicament. Right now I'm coordinating with my dean and school in applying for a re evaluation of my credentials. My school will be clarifying my clinical cases. It's just not right that some of my classmates who are under the same program and curriculum have already been made eligible.

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SAME SENTIMENTS!!!! asked around in a couple of schools here in LA. and as usual, bad news again. They said i have to take up 12 units of useless already taken **** from their college such as English, Speech, History, before they evaluate me for entrance in their nursing program.. Probably gonna take 1 1/2 to 2 years. My career timeline is so*** up!!!!!! :(

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it's frustrating, cause it seems like they're denying my eligibility because of the fact that my cases werent completed in concurrent with the theory classes. ... it's impossible to complete those cases during the sem of those specific theory classes that require clinical cases because of the lack of patients . ... this sucks..

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it's frustrating, cause it seems like they're denying my eligibility because of the fact that my cases werent completed in concurrent with the theory classes. ... it's impossible to complete those cases during the sem of those specific theory classes that require clinical cases because of the lack of patients . ... this sucks..

US schools have to find clinicals for their students, they also have to find qualified instructors, meaning nurses who have many years of clinical experience and Master's Degree in Nursing. The US schools have to maintain a certain standard which is having a high initial pass rate on the NCLEX exam.

I am seeing many posters saying the CA Board of Nursing re -reviewing their application after they failed. This is good practice, you failed.....they are trying to assess the reason for the failure since the expectation in the US is that the vast majority are expected to pass the first time, it is seen a a big failure for the school when a student fails the NCLEX the first time.

For those of applicants who choose to leave the USA to get education at a cheaper price, I am sorry you get what you pay for.

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

This is not about educational standards. This is the California Board of Nursing saying enough is enough with the foreign educated nursing applicants from the Philippines in a climate when there are so many unemployed nurses who went to California nursing programs and are not able to find jobs. Those of you who are US residents or US citizens who went out of your way to go to nursing school in the Philippines thinking that it will be a smarter move (cheaper tuition, cheaper cost of living, no wait list or admission lottery) are the "collateral damage" to this scheme.

First, there's no way the Board of Registered Nursing knows which schools in the Philippines are substandard. They are going by official transcript of records, clinical rotation records (or Related Learning Experience records), and comleted OR, Nursery, and Delivery Room cases. All these documents can look good on paper. The schools do not submit qualifications of professors and instructors nor the passing rate of the program on the National Licensure Examination for RN's in the Philippines (a true barometer of how good the school is per Philippine standards).

Second, nursing programs across the United States DO NOT require their students to complete a set number of first assist in the OR, umbilical cord stump dressing for newborns in the Nursery, nor performing actual birthing assistance to women who are delivering including cutting umbilical cords of newborns and making sure an intact placenta is delivered. These are specialty rotations in the US and are not part of the basic nursing program whether they are Associates or Bachelors. It is, however, required by the Philippine government through the Board of Nursing there and the Professional Regulation Commission which administers the licensure exam in the Philippines. You DO NOT graduate from your nursing program in the Philippines without completing the required number of OR, Nursery, and Labor and Delivery cases.

Third, nursing students across ALL nursing programs in the Philippines have concurrent clinical rotations with lecture. Level 2 is Maternal-Child Nursing and students do rotate in Mother-Baby Units and Peds Wards during Level 2. Level 3 is Med-Surg Nursing and Psych Nursing and students do rotate in Med-Surg wards and Psych wards during Level 3. Level 4 is Nursing Managament, Research, and Intensive Clinical Practicum. In addition, nursing programs in the Philippines provide Community Health Nursing lectures concurrent with placement for practicum in a community setting, something basic nursing programs do not offer in the US as a standard. Schools in the Philippines arrange ALL clinical rotations, the students do not seek out clinical sites.

The completion of OR, Nursery, and Labor and Delivery cases are NEVER concurrent with lectures. These requirements are above and beyond the clinical rotations that are already provided concurrently with lectures. There are many students in each nursing program and only a few students can be placed in the OR to first assist with an instructor supervising all day to finish the cases. There are only a certain number of deliveries that occur in a single hospital so students have to take take time away from their normal school schedule to be able to perform actual deliveries and care for the umbilical cord stump on the newborn on any single day. Some programs arrange these during the summer months when school is not in session.

The bottomline is if this rule stays as the "new" requirement in the State of California, only a very small amount of graduates from the Philippines, if any at all, will qualify to be licensed in California anymore. This move on California's part is not suprising. I see it as part of the weeding out of any more RN applicants who will further saturate the large number of nurses in the state who are struggling to find jobs. In a way, graduates from Philippine nursing programs lost due to a technicality the same way graduates of Excelsior nursing programs are not eligible to be licensed in California. It is painful (and upsetting) to accept for those affected but there are 49 other states that have not made the same decision.

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US schools have to find clinicals for their students, they also have to find qualified instructors, meaning nurses who have many years of clinical experience and Master's Degree in Nursing. The US schools have to maintain a certain standard which is having a high initial pass rate on the NCLEX exam.

I am seeing many posters saying the CA Board of Nursing re -reviewing their application after they failed. This is good practice, you failed.....they are trying to assess the reason for the failure since the expectation in the US is that the vast majority are expected to pass the first time, it is seen a a big failure for the school when a student fails the NCLEX the first time.

For those of applicants who choose to leave the USA to get education at a cheaper price, I am sorry you get what you pay for.

@ gingers mom...same in PHL.schools too we also have qualified instructors,long yrs.of clinical exp.nd masters degree.. not only in the US..and its not only international grad.failed nclex d first time,there are also US grad.who failed nclex many times..d only prob.with international nurses is that we are required to pass additional reqs.and i think thats the topic here..

and it doesnt mean if u get ur education in a cheaper price ull fail nclex..

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