CA BoN asks for individual courses, but do they exist?

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Hello everybody,

I'm a foreign educated nurse applying for licensure in CA. After I submitted all the paperwork to the CA BoN they sent me a letter that states the following:

"An evaluation of your application for licensure as a Registered Nurse in California indicates that your nursing education does not meet the minimum requirements in Obstetrics, Pediatrics and Psychiatric nursing.

In order to meet this requirement, it will be necessary for you to make up these courses, both theory and clinical practice, in an accredited school of professional nursing in California. [...]"

ok.... so after calling several colleges from the list the CA BoN provided I must say I'm rather surprised by the fact that there are absolutely no colleges offering individual courses. I don't understand, why would the CA BoN tell me I have to take courses that are impossible to take??? ... unless of course I join a 2 year program (added to my 3 year degree, and I'm not even going to mention the costs).

Does anybody know of ANY colleges in South California that offer individual courses?

I'm stuck and don't know what to do or where to go from here :uhoh3: I can't be the only one going through this... can I????

I understand what the Nursing Board's job is Coffee Nurse. Most countries have such an institution. I also understand what a [WIKI]metaphor[/WIKI] is.

...and I also understand that if I tell you that your assumption about my education is wrong you will probably send a reply that will be as [WIKI]politically correct[/WIKI] as possible but still sting like crazy... so I will not engage in this conversation. I'm not trying to discredit anybody. Nor am I here to prove anything, be rude or dismissive. I'm simply looking for answers and I thought I could find somebody that has some.

Anybody who has been in my situation understands how frustrating it is to throw away years of study and start from scratch. It is what it is, right?

Thank you all for your replies and I apologize if I let my frustration get the best of me.

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Hi Golysmom, check out Yuba College in Marysville (45 minutes past Sacramento). When I went there for my ADN education, we had international students who only needed to complete the Psych and Maternal Child portion. I attended from 2008-2010. I see that you are in LA area, maybe moving might be worth it for you. Good Luck.

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I've noticed that most community college have done away with allowing international/other students in same situation to complete just a few portions of their nursing programs. The budget cuts got the best of everybody in CA. There is no school in CA that will accept a student who already has a degree in nursing. The reason being is that the person already holds a nursing degree and they will send you straight to the BRN and the BRN will send you back to the schools that will not accept you. So in theory, as a previous poster stated, you will be sent on a wild goose chase. What the BRN is asking for IS impossible, and they know it. But unfortunately they don't care. Good Luck

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Not only is there no school/college/university offering individual course for the designated deficiency---one must be attending the college of nursing or within the nursing program to even be considered much less that particular college must be accredited too or listed on there ever changing list.

And with the current crunch of people getting into the nursing programs everywhere, how is this possible?

Good luck! I wish you find the solution and I am curious how this will be accomplished.

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Golysmom,

If you know anyone who graduated from the same school you did and had her license in CA---then you will have proof that BoN is creating a "wave" against foreign graduates.

This could be a way that the BoN is "inadvertently or purposely restricting" foreign graduates because there is such a surplus of american graduates that are just on the sidelines and increasing without any jobs and will compete with the rest of other foreign graduates.

Find someone---on FB, anyone! Then you have a case to raise with the board. Good luck!

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

I go to Cerritos College in Norwalk (LA County). We do a split quarter with Obstetrics and Pediatrics in the 2nd semester and Psychiatric in the 3rd. We had nurses from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Russia join our class for psych only and then they are going to be doing OB/Peds this semester with that cohort. At the beginning of the psych lecture they were introduced as students who were foreign trained and would only be doing those classes. This was in Spring '11.

So it is possible but I guess not every institution offers it. It may also depend on how many spaces are available. Our class maxes out at 60 students.

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Hello everybody,

I'm a foreign educated nurse applying for licensure in CA. After I submitted all the paperwork to the CA BoN they sent me a letter that states the following:

"An evaluation of your application for licensure as a Registered Nurse in California indicates that your nursing education does not meet the minimum requirements in Obstetrics, Pediatrics and Psychiatric nursing.

In order to meet this requirement, it will be necessary for you to make up these courses, both theory and clinical practice, in an accredited school of professional nursing in California. [...]"

ok.... so after calling several colleges from the list the CA BoN provided I must say I'm rather surprised by the fact that there are absolutely no colleges offering individual courses. I don't understand, why would the CA BoN tell me I have to take courses that are impossible to take??? ... unless of course I join a 2 year program (added to my 3 year degree, and I'm not even going to mention the costs).

Does anybody know of ANY colleges in South California that offer individual courses?

I'm stuck and don't know what to do or where to go from here :uhoh3: I can't be the only one going through this... can I????

Wow, that is some pretty bad news. In what country did you obtain your nursing degree?

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After reading this thread, I guess should be grateful that the Ca. BoN, said I was eligible to take the NCLEX after evaluating my foreign psychiatric nursing credentials without having to make-up anything. The thing is, I actually want to take some individual medical/surgical classes, (theory and clinical), since it was 12 years ago since I graduated and I have not worked in the field, and because my English college did not do a great job of preparing us for general nursing. I know there are refresher courses on offer, (albeit limited here in San Diego), however I would need to have already passed the NCLEX and have a Ca. RN license in order to qualify for such a course! For me, a refresher would not be what I need right now since the medical/surgical side of nursing is something that I am unfamiliar with in the first place. My plan was to take individual courses to cover nursing areas that I never have and then take the Pre-Nclex course with the Welcome Back Center, (a center that offers help to foreign trained nurses) in January and then take the NCLEX. But like others have said, I am finding it impossible to find a college that will let me take individual courses. I get the impression that a couple of colleges would if there were availability and others just don't do that. In short, I feel as though I am in the same position.

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i found this in san diego:

[color=#333333]

[color=#333333]grossmont[color=#333333] [color=#333333]nursing[color=#333333] [color=#333333]college[color=#333333]

[color=#333333]question: i am a foreign educated registered nurse. can i be licensed here in the [color=#333333]us[color=#333333]?

[color=#333333]contact the board of registered nursing with your foreign transcripts. transcripts and foreign nursing programs are evaluated for eligibility by the board of registered nursing. if the student is found lacking in one subject, often that deficiency may be completed here at grossmont. a copy of the letter from the board of registered nursing and an application for brn single subject study can be obtained at the nursing office. the student must also demonstrate proficiency in english by passing an assessment test with a score of esl 103 or higher. foreign students must have a social security card to be eligible for the licensure examination.

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hello! has anyone here been able to enroll in colleges that do offer individual courses here in norcalifornia? this is really sad that they have to make us go through this. not to mention the cost of going back to school. sigh.

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Sad to say, I'm in the exact same situation, dos'nt look like anything has changed and shocking that we have to struggle with this. My husband, family and friends cannot believe how difficult this has been for me and that I am thinking of giving up nursing because of it. All I need the same as many of you is to do the 5 or 6 week course in Obstetrics to give to the CA BRN which will allow me to sit the NCLEX which will then allow me to try and get a job doing what I do so well and worked so hard for Nursing. I think as well, we are already qualified nurses in a wonderful profession, why hasn't the CA BRN or other USA state Boards helping us? Is not as though we are looking for a freebie, not as if we do this then sit back and take from the state, NO. This is supposed to be a dream come true coming to and living in America. AAAAhhhhhhh something is very wrong with this. J

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Wait a min, this site has been here for years right. So nurses from the last couple of years must have done the Obstetric course somewhere in California at a school or college and given the information to the CA BRN and mentioned on this site where they went right. Ive been looking for hours trying to find a RN who has done this 5 / 6 week course and cannot find one. Am I looking in the wrong place? This should be easier to find, there must be loads of nurses who have been on this course and completed it with suggestions or advise to others?

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