I am a BSN graduate from the Philippines (Batch 2011) and got denied by the California Board of Registered Nursing due to the concurrency issue regarding with my MS and OB Nursing clinicals and theory classes. They told me to enroll again in a California accredited nursing school to re-take my MS and OB courses but none of the schools here in Bay Area can offer that. They would always say "No we don't offer individual courses. You have to be in our nursing program, which means you have to start all over again"
So after that frustrating experience, I tried challenging the NCLEX-PN, which is the LVN exam. I luckily passed last year and now I am a Licensed Vocational Nurse, however, I am really looking forward to take the RN program. I inquired in some community colleges here in Hayward and told them that I already have a BSN degree and at the same time I am an LVN.
I explained to them that I can't take the RN exam because of the concurrency issue according to CA-BRN so I wanted to pursue an LVN-RN program. They told me 2 steps that I need to take.
Number 1 - that I need to work for at least 1000 hours as an LVN then I can apply for the Associate Degree in Nursing.
Number 2 - if I finished the pre-requisites for the RN classes, I can apply directly to their program regardless of my LVN license.
But the thing is, I am really confused on the steps that I need to take because I don't know if I can apply directly to the RN program by just using my BSN degree as the pre-requisites.
I know a lot of IENs, especially Filipinos wanted to get their RN licenses but since there's this concurrency issue, we have to start the program all over again.
Anybody who can explain about the pre-requisites and the like? Can we use our BSN degree in equivalence to the said pre-requisites? We have Microbiology and Parasitology, Anatomy and Physiology, English 1, 2 ,3, Sociology, Psychology and other required subjects as per stated in our PH Nursing curriculum. I know it's really tough to get into an RN program because of the tight competition but I am gambling for me to fulfill my dream to be a nurse here in California.
I don't wanna leave my parents here, so instead I am making my own way to get into the RN track. It's not in my plan to go to other states since my family is based here in Bay Area.
*And that is my story as a PH RN graduate who struggled to be a Registered Nurse here in California*
