Washington State and Excelsior

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For those of you interested in Excelsior College, please be aware WA does accept Excelsior grads for RN licensure BUT they do require a 200 hour contracted, unpaid preceptor experience before they will allow you to test for the NCLEX and get your WA RN license. Good luck working that out. I couldn't find anyone who would do it.

I did Excelsior and had LOTS of problems with the WA BON. It was awful. However, I did learn a loop hole in the system if you are having a hard time finding a preceptor for the stupid 200 hours requirement. If you test for your NCLEX for another state on your application (you can still actually take the NCLEX locally though since it is a National test and all), you can apply to endorse your license to WA from that other state. Choose a state that does not have any special requirements for Excelsior grads and your RN license will transfer right over!

In my research after the fact when I was having so many issues, I learned the Minnesota has 1) the lowest RN NCLEX application fee and 2) the fastest turn around time for license verification, 10 days (some states take months to get the info to the BON).

So, your original RN license would be MN but you never live/work or do anything with it other than immediately apply for WA RN License by Endorsement. Application here http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/Professio...s/RN_byEnd.pdf

It negates the preceptor requirement and the whole process is way easier and faster (10 days from application to Authorization to take NCLEX). Minnesota RN licensing requirements and info: https://www.hlb.state.mn.us/mbn/Port...0packet-US.pdf The application/license fee is $85 for MN. Then another $90 for Endorsement to WA. Once you are licensed in another state WA cannot deny your application regardless of where you graduated (unless there are other reasons on the application to deny you).

MN has an easy online application. You may want to call them to be sure they have not changed their rules about Exelcesior College since I was dealing with this issue several years ago. But, if you go this route it should be pretty painless.

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Wow, are you kidding? I live in Oregon but want to go back to Seattle. I was also thinking of working in Vancouver, but wasn't sure how this would work. I was just planning on working for a while and hoping that counted towards my preceptorship. I think that I will still apply in Oregon anyway, but it is great to know that there is this oppertunity. Thank you for sharing!!!

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Hey there,

Are you sure about WA? From the Excelsior website:

"Endorsement: Excelsior graduates who are licensed as an RN in another state may endorse their license to Washington if they have 1000 hours of practice as a registered nurse." (https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_Of_Nursing/Accreditation_and_Licensure/State_Board_Requirements/Washington)

Of course, this is awesome if it is not true, I would love to work in Vancouver!

(BTW, the web site for state board requirements at EC are here: https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_Of_Nursing/Accreditation_and_Licensure/State_Board_Requirements_

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Hi there.

I had not intended to get into my big story but for the sake of the question, I will.

I was also given that info about the 1000 hours worked in another state before EC grads being allowed to endorse to WA. I could not find a preceptor experience locally, and could not afford 6 weeks (200 hours) of unpaid volunteer/student work time anyway, so I opted to simply move for 3 months and work out of state in the state I had opted to take the NCLEX for. I took a travel nurse job and made a lot of money. Way better than the alternative. When the time came when I had 1000 hours working in another state an RN and I was applying to WA to transfer/endorse my license I could not find a form or place to document the proof that I have worked 1000 hours as EC had said was required. I called the WA BON and they said there is no such place to document on the application and therefore it is not a requirement. They said EC may be incorrect in their info. I called EC but apparently even years later it never got corrected. As it turns out, I did NOT need to move 1000 miles from home and take a travel nurse job to log my hours as a licensed RN in another state after all. My whole experience was for not.

The loop hole I discovered after the fact and wanted to share it with people who may have the guts to give it a go. Of course, I could be wrong and maybe the forms have changed since I was dealing with this issue, but from what I read in the links I provided, I could not find anywhere on the WA endorsement application where to document hours worked in another state of licensure.

Hope that helps!

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Sorry for making you relive your pain, and thank you so much for this info. :) Excelsior has saved my butt with their program, but their website is very irritating in that it has a lot of out-of-date information that is also very hard to find.

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No problem, I hope it helps! Keep me posted, if you don't mind.

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Specializes in Emergency, Occupational, Primary.
I called the WA BON and they said there is no such place to document on the application and therefore it is not a requirement. They said EC may be incorrect in their info. I called EC but apparently even years later it never got corrected. As it turns out, I did NOT need to move 1000 miles from home and take a travel nurse job to log my hours as a licensed RN in another state after all. My whole experience was for not.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm also in Oregon (licensed here in May) and when I called the WA BON about a year ago they DID mention the 1000 hour requirement. But I've just downloaded the application packet and you're right, there's nothing on there about documenting work experience. I just figured that as soon as they saw "Excelsior College" that they would deny the application or put it on hold and send me some supplemental form.

Maybe they just check to see if you've been licensed in the other state for a minimum of six months (~1000 hours)? Or maybe they don't check at all. That would be good because I don't work in OR, I actually work on a ship as the "healthcare specialist" which is a combination of medical, nursing, and safety. Might be hard to prove I'm working as an "RN" even though I do advanced scope NP/PA-type duties under maritime law very often (suturing, primary care, etc).

I'm pretty sure they told me about the 1000 hours, but now I'm not sure! :eek: I know for sure they mentioned the 200 clinical for initial licensure which doesn't appear to exist. I'm glad Oregon wasn't a problem!

Maybe I'll call them again.

--EquuszRN

P.S.: ACNurse: How did you get a travel RN job as a new grad? I've got 18 years' experience as a paramedic and they won't even look at me until I've got a year's RN experience. :uhoh3:

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Specializes in Emergency, Occupational, Primary.
Sorry for making you relive your pain, and thank you so much for this info. :) Excelsior has saved my butt with their program, but their website is very irritating in that it has a lot of out-of-date information that is also very hard to find.

Yes Vega if you do it this way could you please come back and let us know if it went through OK?

Thanks!

EquuszRN

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EquuszRN-

I was working as an LPN in a regional hospital and took a travel/temp position in another state in the same company/region... Great pay, free rent and travel expenses. It worked out great. I doubt you will have a problem applying for endorsement. Doesn't hurt to try anyway! Good luck and let me know how it works out.

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Hi there! I had seen that you went through Excelsior and are now in Washington. I am about to be relocated to WA state and was wanting to being the Excelsior program but am worried about the whole thing. I am an LPN but I will have a full time job and I have two little ones to take care of. I added you as a friend if you could give me some information on the program and licensing I would really appreciate it! Thanks a bunch

Ashley

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Specializes in Emergency, Occupational, Primary.

Just thought I would update how it worked out:

I live in Oregon but right on the Washington border so I wanted to have licenses in both states. Oregon has no restriction on Excelsior graduates so I took and passed the NCLEX-RN there. I then continued my work as medical officer on an offshore oil ship (now as the ship's nurse) until I had the 1,000 hours. (I was coming in as a paramedic-to-RN not LPN-to-RN so I wasn't eligible to qualify using a nursing internship, which doesn't seem to exist in Washington anyway.)

There's no place on the application to document "1,000 hours worked as an RN in another state"; it doesn't even ask about your employment history, just other states licensed in. But, sure enough, they sent me a letter saying I needed to show documentation of those hours. Fortunately, since I was working on a U.S. flagged vessel in U.S. waters, it qualified as "another state", so after I sent them a confirmation letter from my employer I was granted the license.

So if you're wanting to endorse into Washington from another state, you DO need to have the 1,000 hours.

Hope this helps.

--EquuszRN

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

But it's great to know that as a medic-in-origin EC grad, I can endorse in there if I ever wanted to do so. :) Thanks for the update!

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