looking for help in texas

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2006

I moved from California to Texas in November 2005.

I found that endorsing my California LVN license to Texas was relatively easy as long as you send the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners everything they need all in one big envelope. You'll need to send them a completed application for LVN endorsement, a 2x2 passport-sized photograph of you that's less than 1 year old, a fingerprint card, a $200 check or money order, and sign a release allowing Texas to verify your Illinois license. Call the Texas B.O.N.E. to request that the fingerprint cards and application be mailed to you. Take the fingerprint cards to a local police station and let an officer fingerprint you.

I mailed my stuff to the Texas B.O.N.E. on January 28 and received my temporary license on February 2. I immediately found a job and worked with this temporary license. My permanent Texas license was issued on March 7. As a new LVN without experience in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, I earn $18 with benefits at a nursing home. The salaries at hospitals tend to be lower, and the pay at nursing homes tends to be higher. The per diem rates average $21 to $25 per hour. Houses, apartment rentals, and the overall cost of living are quite affordable when compared to Chicago.

By the way, we're called LVNs in Texas.