Studying for NCLEX; State of Virginia Requirements

[esayaray]

Hi :)

I'm currently in the process of studying for the NCLEX-RN examination using Saunders, Exam Cram, Kaplan, all the audio books I can find about the NCLEX and topics in the NCLEX and I'm listening to various different podcasts. Literally drowning in material. It's going okay so far, but there is a lot of studying I need to do. I have nearly two years ahead of me until I graduate and I'm not wasting any time with studying for the NCLEX exam. I want to be very prepared once I get to the stage where I take the actual exam.

I'm a second year general nursing student here in Finland and the language of instruction and reading material for this program is English. I am planning to apply for licensure in the state of Virginia. I contacted the BON and got information about the clinical hour requirements; they require 500 total hours in med/surg, mental, obs/ped and geriatrics with a minimum of 8 hours in each clinical area but it is highly recommended to do more clincial hours. I discussed doing obs/ped clinical houes with my degree supervisor (since we don't have clinicals in these areas here in Finland; we do however have theory in these areas).

My degree supervisor said I can do my clinical hours in obs/ped as part of my medical nursing 2 clinical period at a maternity ward and day care center or a pediatric ward and the school can arrange special certificates to show CGFNS that I have met the clinical hour requirements. I also know that the state of Virginia requires that all nursing students should be instructed about child abuse and intervention methods and in our degree curriculum in Finland we have a course in child/adolescent development and this most likely includes how to deal with children who have been abused and how to intervene in these situations; should I also obtain a certificate for this so that the CGFNS is aware that I have had theoretical knowledge in this area?

Now my biggest question is, do I need to take the CGFNS exam before I am approved to take the NCLEX? I read on the Virginia BONs website that they only require a CES report and TOEFL exam if the language of instruction was conducted in another language than English. The language of instruction for my degree is English and additionally, I graduated from High School in the United States and I am a US citizen, so I would hope I am exempt from the English proficiency exam..

On VA BONs website the requirements for foreign nurses state the following:

A. With the exception of applicants from Canada who are eligible to be licensed by endorsement, applicants whose basic nursing education was received in another country shall be scheduled to take the licensing examination provided they meet the statutory qualifications for licensure. Verification of qualification shall be based on documents submitted as required in subsection B or C of this section.

B. Such applicants for registered nurse licensure shall:

1. Submit evidence from the CGFNS that the secondary education and nursing education are comparable to those required for registered nurses in the Commonwealth;

2. Submit evidence of passage of an English language proficiency examination approved by the CGFNS, unless the applicant meets the CGFNS criteria for an exemption from the requirement; and

3. Submit the required application and fee for licensure by examination. (This is the part that's throwing me off) -- What exam are they referring to here? The CGFNS exam, a state specific exam or the NCLEX? I'm guessing it's most likely not the NCLEX because I know I have to go through Pearson Vue for that.

Any idea what they're referring to here?

Also, this is another portion on the Virginia BONs information for foreign nurses:

E. In addition to CGFNS, the board may accept credentials from other recognized agencies that review credentials of foreign-educated nurses if such agencies have been approved by the board.

Which additional agencies are approved by the Virginia BON? Is it probably safest to go through CGFNS?

Thanks for your time.

[esayaray]

Bump Please!

[elkpark]

I don't have any idea what other credential evaluation organizations may be approved by the VA BON, but I can answer your question about the fee. When they say," Submit the required application and fee for licensure by examination," they are referring to the application (forms) and application fee for licensure by examination, as opposed to the application and (application) fee for licensure by endorsement. You're correct that you apply and pay for the NCLEX exam through Pearson Vue once you get an ATT from the Board. The general licensure application fee you pay directly to the BON.

[steppybay]

Ask your school's counselor or whoever is in charge of transcripts submission or if there's an international person with US nursing board experience of anyone from your particular school if they were successful in getting their ATT in VA.

See if the school can hook you up with anyone that have been given the approval for VA. Ask the contacts on their experiences and what they had to go thru.

[esayaray]

Thank you!

I'm not receiving alerts on responses I receive on my threads but thank you so much for responding! Thankfully I was able to get the answers to most of these questions on the original thread :)