CA Public Health Nurses

[kathym1971]

About a year ago I applied for my public health license in California. I received my BSN out of state and since my Public Health course wasn't sufficient for the required child abuse course credits, I took a self study course which took a few months for me to complete. In the mean time, they held my application, my transcripts, and my check. Once I completed the course, I then proceeded with the application process and never heard back from the Board of Nursing. I figured maybe I took too long with the self study course. Shortly after, I had to move out of state for 10 months so I decided I would look back into applying again once I returned. I recently moved back to California and knew I needed to submit a change of address with the Board of Nursing. As I went through the website and followed the links to do this, I discovered I had been issued a PHN license back in 2014 after I submitted my self study course certificate. But I never received notification of this whatsoever. You can imagine my excitement as I figured I would be going through the application process all over again. But where is my physical license? Do we actually get one?

[nurseactivist]

No, there is not a seperate phn license. When I graduated from school with BSN, there was a green paper which served as a phn certificate. I had to dig it out after 25 years of employment as a nurse when I took my first phn job years ago. In recent years, you just go to BRN website and check the status of your RN license (BreEze) and you should see your RN number and PHN number.

[kathym1971]

Thank you for the information. I actually had to go on line and order a duplicate copy which cost $30. Bummer that I had to pay since I never got the first one but since it had been over 90 days since my first one was supposedly issued, I had to pay.

[returning RN/BSN]

If I received my BSN out in PA (in 1997), do I have to take courses so I can apply for a PHN certification through the CA board of Nursing? If so, where can I go? I can only find programs for RN's that do not have their BSN since the public health nursing is included in CA curriculum. Thank you in advance for your help!