California RN Endorsement Problem--Please Help!

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Hello,

I am a full-fledged Indiana RN. I graduated from Ivy Tech Community College earlier this year, and took many of my transfer courses at Indiana University. At Ivy Tech--and the Indiana State Board of Nursing, for that matter--it's not a requirement to take Microbiology. It's just a class listed among several courses you can take to satisfy your co-requisites. I opted to take Chemistry and Advanced Anatomy & Physiology instead.

I recently applied for my California RN license. I was told that the only thing holding up my endorsement is that my transcripts don't show a course in Microbiology! Is this for real? It seems like a bad nightmare! I'm a nurse, I passed my NCLEX, is this really a legitimate concern? Does California really insist that you've taken a course in Microbiology in order to be an RN? Does anyone else find that odd?

My only saving grace might be that I also have a bachelor's in Kinesiology from IU, and that one of those courses might transfer to Ivy Tech as Microbiology. If not, I don't really know what to do. I guess I could try to test out of the course via the CLEP exam, transfer my results to Ivy Tech, and then forward my new transcript to California, but it seems like an awful lot of work for something rather silly.

Has anyone else had this problem? Do you have any advice for me? I would appreciate any help or suggestions you might have to offer. This whole thing has left me rather down. It just seems sometimes like the entire world is full of meaningless, arbitrary red tape that solves nothing and only serves to make life unnecessarily harder. :(

Thanks for your time!

Jon

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wow crazy iwant to be a nurse in claifronia they pay good and benefits are great. that is odd, but do it repit the clas or transfer the kinesiology credit, I was told cali is worth it. it is expensive but wirth it

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Every state's BON determines what the requirements are for licensure in their state. Unfortunately, this does mean that California can require a microbiology class as part of your nursing program. If your other degree doesn't have a microbio equivalent, you may have to suck it up and take a microbio class.

I agree that it's kind of pointless especially since you are already a licensed RN...but as you've seen firsthand, we are at the mercy of the state BONs.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Do you have any advice for me? I would appreciate any help or suggestions you might have to offer.
I would enroll in a micro course at your local community college as soon as reasonably possible. You are taking a chance when you take Excelsior's micro exam because the California BRN has held a grudge with Excelsior for many years.
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Thanks to everyone for your replies!

I'm probably just going to take the Excelsior College Exam (I was mistaken earlier--CLEP doesn't offer a Micro exam). I emailed my evaluator at the CA BRN to see if he would accept it.

I just think it's crazy... I've taken numerous biology and kinesiology courses throughout the years, and although I don't have one entitled "Microbiology" on my transcripts, it's not like I've never studied it. I brought one of the biology courses I took at IU to the attention of my "evaluator," and he said that according to the syllabus, Microbiology is not a core part of the course. As if I was lying! I DON'T know what the syllabus says, but I CAN tell you that we spent all of our time talking about cells, different types of cellular organisms and looking at microscope slides! IU just inexplicably came up with some goofy name for the class other than "Microbiology." Aaaaarrrggghhhh! :)

What if I had been a Nurse Practitioner for 10 years in my own state? Or a Clinical Specialist? Can you imagine the INSULT of being told you had to take a little nothing class for your license? I have no doubt that I would learn SOMETHING in this class; I do, however, doubt whether or not it's going to improve my patient care.

Le Sigh... I have no doubt that I could take the exam and pass it--and I will, most likely--but it's $275 that I really don't have the money to spend! It's crazy to spend that much money on just an exam... The NCLEX cost less! I could take a semester-long course and buy a textbook for less at another college; and I would, if not for the time crunch I'm facing.

Anyways... I am now officially ranting and raving. :)

Thanks again to everyone for your input!

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I stumbled upon this post and I was shocked because I am in the EXACT same situation!! I went to Ivy Tech for my ASN also, and tool advanced a&p instead of micro. Please let me know...did you get your license? How did you end up going about it?? I am also considering taking the excelsior class but I don't want to spend the money if those credits won't be accepted...please let me know, I'm in a panic...My other question is will they still give me a temp license while I obtain the micro credits?

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I stumbled upon this post and I was shocked because I am in the EXACT same situation!! I went to Ivy Tech for my ASN also, and tool advanced a&p instead of micro. Please let me know...did you get your license? How did you end up going about it?? I am also considering taking the excelsior class but I don't want to spend the money if those credits won't be accepted...please let me know, I'm in a panic...My other question is will they still give me a temp license while I obtain the micro credits?

Here's the information about Excelsior from the CA BON website:

Board of Registered Nursing - Excelsior College

You might want to try the local CA community schools, but recognize that enrollment can be very limited as they are obligated to their already enrolled students.

Board of Registered Nursing - RN Programs

Or see if you can make up in your state first but I would verify this with the CA BON people in an email.

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My girlfriend is in this same position. What did you end up doing?

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Hi. I have my RN license in the state of Oregon and am now attempting to endorse my license into CA. I don't have a microbiology class and am being told by multiple people that I will most likely need to take the microbiology class WITH A LAB. Does anyone know of online schools that offer microbiology with a LAB that the state of California recognizes and accepts. Thanks!!

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Hey J Roark, how did you end up resolving this? I am also now trying to endorse an OR RN license into the state CA and I don't have a micro with lab.

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Specializes in ICU, Med/ONC.

I have a BA in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and a BSN from MSSU. I have been licensed in the state of Missouri since 2005. I applied for endorsement in CA only to learn they want me to take introductory courses in psychology and communication. They have my transcripts. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you.

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Specializes in ICU.
I have a BA in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and a BSN from MSSU. I have been licensed in the state of Missouri since 2005. I applied for endorsement in CA only to learn they want me to take introductory courses in psychology and communication. They have my transcripts. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you.

I was told people typically fulfill the communication requirement through a public speaking or speech class. I have never taken either. The exact requirement is:

Communication skills, six (6) semester or nine (9) quarter units shall include principals of:

Oral communication

Written communication

Group communication

I submitted a letter to the BRN outlining coursework I've done that I believed would satisfy the above requirement (humanities, linguistics, French literature, completing a master's thesis, TAing undergraduate courses, etc.), a letter from my university explaining that their humanities courses are the equivalent of freshman comp, and course descriptions of the classes I was trying to use to satisfy the requirement.

I don't know what did it, but I have still never taken a "communication" class but am licensed and working in CA.

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