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You have to complete the nursing curriculum at the school you will be attending. As you get to the end of your nursing program, the nursing school should give you instructions on how to apply to the New York State Board of Nursing to take the NCLEX exam. You cannot apply for the NCLEX without a transcript from your school of nursing that shows you completed their nursing program. You have to pass the NCLEX in order to become an RN. Until you do that, you cannot legally call yourself an RN.
Becoming an LPN is a different process. Normally, you would attend a school of practical nursing. Upon finishing you would take the NCLEX-PN exam. If you pass the NCLEX-PN exam you will receive an LPN license. Some states will allow nurses who have failed the NCLEX exam, or who did not complete an RN course of study, to take the NCLEX-PN exam. The only way of knowing what New York will allow is to check (1) the New York nurse practice act, and (2) the New York Board of Nursing rules and regulations. I just checked information about this on the Florida Board of Nursing for another person who lives in Florida. It is on a thread titled "Question" on the Nursing Student Discussion Forum.
In my state after the first semester of nursing school (was in an ADN program) you could take a week long jump course at the university then test for LPN licensure and practice as an LPN (if you were successful) while finishing your RN courses. A couple of the students from my class did this but neither of them ended up finishing the RN school. I would suggest keeping your goal of an RN in mind and if you do go for the LPN prior to finishing do it as an adjuct or a study tool rather than a compromise goal.
CARAMELO
21 Posts
:monkeydance: 10000000000xxxxxxxxxx Thx thx thx thx thx;)