Challanging the Nursing Boards!!!!!

[morr4336]

I am a military Hospital Corpsman who thought that challanging the nursing board to recieve my RN license would be a piece of cake. About 4 years ago California did allow us to challange the board for RN if we went to independent duty school, which is a year long program, and practice as an independent duty corpsman for 2 years. Many of my instructors did this and obtained their license, and were in fact RN's. The degree RN, or should I say the conventionaly schooled RN's did not approve of this "short cut" to licensing and now I can see why! It would have never worked for me. Being in the Coast Guard we have no nurses, nor do we have any inpatient facilities. We have small clinics that employ doctors, NP's, and PA's along with Hospital Corpsman. Had I challenged the board, and passed the test, I would have been ill prepared to function as a CNA let alone an RN. I am trainied to diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication, and have very limited knowledge as to what a nurses role in the health care setting is. In the other branches of the military maybe things are different, they do have large hospitals and the corpsman are the ones actually working on the floor for the most part, so they are exsposed to long term patient care, and the nurses do the paperwork and are in supervisory/teaching roles. If any medic, or corpsman, from the other services read this, please chime in. California was the only state to my knowledge that would allow certain corpsman and medics challenge the nursing board. They discontinued that practice as of April 2000. Yes I was a bit pissed, as I saw this program as short cut to RN'sville, but now I understand why. I will be starting nursing school in Jan 05 and am glad to take the conventional route to gaining my license. I have read that California is restricting EC from participating in the RN program, does anyone know if the University of Phoenix is next. Is the jury still out on getting an online nursing degree? How do some of you feel about it. Thanks for your time!

Gerard

[Cali]

I wasn't aware that medical corpsmen used to be able to challenge the RN boards. I find that a little scary. I challenged the LVN boards 2 years ago. I'm doing the exact same things as an LVN that I did as an Air Force medic. I am presently working on my RN at a local community college. Since I am already an LVN I just have to take the usual pre-req's, an LVN- to-RN bridge program and then I start in 3rd semester of the RN program. I'm glad that I took this route. Even if I had the option to challenge the RN boards from my military training I wouldn't have done it. I don't feel that medical corpsmen have enough training to just challenge the boards for RN.

[morr4336]

I do agree, very scary and I am glad California did away with it. For years independent duty corpsman and certain Army medics were able to challenge the board. I had my application in and was ready to take the test before it was discontinued. I think I could have passed the test, but in no way would I have been able to function as a nurse! I am only speaking for myself, as I know some who have done it and it has worked out fine for them.