EC info from North Carolina BON

Nursing Students Online Learning

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Hi,

I am a current LPN student. Our school was evaluated last week by the North Carolina Board of Nursing. We were asked questions by the NCBON representative, and then allowed to ask her questions. There are several of us pursuing different options for the LPN-BSN route. She informed us of 2 very important things-

1- NCBON accepts EC RN's, but lately major NC healthcare systems are not hiring EC grads, so check around places you may be employed and see if they do hire EC grads. Useless to go through if you have to move to work. She said the BON has been getting " a lot of panicked phone calls from recent EC grads that they are not able to be hired." So, it maybe something to consider beforehand.

2- I have done ALOT of investigating into LPN to RN options. I had never seen that Davidson Community College DOES offer an ONLINE LPN-ADN RN Program. The rep told us about this program. It requires 2 years LPN work experience according to the website.

I just thought this was some important info that could be useful.

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bnc1143 ,

i'm from the triad area. i was in the lpn-adn program at forsyth tech this semester but had to drop. i'm telling you, this route is not easy, especially if you work fulltime, married, and have kids. it's very stressful.

i have checked into davidson ccc as well, it is an online program. you only have to be in school "physically" for 3 days. the rest you do online for 2 semesters. you have to find your own preceptor in a hospital for your clinicals.

they only accept 15 students every fall semester. when i checked january last monthy, they have already 50-something applicants (for the 15 slots!!!) and 26 of them have already met the requirements. plus, you have to be a lpn for 2 years!

as far as the ec nursing students having a hard time getting a job in nc after graduation... i didn't know that!!!! thanks for the info. i'm scheduled to take the ec health essentials safety test on monday. i'm really considering getting my rn thru ec but i have really to do a lot of reseach now. there's no sense spending thousands and thousands of dollars, if most hospitals in nc doesn't recognize ec grads.

having said that.... i'm still putting in my application to forsyth tech next month and get back in the program by fall. i only have 2 more semesters to go. i've finished the lpn-rn transition class.

btw...which cc are you attending now? are you in the triad area? thanks.

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I haven't heard anything about EC grads who have RN licenses getting hired anywhere that RN's are needed and EC is accepted. In fact, people who have worked with EC grads often prefer us.

Out of curiosity, how long have you been lurking here to decide to jump in into this forum with this as your first post?

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suesquatchrn .... are you asking me or the girl who originally posted this message?

i am in a panic mode right now.... because i'm taking the 1st test on monday. and i'm planning to put in my application to ec, hopefully...when i pass the test on monday. i thought that i might do better on this route than the traditional lpn-adn program that i was pursuing.

but after reading bnc1143's post... i am really, really panicking! i'm scared to spend thousands of dollars and not get a job when i get my rn.

so, if anybody would just please put in their 2-cent's worth on this topic, it would really, really be helpful especially for new people like me.

thanks.

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Hope you are right Sue! I just sent in my EC application, and I plan to move to NC this summer.

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beeenieweeenie,

Let me know how you doing with EC as you pursue your goal. I'm planning to put in my application too after my 1st test on Monday.

I admit I'm in a panic mode after reading the original post.

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If the NC BON recognizes EC and hospitals are purposely avoiding hiring EC grads, that sounds like a big lawsuit to me. I'm not one for legal avenues but if I get discriminated against I wouldn't be shy about confronting them.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.
beeenieweeenie,

Let me know how you doing with EC as you pursue your goal. I'm planning to put in my application too after my 1st test on Monday.

I admit I'm in a panic mode after reading the original post.

I replyed to this post from the distant learning thread.I am a new EC grad and have lived in NC all my life and just got an interview at a smaller hospital. I live in Clayton NC. Right outside of Raleigh.

Intresting.... I will definetly keep you updated.This is a small hospital, I sent them my credentials and a resume and she did not say anything about my Excelsior College degree. She expressed giving me more money! Oh well, I am trusting in God and pressing on and not getting caught up in the hype of that. IMO, if these recruiters ever give an EC grad an opportunity to get an interview, they will impress them so bad, they have to say yes! That is exactly what I am going to do. Also another spin to that thread. I applied to 2 New Grad internships at Wake Med in Raleigh and the HR person informed me that its VERY competative there and they recieved 98,000 applications last year. She could not tell me how many of those were for Nursing but I'm guessing at least half. This is my logic. Start out in a smaller hospital get several years of experience and then try to get into the big hospitals. The triangle is saturated with 3 major universities, and an unbelievable amount of community colleges the has RN programs. It is very competative in this state to even get into a nursing program! You have all levels of nurses wanting to get jobs at Wakemed,Rex, Duke, UNC. I would not let that stop you from going to EC. Sometimes we are not going to find the perfect job when we first start out but if we humble ourselves we will find a good job.I know in my heart that I will be the best where ever I go and I will get a job at a great hospital.

It also doesn't hurt to call these hospitals and see if they accept EC grads. I did my peds rotation at Wakemed and one of the LPN's there was about to take her CPNE and told a group of us about EC. If Wake med did not accept EC grads then she would not have persuded the EC degree. Find out for yourselves before you all go into panic mode.You can contact a live HR person at most hospitals before you start your journey. I have no regrets and feel postive about finding a job in a hospital in NC. Again it might be one of the prestige hospitals at first but everyone has to start somewhere. I was blown away at the number of Wake med applications, can you imagine how many REX, Duke and Chapelhill recieves. Its mind blowing. I am sure Duke and UNC are going to be partial to their own graduates first so thats even more competition.Don't give up hope girls. Good Luck on your Test Monday!

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Specializes in Uromycetisis Poisoning.

"lately major NC healthcare systems are not hiring EC grads"

I've heard this kind of thing several times before. It always seems to be a case where they can't or won't provide the names of specific facilities, names, dates, etc. They just know of someone that it happened to.

My wife (a current LPN to RN EC student) was told by a recruiter from a major healthcare/hospital network in the Atlanta area that they would not hire EC grads. I was interested in an ER position they had open, so I applied. They called me within a couple of hours of submitting the online application and said that based on my qualifications, I would be perfect for the job. The person who called me was the same person she had spoken with a few days before. I ended up staying with my current ER job, but they had absolutely no problem with me or my qualifications. It was like they couldn't wait to hire me.

My point is, if they are turning people away who are already RNs, it's probably not because they are EC grads. If they are, then we want specifics. No more of this they knew someone who knew someone stuff.

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SuesquatchRN .... Are you asking me or the girl who originally posted this message?

The original poster.

Keep on keepin' on, kkonrad.

:)

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
If the NC BON recognizes EC and hospitals are purposely avoiding hiring EC grads, that sounds like a big lawsuit to me. I'm not one for legal avenues but if I get discriminated against I wouldn't be shy about confronting them.

I don't really see how it can be discrimination.

Many employers have a preference for University vs Community College graduates, or prefer to hire from a certain caliber of schools that have a certain ranking.

Employers have been doing this for years and there is nothing illegal about it.

Where you graduated FROM is not a protected class.

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I found the original info about EC on the NC BON website. At face value, this led me to believe that it would be an excellent resource to obtain my BSN. I looked into it and when presented with the opportunity to ask the rep from the governing agency in my state as to the outlook for a grad in NORTH CAROLINA, that is what I was told. I posted the information I recieved from the NC BON representative less than a week ago on this forum because it was information that I thought was very relevant to those in NC considering this option. I was not knocking anyones pursuit or alumni. This information is something I would want to know if someone else had recieved it. There were 20 of us students in a room with a NC BON rep that told us this. The opportunity to be in this setting with the representative in a question and answer format was very informative. The last time the NC BON visited our school was 8 years ago. Therefore, 8 classes of LPN grads never had this opportunity, I was simply passing along information, which is what I thought this forum was for. I personally believe that if you can have the self discipline to complete a program such as EC as an independent learner and can pass the NCLEX, you are an RN the same as the rest. Distance learning has evolved from correspondance school where you send your cash and get your degree, but unfortunately old school administrators have not. My original post offered it as information to consider as well as a phone call to a healthcare system that you may want to work at in North Carolina. NC does accept liscensure of an EC grad because of its compacture agreement with the state of NY, where EC is accredited. You are working in NC on an endorsement. So, yes you can legally work as a nurse with a NY liscence, but will you be hired where you want to work is the question I was posing. EC is not accepted at all in some states. I have been in Allied health in NC. One issue here I see is that a lot of these smaller facilities are being bought up by the healthcare giants. ex- Duke owns DUMC, Rex in Raleigh, and Durham Regional. Cape Fear Valley has the monopoly in Fayetteville- CFVH, and Highsmith Rainey and now Bladen County Hopsital. This translates into the same HR policies at all facilities under them.

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