Endorsement in Vermont

[coup321]

I wasn't sure were to put this thread, so I put it here since it is technically associated with first year out of nursing.

I graduated from an A.D.N. school in New York with hopes of working in Vermont.

After graduation I applied to take my NCLEX in VT. I was responded with the fact that my school did not have enough pediatric hours to meet the Vermont requirements (I am missing 13 theory and 19 clinical).

They instructed me to take my NCLEX in NY and then apply for endorsement once I have found a job here. So I passed my boards and just got a job in VT, so I filled out the appropriate applications (including another verification of eduction form) and went to the state boards to hopefully pick up my temp license and apply for my permanent one.

Once I got there they told me, again, that I did not have enough pediatric hours to get reciprocity in VT, and that I need to go back to NY and work for 50 days to get a license in VT! I was very taken aback. I asked if I could make up the hours somehow so that I could be endorsed and they said that I could.

Since then I have been scrambling with my school to try to make up the hours i need. I have been trying to find out what kind of coursework I need to do in order to complete my hours and get a license.

I am very stressed and frustrated because I have a job starting in three weeks and I need my license to start.

Has anybody dealt with a similar situation that may shed some light on mine?

Does anybody know what kind of course (e.g., independent courses, verified courses) that i need to take?

Lastly, what kind of documentation does the board needs from me in relation to said courses in order for me to get my license?

I want to thank everybody who takes the time to read my thread, and thank you all for any help or suggestions you may have to offer.

-C

[TinFL]

Well I think the best person to ask is the Vermont BON. Is it a class or a clinical experience? You need to know how many more hours first off. Then your school in NY can help you out by either putting you in a ped clinical or doing a percept (a one on one clinical) with a nurse. Once you complete the hospital should be able to sign a paper saying you completed the hours and your school can endorse it. Take that to VT and see what they say. Or you can go back to NY and work for those 50days and contact the hospital to see if they will hold your job until then. 50 days isn't that long.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Or you can go back to NY and work for those 50days and contact the hospital to see if they will hold your job until then. 50 days isn't that long.

If you have to WORK 50 days, that can take 17 WEEKS if you are doing twelve hour shifts. Are you going to be working in Pediatrics? I would ask to speak to someone in leadership on the board of nursing in vermont and ask for an exception.

How did it end up that you don't have enough hours? How did Vermont BON know how many clinical hours are associated with your program? When I filled out the application for NJ, there were no transcripts or clinical hour documentation required. Unless you missed classes and clinicals, it sounds like the problem falls to your school. The school should make sure their program supplies the needed hours for each state's requirements, if they want to attract students from out of state. Call them too. You can't be the first student with this problem.

Ashley

[coup321]

@ashepherd: Firstly, the work is 50 days of hire or 400 hours of actual work, and the work can be anywhere. I just don't think that I can morally work some place for that short of a time, I wouldn't even get out of orientation.

Secondly, in the state of VT, if you do not have those 50 days/400 hrs you need to have your school fill out a verification of education form which has those hours on it, then they know what you have.

I did not miss any class in all of nursing, so it is not that. It is simply the fact that my school does not allocate enough hours to pediatrics. When I asked if they would increase pediatric hours in the future since they are now aware of this problem, they said they would not. Reasoning behind that decision is that they only need to be accredited in their state (NY).

@TinFL: If I did work in NY I would not do it for less than 6 months to a year, I just wouldn't do that to a hospital; work there for only 50 days. Since I had 3 people tell me I needed different things at the board of nursing in VT for my requirements, I asked for it in writing. That was two days ago, I am going to call them back at 2pm today since it is Friday.

This whole process is very frustrating. I am already enrolled as a full time student at UVM, and have moved everything to Vermont. I never even considered for this to become a problem.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions,

-C