Excelsior College nonLPN grads wrking in FL

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I am a nursing student enrolled in Excelsior colleges AS nursing program and am currently 5 tests from finishing their program. I recently received a letter from the school stating that the FL BON has changed their practice of granting endorsement or licensure to non LPN grads, stating grads must work for 2 years in another state or a federal facility. I have contacted the new Dirctor of the FL BON and he states that this is not a new change, that this has been the practice of the Board since 1996. When I called the BON before enrolling in the Excelsior program in 2004, I was told there were no stipulations, and have been told by several other students that they were told the same information. We are currently trying to get this changed or at least a grandfather clause for those of us who are so close to completion. We are also trying to locate any Excelsior RN grads (nonLPN) who are currently licensed in the state of Florida to discuss how their endorsement /licensure was handled. Please contact me if you would like to get involved in this fight, or if you are or you know a RN working in Florida that graduated from Excelsior. Thanks...

Specializes in corrections, LTC, pre-op.
No, you can apply for school at Excelsior with experience in the military as a corpsman and also experience as an EMT as well.
Only as a 91c20 or above (clinical specialist, = to LPN in civilian life) no more emt's, paramedics yes, no more surg techs either. NLN was behine the changes.

Larry RN in Fla

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Specializes in corrections, LTC, pre-op.
I had to take other courses besides the nursing concepts classes, so I have not been dragging my feet by any stretch of the imagination. So you graduated from Excelsior recently and are working in Florida? Were you an LPN?

I was a military corpmen (clinical specialist= to LPN in civilian life) sit for LPN and passed. Worked as LPN for many years then bridged to RN recently. I work as a charge nurse in a correctional facility and as a pre-op and pacu nurse in a same day surgery clinic. I do wish you the best. I to had to take all the prerequisites and that does take time.

Larry Rn in Fla

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Thanks Larry, so you were a LPN first which makes it different for you. I have found so many threads on here saying yes, FL does endorse licensure from other states. But this new diresctor is going to nix all that apparently.

I was a military corpmen (clinical specialist= to LPN in civilian life) sit for LPN and passed. Worked as LPN for many years then bridged to RN recently. I work as a charge nurse in a correctional facility and as a pre-op and pacu nurse in a same day surgery clinic. I do wish you the best. I to had to take all the prerequisites and that does take time.

Larry Rn in Fla

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If you've been following this thread and want an update, please see the thread in this catagory started by mondragon. Thanks...:angryfire

I spoke with Rick Garcia, Ex. Director Fl. BON, he said the previous director misinterrupted the court ruling of Licensure by Endoresment as did the staff, and while under his direction it was the practice of Fl. BON to accept licensure by endorsement for non-LPN Excelsior nursing graduates. So when students called Fl. BON ( which Excelsior encouraged ) prior to enrolling to verify the practice of Fl. they were informed that if they were non-LPN's they would need to apply for a license in another state then Fl would endorse that license ( by the way that is the meaning of licensure by endorsement ) I am one of the students who did call Fl. BON prior to enrolling, several times just to be sure I was understanding, and the information was consistant for each phone call. So if Fl. BON misinterrupted the meaning : Who actually misinterrupted ? Rick Garcia ? The previous Ex. Director ? Board Members ? Why was it misinterrupted ? Should Fl. BON be accountable to those students they informed to apply for a license in another state then apply for endorsement in Fl ? In my opinion YES ! I encourage all students who this affects to call, write or email Fl. Legislatives, go to myflorida.com , it has links to their emails & phone numbers. Also email the Senior Assistant Attorney General, Lee Ann Gustafson at [email protected].
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Fl BON has endorsed the license of non-LPN's for the past 10 years and if they continue to say they have never waiverd from the Stipulation for NON-LPN's that is being presented by Rick Garcia they will be leaving the door open for all the patients who recieved care ( from the NON-LPN graduates who had their license endorsed by Fl. BON ) to file a suit against Fl. BON and the State of Florida. I just want due process, Fl BON told me by phone in 2004 that for non-LPN graduates they had to get a license in another state then apply to have it endorsed into Florida, and I called several times to be sure that I was being given the correct info. and different people at Fl BON all told me the same exact thing, so I enrolled in Excelsior in June 2004.So if they want to change the rules or they understand the Stipulation differently in 2007, it should not affect the students enrolled prior to June 01,2007, that would be Due Process and Fundamentally Fair. Does anyone else agree ?

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Specializes in Emergency.

I was also told by the Florida BON and Exclesior excactly what has been stated in other posts. "Take another state's NCLEX and endorse in". I wonder if past applications are public record and proof can be found to document letting non-LPN graduates endorse in can be found. I also have been sending E-mails and letters to my State Represenatives and Mr. Garcia. I have heard basicly the the Florida's BON did not accept Paramedics for direct licensure was due to the disparity of "clinical" hour difference of LPNs vs. Paramedics. Couldn't Medics work as graduate nurses for a certain amount of hours at a facility as a compromise before sitting DIRECTLY for Florida's test? I know the BON's responsiblity is ultimatly public safety but there is ALWAYS a compromise possible. Another compromise would be evaluate applications on a case-by-case basic for Non-LPN grads of Excelsior.

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I agree with mondragon that since we were given that information, that is what should govern our endorsement. I wonder if we can get a nonLPN graduate who was endorsed in FLorida to step up and support us on this. If we can find one person that was endorsed without the 2 years experience or working at a federal facility, then our case would be stronger.

I was also told by the Florida BON and Exclesior excactly what has been stated in other posts. "Take another state's NCLEX and endorse in". I wonder if past applications are public record and proof can be found to document letting non-LPN graduates endorse in can be found. I also have been sending E-mails and letters to my State Represenatives and Mr. Garcia. I have heard basicly the the Florida's BON did not accept Paramedics for direct licensure was due to the disparity of "clinical" hour difference of LPNs vs. Paramedics. Couldn't Medics work as graduate nurses for a certain amount of hours at a facility as a compromise before sitting DIRECTLY for Florida's test? I know the BON's responsiblity is ultimatly public safety but there is ALWAYS a compromise possible. Another compromise would be evaluate applications on a case-by-case basic for Non-LPN grads of Excelsior.
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I am another excelsior college ADN graduate who resides in panama city FL that is being screwed by the Florida board of nursing.

I have some info I would like to add

1) I called the BON atleast 5 times before and during my enrollment to verify i could endorse in with out a problem and was told I could endorse in without a problem. I specifically asked about having to work for two years in another state and was told each time that statute was refering to people who have never taken NCLEX. This can be verified by reading that Fl nurse practice act.

When I contacted my local legislator's office the immediately began investigating my claim. What has angered me though is the initial response by Rick Garcia and BON lawyers- They wrote back to my legislator that :

copied part of actual email sent from BON Lawyer:

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected]

[mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 10:11 AM

As you can see, Excelsior College has not been an

approved nursing program since the 1990's. The college should have

notified those applicants for this program in Florida that they were not

approved. The students also have a responsibility to find out if the

program they are looking at are approved by the state they plan to be

licensed in. If you have additional questions, please contact me.

-------------------------------------------------------------

This is why I am raging angry:angryfire

The BON is outright lying to the office of my State Representitive and is doing the same to yours as well. Don't let them get away with this. Everybody affected like myself did infact contact the BON prior to enrolling as any good consumer would do, even though the school in nationally recognized and fully accredited, even winning awards for excellents. This E-Mail from the BON also indicates that Excelsior college is defrauding students by stating the college should not of told us we could get a license in FL. They are indicating Excelsior committed consumer fraud!! SORRY :devil:RICK GARCIA :devil:but you are full of it!! IF I THOUGHT EXCELSIOR MISLEAD ME, I WOULD HAVE FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM!! BUT IT IS YOU THAT HAS CHANGED POLICY AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO ADMIT IT!!

I found Rick also to be very rude and stubborn as was most of his staff that i spoke with. He absolutely would not admit that excelsior students have been accepted for the last several years (NON_LPN) and would not tell me when the policy changed. I did tell him i felt his tone was rude and replied that i was the 30th person from excesior he had spoken with and basically indicated i should be greatful that he is speaking to me as he had not been taking calls related to this issue previosly

I am sorry this is so long a rant. anybody please contact me PM and I will share my phone #, email below if the moderator won't delete it. I will share whatever info i have or get. everbody .....i mean EVERYBODY needs to contact their state rep. Although the FL BON has the right to adopt policy they should grandfather people in who were playing by the rules before Rick took over. Obviously Rick Garcia came in with an agenda and we need to band together and keep the pressure on. I will be speaking with my REP tommorow again to fill in the B.S. that RICK is feeding them.

I Also intend to speak at the next BON meeting which is in October if this is not resolved by then and encourage everybody to do the same.

Kurt Leach RN, ADN, EMT-P [email protected] 850-624-2740

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Excelsior college is a fully accredited college with higher NCLEX pass rates than most traditional programs. It takes a special dedicated individual to accomplish this program. Many people use distance education to accomplish there goals. A good friend of mine recently completed her BSN through excelsior then got her MSN and is an Educator. She encouraged me to go through Excelsior. Again this school is Fully accredited through the NLN and has even won awards with the NLN. Excelsior grads are excepted without issue in most States......of course California is and will always be the strangest state in the nation with crazy liberal judges and legislators.... and we all know FL can't even get something as important as the Presidental election right.

Hanging chads!!

Proud Excelsior graduate,

Kurt Leach RN, ADN, EMT-P

Huh. I'm taking a stab that the Florida BON doesn't recognize Excelsior as an accredited program, so doesn't accept it on its own as criteria to sit for the NCLEX. I had thought that once a program was "accredited", it meant for all States, but apparently that is not the case.

Interesting that once a grad from this program is licensed elsewhere and has had two years of experience, THEN they are considered worthy of endorsement of licensure by the Florida BON.

Much like the sometimes-taken "short-cut" route of LVNs to RN in California, this seems to be another "beware" (only for online programs). Sorry this is happening to you......how is it that you didn't know this earlier? I DON'T mean to say "it's your fault", but rather I'm wondering how it is that the SCHOOL didn't clue you in on this when you registered (since you are a Florida resident)? I would assume, if I were registering in an "accredited" program, that this would mean I could sit for NCLEX anywhere I wished, including my OWN State!

Also, I'm intrigued at the "non LPN" phrase....does that mean that LPN grads from Excelsior (is that a program there?) CAN become licensed in Florida? THAT doesn't make sense to me.

Good luck to you in finding out what to do next!

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I just want to encourage every student not to give up, keep writing the state legislatives. Each time we contact them more info. is learned and our point is getting across, but address the issue as a professional, if you make a call, write down Q's beforehand because they are having difficulty in answering Q's. And if possible I will also be at the Oct. board meeting. Rick's reply to me was I was misinformed by Fl BON , how do you misinform the public for years ?

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Yes, that is exactly what the new Director is saying has been the practice of FL BON since 1996.

Dear surg tech 33606, I am a fellow Certified Surgical technologist currently awaiting my CPNE date from Excelsior. I had called the nursing board back in November 2004 before I registered for Excelsior to make sure this rumor was just that, a rumor. I was told on multiple occasions by the Florida nursing boards that it was. As long as I meet the requirements that Florida requires I was fine. I have been told this for the past two years. I didn't start taking classes for Excelsior till 2006 when the rumor had died. I feel that they just implemented this this year because they don't like the fact that Excelsior is taking away the majority of their enrollments. Please do not blame Excelsior for this because I read in a census that excelsior puts out more nurses than universities and there is a turf war going on. So anything they can do to stop excelsior they will. Think about it. They say that you can work in a federal faciltiy in Florida that will only pay you no more than $14.00 an hour as in RN

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Kurt please give me a call as I am a fellow Floridian awaiting a CPNE date from Excelsior and this is irritating me because like you I didn't start to take classes from Excelsior for a whole year to make sure that this so called rumor, as the Florida Board stated to me, was put to rest. I was told from November 2004 when I registered at Excelsior till December 2005 that this was not true. That as long as you meet the requriements that I was fine. When I asked about the Surgical tech and EMT deal, I was blatantly told that as long as I had an ASN in nursing which is the minimum Florida is accepting that I was fine. I was told that besides, Excelsior was no longer accepting students that were CST's or EMT's as of 2004 (I registered before the cut off date). I started official doing my courses in 2006. I just want to know what's going on My number is 407-592-0023

I am another excelsior college ADN graduate who resides in panama city FL that is being screwed by the Florida board of nursing.

I have some info I would like to add

1) I called the BON atleast 5 times before and during my enrollment to verify i could endorse in with out a problem and was told I could endorse in without a problem. I specifically asked about having to work for two years in another state and was told each time that statute was refering to people who have never taken NCLEX. This can be verified by reading that Fl nurse practice act.

When I contacted my local legislator's office the immediately began investigating my claim. What has angered me though is the initial response by Rick Garcia and BON lawyers- They wrote back to my legislator that :

copied part of actual email sent from BON Lawyer:

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected]

[mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 10:11 AM

As you can see, Excelsior College has not been an

approved nursing program since the 1990's. The college should have

notified those applicants for this program in Florida that they were not

approved. The students also have a responsibility to find out if the

program they are looking at are approved by the state they plan to be

licensed in. If you have additional questions, please contact me.

-------------------------------------------------------------

This is why I am raging angry:angryfire

The BON is outright lying to the office of my State Representitive and is doing the same to yours as well. Don't let them get away with this. Everybody affected like myself did infact contact the BON prior to enrolling as any good consumer would do, even though the school in nationally recognized and fully accredited, even winning awards for excellents. This E-Mail from the BON also indicates that Excelsior college is defrauding students by stating the college should not of told us we could get a license in FL. They are indicating Excelsior committed consumer fraud!! SORRY :devil:RICK GARCIA :devil:but you are full of it!! IF I THOUGHT EXCELSIOR MISLEAD ME, I WOULD HAVE FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM!! BUT IT IS YOU THAT HAS CHANGED POLICY AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO ADMIT IT!!

I found Rick also to be very rude and stubborn as was most of his staff that i spoke with. He absolutely would not admit that excelsior students have been accepted for the last several years (NON_LPN) and would not tell me when the policy changed. I did tell him i felt his tone was rude and replied that i was the 30th person from excesior he had spoken with and basically indicated i should be greatful that he is speaking to me as he had not been taking calls related to this issue previosly

I am sorry this is so long a rant. anybody please contact me PM and I will share my phone #, email below if the moderator won't delete it. I will share whatever info i have or get. everbody .....i mean EVERYBODY needs to contact their state rep. Although the FL BON has the right to adopt policy they should grandfather people in who were playing by the rules before Rick took over. Obviously Rick Garcia came in with an agenda and we need to band together and keep the pressure on. I will be speaking with my REP tommorow again to fill in the B.S. that RICK is feeding them.

I Also intend to speak at the next BON meeting which is in October if this is not resolved by then and encourage everybody to do the same.

Kurt Leach RN, ADN, EMT-P [email protected] 850-624-2740

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