Excelsior student in VA

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jun 8, 2016

For students who finished RN with excelsior how did they get their licence after the restriction with VA BON.

As a new grad, you would have to find a place willing to provide precepted hours (350 to 500 depending on previous licensure/certification) with a provisional license. You can read about it here: Vol. 29 Iss. 24 (Emergency Regulation) 18VAC9-2, Regulations Governing The Practice Of Nursing July 29, 213

As an experience nurse licensed in another state, you'd have to show 960 hours of RN time to endorse your license.

Shuggahs · Jun 12, 2016

What restriction? I called the VA BON last year and there were no issues. What changed?

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jun 12, 2016

What restriction? I called the VA BON last year and there were no issues. What changed?

You must have gotten bad info â€” things changed in 2008, right after I finished the program. I was in Virginia so I remember it very vividly! Experienced RNs can endorse licenses into Virginia with 960 hours of RN time, and new grads have to do 350 to 500 hours on a provisional license before being granted full licensure.

merubre · Jun 14, 2016

Thanks Pixie for information,

for Shuggahs,

I was told I have to get a provisional license and find a place to work for 350 hrs in areas across the lifespan then I will get a license. Areas include medsurg, OB, pediatrics, mental health. The problem is to find a place to work and get 350hrs in those areas. I work in a nursing home, I wish I can find a preceptor but still dont know to find one.

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Jun 29, 2016

Thanks Pixie for information,
for Shuggahs,
I was told I have to get a provisional license and find a place to work for 350 hrs in areas across the lifespan then I will get a license. Areas include medsurg, OB, pediatrics, mental health. The problem is to find a place to work and get 350hrs in those areas. I work in a nursing home, I wish I can find a preceptor but still dont know to find one.

Maybe start with contacting the human resources and/or education department in nearby hospitals and explain what you need. I would call around first to start getting some idea of what to expect. I would also call again to just ask a general question about placing applications for RN positions after graduation but prior to taking the NCLEX exam. I seriously doubt that I would discuss the two situations in the same phone call for fear of being blown off...unless the conversation just heads in that direction; that's just me. But, after receiving the provisional license, I would schedule an appointment and show up dressed in business casual attire (hey, dress for success! :up: ) Maybe even mention that you're considering applying to work there after receiving the permanent license. Since you already have experience in patient care and medication administration through your LPN status, I would think they would jump at the chance to precept you, knowing that you've already passed the NCLEX-RN.

Word of caution: you might want to steer clear of the facilities who hire BSN-only RNs unless it is a last resort. If they are not hiring permanently-license ASN RNs, I'd think they certainly are going to have no interest in a permanently-licensed LPN carrying around a provisional RN license as a result of an ASN program. But you never know....good luck!