Explanation letter in lieu of local license

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Hi!

Anyone please share your experience or knowledge on the license requirement of the California Board of Nursing. California BON requires a copy of the local license from the country where the course is finished. However, in the absence of such license, as stated on its website, they only require an explanation letter for the absence. I sent an explanation letter together with my application form stating that I still do not have a license since I just graduated. I took the June local board and awaiting the result. Despite the explanation letter, I just received a letter from them asking for a copy of the local license.

I would highly appreciate anyone who can enlighten me. Pls send reply to email: Thank you and regards. George

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the International forum

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a second cousin of mine who curently in US right called the CALI BON regarding this kind of issue its confirm they need the license they wont allow you to take without the local license.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Can your board not send confirmation of license like other countries do. I know mine in the UK did

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The issue is that you do not have your results of the exam as of yet, so there is nothing that can be sent in by anyone at this time. So you are going to have to wait until you have proof that you have passed the exam,and when that happens, the PRC can provide that for you.

Until that time, CA will not be able to do a thing with your application.

They require that you take and pass the local exam, and you do not know if you have or not as of this time.

Best of luck to you.

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hi suzanne, i am a US immigrant,just graduated nursing in the philippines,did not take the local board,i'm here in california already, what should i do?pls help,i'm really stressed out....

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CA will not permit you to sit for the exam if you do not have a local license. Being a green card holder here does not exempt you from this requirement.

You are going to have to write the NLE to be able to get licensed here.

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Can your board not send confirmation of license like other countries do. I know mine in the UK did

You already held a license, the NMC just had to verify that you had it.

The Philippines does things quite different, it is months after one tests before they get a license issued. CA has stated that they want to see the actual license number because of this.

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The Philippines does things quite different, it is months after one tests before they get a license issued. CA has stated that they want to see the actual license number because of this.

Completely true. With so many nursing graduates they can't handle everything fast enough. Wait times are excruciatingly long for these kinds of things in the Philippines, from securing birth certificates from the NSO or applying for a passport at DFA, service is slow...they have got to get their act together and make things more efficient for the people.

I need to get a waiver for the NLE myself from the PRC for the CA BRN to allow me to sit the NCLEX. My girlfriend in Baguio City already tried to ask for me on how to go about doing it from their Baguio branch...and they didn't even know! Guess I'm gonna have to call their main at Manila. Hope it doesn't take a lifetime for me to get one, considering I'm here in the US xD.

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Please read the posts, no waivers are being granted, you will have to sit for the NLE. As a rule of thumb, all grads should take the local boards then they won't have to worry about these issues.

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My question to the foreign grads in nursing is "Why don't you just take the exam in your country first? Wouldn't that make things easier? "

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My question to the foreign grads in nursing is "Why don't you just take the exam in your country first? Wouldn't that make things easier? "

Yes. As of January 2008, taking the exam (NLE) in the Philippines will not just make things easier, but moreso, mandatory. Let me try to explain why.

There is this confusion about foreign graduate requirements to sit for the NCLEX. The requirement to take the local board is relatively new. I understand years ago it was mandatory to have taken and passed the local boards. Since then the ruling was changed. In the recent past (Dec 2007) nurses were allowed to sit for the NCLEX without taking the National Licensure Exam (NLE). It was as simple as writing a letter to the BRN.

Now let's step over to Jan 2008 and the requirement was changed again. Almost all foreign graduates must take the local boards, unless you hold a single US citizenship or other extenuating circumstances. An example is a person in the forum was able to bypass the NLE requirement because her military family was reassigned outside of the country before the test date.

The NLE requirement was not noted anywhere in the CA BRN. All it says is to write an explanation letter as to why you didn't take the NLE. If CA BRN would add to their website/application that you must pass your local exam before you can sit for the NCLEX, I think that little bit of information would be very helpful. :banghead:

The problem is the information is taking a while to disseminate to the foreign school graduates. The panic or concern you read in this forum is because the wait time for the next exam isn't until Nov. and/or people are no longer in the Philippines. The NLE is only offered 2 times a year. You couple that with having to be onsite to register for the NLE, which is at least one month before the exam and you are looking at an expensive vacation.

After the exam there is an added 2 months to get the results (and you thought NCLEX 7 day results were bad) and up to 5 months to get your hard license to show the CA BRN. So you are looking at a delay of almost 1 year for the NCLEX before they can approve and Pearson Vue can get you an available slot. :crying2:

To those in ATT limbo I know how you feel. Keep yourself healthy and fit for the good book says "this too shall pass". :watherthunderstormc

Take this as time to strengthen your skills and get other things in order. So when you finally reach for that dream job in whatever country you end up in you will hit the ground running. Good luck to all.

:onbch:

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