Florida ADN program lacks national accreditation

[Ng4hire]

I recently applied to the A.D.N at Eastern Florida State College, beginning January 2015. The program is approved by the Florida B.O.N but lacks a national certification (such as NLNAC). I am concerned because I read online that this can make it harder to continue my education or secure a job in another state. My hope is to obtain a MSN degree in the future and relocate to another state. I have a couple of questions. If I attend the college for my ADN then attend a University to complete my BSN (University of Central Florida is nationally accredited), will I still be at a disadvantage? If I attend the college, will I be able to move to other states and get a job as an RN? I believe I will be able to take the NCLEX upon completion of the program. Sorry for the lengthy post. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

There's not a single state in the US that requires nursing programs to be accredited. As long as the nursing program you attend is approved to operate by your state's BON, you should be able to obtain licensure in other states via the endorsement process.

However, attending an unaccredited nursing program places you at a disadvantage in two ways: 1) many reputable RN-to-BSN completion programs will not accept your credits for transfer, and 2) the Department of Defense, federal prisons, the Veterans Administration and other govt. employers will not hire RNs who completed unaccredited programs.

[Ng4hire]

@TheCommuter thank you for your reply.

There are a couple of ACEN accredited programs in my area, but I wouldn't be able to begin those until August 2015, as the deadline to apply for January has already passed. If I eventually complete a RN-BSN (at a CCNE accredited University), will that overshadow the non accredited ADN. With an accredited BSN, will I still be unable to apply for government positions.

We have a couple universities in the state that will accept students from regionally accredited programs. I'm having a tough time deciding whether I should attend the unaccredited program in January 2015 or if I will be better off waiting to apply to accredited programs beginning August 2015.