Frustrated with BON

NeoNurseTX, RN · Apr 5, 2008

They never posted my GN status because my school didn't send my paperwork that I graduated. Luckily when I called the BON, they told me what the issue was and told me to call the school to get it fixed..and everyone actually got their stuff together and fixed it.

jnrsmommy · Apr 8, 2008

Oh man, don't get me started w/ the BON. I apologize in advance, this is long.

I went to an LPN program in LA, that due to some restructuring of the school, our program went from being 16 months long, to 20 months. I was planning on graduating and moving to TX so opted to just apply for TX license. Nope, couldn't do it. Tx BON said that my program did not have enough clinical or theory hours (forget which now). WTH?? I was told that if I worked for a year, I could then apply for endorsement. So that's what I did. Only, I worked about 2 yrs before I applied again.

I applied, paid most of the fees, got the temporary permit, just had to get fingerprinted and send that in. Dumb me, life happened, and the next thing I knew, the three months had passed, and the temp permit was no longer valid, and I never got fingerprinted. Called BON, said that I would have to reapply. Soo, I paid the fees (again), got fingerprinted, sent that in, and waited. And waited. And waited.

I called them up after almost 2 months, just shortly after Katrina. Informed by BON that there was an influx of evacuees and emergency license requests, it could take up to 6 months to hear about my license. Couldn't get another temporary, as that's only issued once. So I called and checked the site every week for four months. Nothing. The last time I called to find out what was going on, was informed that they had no record of me applying. I lost it. Went off on the person, then broke down crying.

Several months passed, and hubby and I just moved to San Antonio w/o me having a license. I applied again. Within 2 months, saw my name on the BON site (woo hoo!!!!!), but the license never showed up. Called and asked, told me don't worry about it, if you don't have it in 6 months, you can then request another one.

I'm estranged from my mother, and one day she just shows up at my door (still trying to figure out how she found me), and she has my TX license. They sent my license to the address from when I originally applied in nursing school (I had moved several times since then). They envelope even said to not forward the mail, but it had been forwared to her.

So, now I just try and make sure I stay under the radar with them. I don't want to deal w/ any more headaches...lol.

On a little side note, after I got my license, my first job was at one of the military hospitals here. I went in to do my physical and lab work, no problem. Went back the next day to get the results, they couldn't find them. Was asked if I was sure if I had them done. Umm yeah, this big bruise on my ac wasn't from an accident. So, they draw my blood again. I come back the next day, same thing. WTH. So I'm sitting around, waiting for my blood to be drawn, and was looking at the labels for the tubes (gave them to me this time for some reason) and as I'm looking down at them, I see that they have me listed under my maiden name and as a dependent of my father (which I had not used that name nor been a dependent for over 10 yrs). Sure enough, when they pull that info up, there's my past two lab results. Turns out the employee health nurse had entered my info wrong, then proceeded to inform me that she could not correct the info. I had to jump through hoops to get that mess straightened out. When I came home that day and told hubby about what happened, he asked me "Do you ever get the feeling that you're not supposed to work in Texas?" Kinda.

revere308 · Apr 8, 2008

THANK GOODNESS! They finally got it up! :bow: I am officially a GN :nurse: I got my ATT yesterday from pearson and all is good! Now hopefully my RN license will be hassle free when the time comes... one can hope right?

jnrsmommy · Apr 8, 2008

:ancong!:

Here's to smooth sailing from here on out :)

Aggie2000 · Apr 14, 2008

Oh man, don't get me started w/ the BON. I apologize in advance, this is long.
I went to an LPN program in LA, that due to some restructuring of the school, our program went from being 16 months long, to 20 months. I was planning on graduating and moving to TX so opted to just apply for TX license. Nope, couldn't do it. Tx BON said that my program did not have enough clinical or theory hours (forget which now). WTH?? I was told that if I worked for a year, I could then apply for endorsement. So that's what I did. Only, I worked about 2 yrs before I applied again.
I applied, paid most of the fees, got the temporary permit, just had to get fingerprinted and send that in. Dumb me, life happened, and the next thing I knew, the three months had passed, and the temp permit was no longer valid, and I never got fingerprinted. Called BON, said that I would have to reapply. Soo, I paid the fees (again), got fingerprinted, sent that in, and waited. And waited. And waited.
I called them up after almost 2 months, just shortly after Katrina. Informed by BON that there was an influx of evacuees and emergency license requests, it could take up to 6 months to hear about my license. Couldn't get another temporary, as that's only issued once. So I called and checked the site every week for four months. Nothing. The last time I called to find out what was going on, was informed that they had no record of me applying. I lost it. Went off on the person, then broke down crying.
Several months passed, and hubby and I just moved to San Antonio w/o me having a license. I applied again. Within 2 months, saw my name on the BON site (woo hoo!!!!!), but the license never showed up. Called and asked, told me don't worry about it, if you don't have it in 6 months, you can then request another one.
I'm estranged from my mother, and one day she just shows up at my door (still trying to figure out how she found me), and she has my TX license. They sent my license to the address from when I originally applied in nursing school (I had moved several times since then). They envelope even said to not forward the mail, but it had been forwared to her.
So, now I just try and make sure I stay under the radar with them. I don't want to deal w/ any more headaches...lol.
On a little side note, after I got my license, my first job was at one of the military hospitals here. I went in to do my physical and lab work, no problem. Went back the next day to get the results, they couldn't find them. Was asked if I was sure if I had them done. Umm yeah, this big bruise on my ac wasn't from an accident. So, they draw my blood again. I come back the next day, same thing. WTH. So I'm sitting around, waiting for my blood to be drawn, and was looking at the labels for the tubes (gave them to me this time for some reason) and as I'm looking down at them, I see that they have me listed under my maiden name and as a dependent of my father (which I had not used that name nor been a dependent for over 10 yrs). Sure enough, when they pull that info up, there's my past two lab results. Turns out the employee health nurse had entered my info wrong, then proceeded to inform me that she could not correct the info. I had to jump through hoops to get that mess straightened out. When I came home that day and told hubby about what happened, he asked me "Do you ever get the feeling that you're not supposed to work in Texas?" Kinda.

I too just moved to San Antonio and am graduating from Nursing school in Houston (yes, I am commuting to finish :banghead: ) in May. I have been wondering if BAMC hires non-military nurses. I have been meaning to call them. Is that the military hospital you worked at first? Just curious. Thanks in advance.

Also, happy to hear you got everything straightened out! Good luck with the NCLEX! :yeah:

elkpark · Apr 14, 2008

Get used to it -- it doesn't get any better once you're licensed ... When I moved to another state to attend grad school a number of years ago, I applied months in advance for licensure in the new state, they took several months to process my application and issue a license, and, of course, it cost me a fortune, and the license finally arrived in August (just in time for school to start; it was a close call!) The punchline? My birthday is in September, and the license they issued me expired the following month, so I had to immediately apply for (and pay for) a renewal ... Literally hundreds of dollars for one month's licensure ... :banghead:

redranger · Apr 14, 2008

Welcome to anything that does with politics.

Once you start dealing with state or federal government, then you will get this delay.

Just part of game.

It took forever for me to get my Concealed Handgun licenses processed, 3 months.

I have a plumbing licenses, and it takes about 3 months in order to get an appointment for your licenses as well.

John123 · Apr 14, 2008

If you are from a compact state, I would just use my compact license here in Texas, never bother with that Texas license. Compact license is as good as Texas one. Your employer don't care.

elkpark · Apr 14, 2008

If you are from a compact state, I would just use my compact license here in Texas, never bother with that Texas license. Compact license is as good as Texas one. Your employer don't care.

There is a lot of confusion about how "compact privileges" work. A license in your home state with compact privileges enables you to work in the other compact states, but if you move to another state, your original license loses its compact privileges and you have to get a license for the new state you're in.

It's exactly the same principle as our drivers' licenses. The only reason we can legally drive from state to state without having to stop and get a new license in each state is that all 50 states signed a compact many years ago agreeing to recognize each other's licenses. So, you are licensed in your state of residence and can drive anywhere in the US you want. But, if you move to a new state, you have 30 (or 45, or whatever the individual law is) days to get licensed in your new state, or you're breaking state law. Nursing licenses in the compact states work exactly the same way.

Your employer (any legitimate employer) will care -- they get into serious trouble with the state (and Feds) if they get caught employing nurses who don't have valid licenses to practice. However much trouble and expense you save yourself by not "bothering" to apply for licensure in a new state of residence is nothing compared to the trouble and expense you'll incur if you get charged with practicing without a license -- it's just not worth the risk.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 14, 2008

If you are from a compact state, I would just use my compact license here in Texas, never bother with that Texas license. Compact license is as good as Texas one. Your employer don't care.

Sorry, but that cannot be done. The compact license fails to exist when the nurse moves from the previous state. Suggest that you actually take the time to read the specifics about the Compact License or you can be in for a world of problems with the BON for not having a license in effect to be practicing there.