GA BON Complaint

Published

Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

my story is a bit long, in 1972 i graduated from a very good pn program in oregon where i worked for several years, i then moved to colorado and again worked for several years and again moved to georgia and worked for several years. my total experience is about 15+ years total and my final ga license expired in 1991. i had gotten burnt out and left nursing and didn't renew...well at 59 years of age and un-employed for 16 months now i'd like to return to nursing. i contacted the bon about a refresher course and was told that i'd been out too long and would have to repeat the whole program :angryfire. after further research i have discovered that an rn in a similar situation in this state would be eligible to take a refresher/re-entry program no matter how long they have been out. my point being (no disrespect to the rn's) is that we should both be allowed to take a refresher course. i believe the ga bon is discriminating against lpn's and both the rn and lpn should be held to the same standard as far as who can and can't take refresher courses.

i've contacted my senator and state representative and didn't get anywhere. i've now contacted the ga secretary of states office and voiced my complaint and at least they said they'd look into it.

i'd move to a state that allows lpn refresher courses however, all my $$ is tied up in my home that i can't sell:o. so i'm stuck in ga. has anyone else faced this issue? does anyone have any suggestions? have any lpn's actually taken a refresher course in this state? if so where and how did you take it?

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Have you looked into whether you can take a refresher course and get licensed in a nearby state, and then endorse into GA? That might be an option, also. Good luck!

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

Yes I did and I was told by the BON that they would not accept it unless I'd worked in that state for at least 6 months to a year...grrr.

I find the GA BON well how shall I put this...snotty. I had talked with the Colorado BON and they were helpful and encouraging and said if I can get there take the refresher and pass I'm in! And, if I'm having problems they will HELP identify areas I need more work in and once completed will pass me. The difference between the two BON's was like night and day.

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Yes I did and I was told by the BON that they would not accept it unless I'd worked in that state for at least 6 months to a year...grrr.

I find the GA BON well how shall I put this...snotty. I had talked with the Colorado BON and they were helpful and encouraging and said if I can get there take the refresher and pass I'm in! And, if I'm having problems they will HELP identify areas I need more work in and once completed will pass me. The difference between the two BON's was like night and day.

How far do you live from neighboring states? I just recently dealt with the GABON and ur right. They are not helpful at all. My experience with the FL BON was the opposite.

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

Too far to make it happen unfortunatly. Tomorrow I'm calling the Gov.'s office, since he's responsible for appointing these people.

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I can honestly say I agree with you 100% about the Ga BON being "snotty". It took me three months to get my LPN license issued because of a DUI I had 26 years ago when I was 18. This was even after I had supplied them with all the requested documentation showing this was strictly a one time youthful transgression. Each time I called all they would do was try and get me off the phone with one ridiculous excuse after another. When I had finally had enough and blew a gasket one morning after calling again, I emailed the Secretary of State and filed a complaint. A representative from the Secretary of State's office called me within the hour after I sent the email, my license were issued within ten minutes after that, and the young man apologized to me and told this was not the way they were supposed to do business. So I can truly sympathise with you! Good luck in your endeavors and don't give up!

Have a great day:)

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

Update, I haven't called the Gov's office yet, I was on the phone with OHIO BON - I was licensed and worked there for a short period of time and they will re-instate me after I take their approved on-line CE's :nuke:. Sooo, I'm waiting for their packet to arrive and will at least have a valid license from somewhere. I've also been looking at SC as a potential once I get my license. Their refresher is too far away and too expensive for me, but I might be able to slide in once I have a valid license from OH. If I can, I will try to get work in Anderson SC that is a 1 & 1/2 hour trip one way for me but maybe I can rent a room or something and do 3 or 4 shifts in a row and then come home.

Today I was reading thru the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Practical Nurses meeting notes and found:

Board Meeting Minutes

September 7-9, 2005

POLICIES REGARDING OUT-OF-STATE REFRESHER PROGRAMS;

Out-of-state LPN Refresher Programs must provide evidence that they are either approved by

the Nursing Board in that state, or that they meet the LPN Refresher Program requirements of

that state's Nursing Board; AND Out-of-state LPN Refresher Programs that have been reviewed

and approved by the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Practical Nurses will be listed on

the "office use only" list; not on the public-accessible list. Office staff may then continue to

recognize these courses for other individual licensure candidates at a later time; AND Individual

LPN licensure candidates who have taken an out-of-state LPN Refresher / Re- Entry Program

must provide adequate documentation to this Board about that program to verify that the course

meets requirements of the Georgia Board of Examiners of Licensed Practical Nurses.

It appears there is a "secret" list of out of state approved refresher programs that they will not tell you about.. When I asked about going to TX and taking their program as I could do all the theroy online and then fly to TX for 3 weeks and take clinicals and be issues a TX license (not that I could afford it but..)...sooo the person at the GA LPN BON said that is trying to circumvent their standard and they wouldn't approve...sigh. All the other boards I've talked with OR, CO, TX, and OH have all been helpful and encouraging, the GA LPN BON is snotty, nasty and obstructionist beyond belief. They could care less if you get a license to practice in this state and they are being payed out of MY tax dollars which really fries my A$$ :angryfire

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Nursing has changed so much since 1991, I don't think a RN or LPN taking a refresher course would be complete. Yikes, you can complete a PN program in 9 months. I don't think there is any excuse of being snotty.... but I agree with their message.

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

yes nursing has changed but the whole point of a refresher course is to get us back up to speed. the expense of taking the whole program over is prohibitive and i see no reason to re-take things like english or intro to computers plus i'm 59 years old and there is a waiting list of 1-2 years and the closest program refused to waive any prior classes and also told me lpn's who are re-taking are put at the bottom of the list.

my original point is lpn's in this state are required to re-take the program and rn's are allowed to take a refresher course and that is discriminatory.

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Once you have reinstated your license try getting a federal job....As a VA nurse I only need to have a valid license from any state even though I practice in MN......

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

Thanks for that info, right now I live in rural NE GA and no VA anywhere near me!

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If you get your OH license back, you can work in any Federal employment in any location -- VAs have outpatient clinics in different locations that you wouldn't expect, other possibilities are active military bases, Public Health Service, etc. Check with http://www.usajobs.gov -- you can do a search by your zip code and find all the Federal jobs (all agencies) in your area.

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