I aM floored. I just received notice from GA Board of Nursing that they denied the endorsement of my MN RN license because I did not meet clinical practice requirements . When I called the board, they transferred me to a their Legal Nurse Consultant who stated that effective July 1, 2008 GA would no longer endorse RN license from Excelsior College students with no previous RN experience. She suggested that I go to my licensed state and work for a while then try again, but she could not give me a time frame.
Has anyone else experienced this. I thought we should at least have gotten some sort of notice/warning before this type of rule be adopted by the board. I am going to file a motion for reconsideration using an Attorney. Before I entered Excelsiors program I called GA Board to verify acceptance. I had been accepted to a traditional LPN to RN bridge program; I could have been almost finished their too. I am so sad right now. I have been crying for two days. I think I will need to see my doctor for Zoloft.
I have been an LPN for over 13 years doing Med/Surg for at least 10. I work on a hospital unit right now. THIS IS SO UNFAIR!!!:banghead:
Thank you everyone for your congrats. I am sooooo happy as well. I hope everything works all for all the Excelsior students/grads. I can imagine being any more competent or "less safe" than you all just be/c I was LUCKY enough to apply before a certain date. I stand behind behind you all 1000% in my strong belief that this is so unfair.
An although I do have my license this will not be the cake walk of the past. The media coverage cuts both ways: Now employers are looking at us as being graduates of an "unaccredited program" though we know that is the furthest thing from the truth. I really hope we can all get past this terrible stigma.
Please take a look at the letter posted by Kathy on the Excelsior EPN site. It is in the CPNE forum dated 8/20. I did not find a way to link it here and it may be too long to copy and paste but I will try. It is really encouraging.
CINDY R. BALKSTRA, MS, RN, CNS-BC
President
3032 Briarcliff Road, NE * Atlanta, GA 30329-2655 * P: 404.325.5536 * F: 404.325.0407 * http://www.georgianurses.org
For Immediate Release
August 14, 2008
For further information Contact: Debbie Hatmaker
404.325.5536
Will affect Georgia and nation
Nursing shortage could intensify if state board no
longer licenses popular virtual college
ATLANTA - The Georgia Nurses Association expressed concern today that Georgia's nursing shortage may be exacerbated if the Georgia Board of Nursing refuses to continue to license Excelsior College graduates by endorsement, a practice that they have followed for more than
25 years. New York's Excelsior College, formerly Regents College, has the largest Nursing degree program in the United States and is nationally known for quality. "Georgia is experiencing a serious nursing shortage - one of the most severe shortages in the United States," said GNA President Cindy Balkstra. "That is why we are asking the Georgia
Board of nursing to maintain their previous position and allow licensure by endorsement of the Excelsior graduates. By refusing to license Excelsior students , they are prohibiting thousands of students who make an important contribution to access of quality health care in
our state and throughout the nation." Currently there are over 1000 RN graduates of Excelsior College licensed in Georgia with over 1100 more students from Georgia enrolled in the program.
Earlier this year, the members of the legislature passed House Bill 1041, legislation designed to improve criminal background check provisions and clean up language in the statute, O.C.G.A. 43-26-7. GNA supported the bill and endorsed the background checks to ensure that Georgia's citizens were cared for by the most competent and caring nursing professionals.
Part of the language in this legislation also allows the Board of Nursing to deny license to "flyby-night" nursing schools that often pop up, enroll students and then close their doors. GNA also supports this concept, but an unintended consequence of the bill also affects Excelsior College and its students.
"As nursing professionals, we do not want to see some of these alleged nursing schools set up shop in a shopping center only to disappear in the dark of the night months later," GNA President Balkstra continued. "It is unfair to the students and to the nursing profession. "But Excelsior does not fit in that category, and we were very disappointed to learn that the
Georgia Board of Nursing would use this language in HB 1041 to deny licensure to qualified nursing graduates." Excelsior has 36,000 nursing graduates practicing nationwide and have been providing nursing education to Georgia residents for over 25 years. Excelsior College's nursing programs meet approval standards for the New York State
Department of Education (which are rigorous and comparable to Georgia's standards) and hold prestigious specialty accreditation by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), which is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Excelsior College is a not-for-profit, private institution of higher education chartered by the New York
State Board of Regents. In addition to NYS and NLNAC approval, the College is fully accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, one of the oldest and most respected regional accreditors in the United States.
Excelsior College nursing programs are designed to ensure that its students graduate with the most current knowledge necessary to do their jobs well. Students study according to their own schedules and earn credit through Excelsior College Examinations. At Excelsior College,
America's first virtual university, students work with full-time academic advisors and nurse faculty to chart the most efficient and realistic plan to degree completion. Excelsior's admission criteria require students to have a significant amount of healthcare experience. The majority are licensed practical/vocational nurses. Other categories for admission include individuals who have successfully completed 50 percent of the clinical nursing credits in a nursing program, military service corpsmen, paramedics, and those with degrees in clinically oriented health care fields in which they have had the opportunity to provide direct patient care. In addition, the NCLEX-RN pass rates for Excelsior College
graduates consistently meet or exceed the national average. For the 2003 to 2007 time period, the national pass rate was 86.48 percent, while the Excelsior College pass rate was 88.72 percent.
"When Excelsior College graduates present themselves as candidates for licensure to the Board, they have met the carefully articulated learning outcomes required of an accredited nursing program," GNA Chief Executive Officer Debbie Hackman said today. "In addition to
meeting the rigorous standards required for accreditation, Excelsior's School of Nursing also is recognized by the National League for Nursing as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education. "This coveted distinction is awarded in recognition of the creation of nursing education environments that enhance student learning and promote professional development.
Excelsior is one of only eleven schools nationally to hold this designation."
The Georgia Nurses Association administers the Southern Performance Assessment Center (SPAC), one of the regional testing centers for Excelsior College School of Nursing, where students who are pursuing an Associate Degree in Nursing can complete their clinical requirements for graduation. SPAC tests students from across the nation, and the licensure denial by the Georgia Board of Nursing could impact thousands of these students nationwide.
Congratulations Zimsaint, this is wonderful news. I am so happy for you!!! I am excited for you, and I would like to apoligise for not taking you original warning about the GBON seriously!! Best of luck to you and your new career!!! Wish us luck next month!!!
Typical ignorance on the part of the bill sponsor ... "A person can come out of high school and do Excelsior's program." (*&^%$#$#@!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG. Seriously? Seriously?!!! I can't tell you how (*&%^$# I am. *(&^%#@@!!!!!!!!
Yay for my buddy Kathy!! :) She looks so pretty on TV!
Thank you GradyRN2B, your apology is accepted and very much appreciated. I do wish you all well this September and I still plan to attend the meeting in Macon to lend my support for the STUDENTS and GRADS of Excelsior that are adversely affected by this whole ordeal. But frankly (and at the risk of offending many) I am so fed up with Excelsior at this point that I don't care if they are going to be excluded in the future. I am going to get my BSN from a traditional college so I will not have to associate my nursing degree with them in the future. IT IS time for Excelsior to implement clinical rotations just like everyone else. This is not isolated to GA; we will begin to have this problem nation wide.'It will be a domino effect.
On another note....did you all see the Fox 5 interview that aired today of Kathy Kalgeen the LPN from Southern Regional Medical Center. She just graduated and can not receive her GA license. This is such a tragedy. They also interviewed Representative Sharon Cooper, the author of the House Bill 1041. She seems to be under the impression that Excelsior College accepts students directly from high school into their program with no healthcare experience. She really need to be careful with making such defamatory statements such as that.....Excelsior may very well file a lawsuit against her in the future.
They also interviewed Representative Sharon Cooper, the author of the House Bill 1041. She seems to be under the impression that Excelsior College accepts students directly from high school into their program with no healthcare experience. She really need to be careful with making such defamatory statements such as that.....Excelsior may very well file a lawsuit against her in the future.
I said more bad words at her just now than I've said all year, combined. IGNORANCE. I hope EC goes after her sorry fanny for those statements.
"They also interviewed Representative Sharon Cooper, the author of the House Bill 1041. She seems to be under the impression that Excelsior College accepts students directly from high school into their program with no healthcare experience."
You're kidding me right???????? Ms. Cooper, et. al., definitely needs to do a little research before producing ideas into legislature. I guess it's true what people say......."a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" especially since she definitely has "little knowledge" about Excelsior. This is sickening.
I look foward to meeting you in Macon. Congrats again!! We will have to wear name tags with our all nurses.com names as well as our real name!! Thanks for your support as well and I agree with you 100%!!
I live in Atlanta and just saw this on our local news tonight. You can view the the video at www.myfoxatlanta.com. I was so shocked. Although I'm not enrolled in Excelsior, I'm sure this will affect tons of students who have already spent lots of money on this program.
. When I called the board, they transferred me to a their Legal Nurse Consultant who stated that effective July 1, 2008 GA would no longer endorse RN license from Excelsior College students with no previous RN experience. She suggested that I go to my licensed state and work for a while then try again, but she could not give me a time frame.
zimsaint
113 Posts
Thank you everyone for your congrats. I am sooooo happy as well. I hope everything works all for all the Excelsior students/grads. I can imagine being any more competent or "less safe" than you all just be/c I was LUCKY enough to apply before a certain date. I stand behind behind you all 1000% in my strong belief that this is so unfair.
An although I do have my license this will not be the cake walk of the past. The media coverage cuts both ways: Now employers are looking at us as being graduates of an "unaccredited program" though we know that is the furthest thing from the truth. I really hope we can all get past this terrible stigma.
.