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:
I see a couple of issues here that Representative Sharon Cooper has brought up in her law to harm Excelsior College and their nurses.
If she says this is a "Patient safety issue" how can she then grandfather those who are currently enrolled? They are dangerous, right?
If the public is in danger of poor patient care, by her standards, so how could she justify letting even one EC student to work in Georgia? What about those students that were under the wire for the new law? They have the potential to harm Georgia residents with their patient care.
Ronnie, I have no doubt that "Representative" Cooper would yank the licenses of all EC grads if she could, given her evident disdain for EC. However, I doubt she has the ability or power to do so. But let's not tempt her.
Lisa I think you are right. Could you imagine the impact if they tried to take away the license of the EC grads? However, I think the EC grads should consider that it has or is being discussed behind closed doors. You notice they (GBON) does not mention any specific incidents of EC grads being unsafe. I would like to see the stats on EC grads vs. Traditional students with license actions.
Does anyone know if Excelsior will continue to hold CPNE sites in GA although the GBON is seeking to deny graduates licenses? Also I spoke with the President of Excelsior via email and he stated they will "defend" Excelsior's CPNE curriculum. It is apparent that the school has no desire to change it's current system. He stated that if Excelsior were to add a traditional clinical rotation or preceptorship then that would mean they will have to compete directly with the brick and mortar institutions for clinical space. I am sure that this would create a whole new set of problem because most programs are ran by state institutions. More students would opt to "test out" of the classes and just do clinical rather that drag each class out over 16 weeks. I don't think that would sit to well with the GA Board of Regents (college RN programs) or the GA Dept of Adult and Technical Education (technical school RN programs.) They will probably enact laws that stated we had to attend class on campus then.....LOL
Sharon Cooper has a MSN from Medical College of Georgia, but I can't find out what year she graduated nursing school. She appears to be in her mid to late 50's. The GABON says nursing grads should have a min. of 400 hours of clinical experience.
If she graduated 30 or more years ago, I doubt she had 400 hours of clinical experiences. So was she unsafe? Hummm that would be a nice little tidbit to ask her.
I was wondering how many hours GA RN's are required to complete. A LPN has to complete 700 hours under a RN supervision. Why wouldn't that be enough? It is almost twice the required hours as a RN. It is very frustrating.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent to Representative Cooper. I will send the snail mail on Monday. Certified.
Representative Cooper,
Hello. My name is Ivan. I graduated in 2005 from the Excelsior College (EC) nursing program after a 13 year career as paramedic. I just recently watched you in an interview regarding the decision to no longer accept EC graduates. I must say, I was very disappointed by this decision, and I was especially disappointed by your responses in the interview. The statement that you made stating that any high school graduate is able to go out and complete the course and become an RN is not true. What's more, once this error was pointed out, you indicated that nothing could change your mind regarding this issue. This troubles me on several levels. First, apparently, you made a decision based on erroneous information. I was wondering, as an RN yourself, do you recommend that other medical professionals do the same? Would you suggest to anyone that a competent professional should make decisions based on false or inaccurate information? Your decision that nothing could change your mind indicates to me a short sighted and inflexible attitude. This concerns me because of your professions as an RN and as a legislator. There is simply no place for that mind-set in either of your chosen fields.
My question to you is where is your data that suggests EC grads pose a greater risk to public safety than other nursing graduates? What studies have you done or have your read that indicate or even suggest this? Surely in your report, you cited some information to back up your conclusions. As a current graduate student if I were to do the same I would not receive a passing grade for my work. I would fail. I see from your bio that you have an extensive background in nursing education, and I applaud you for this. Since this is the case, I can not help but wonder why you have abandoned the accepted standards of evidence based practice and made a decision based on incorrect information and without any scientific evidence whatsoever.
I am not suggesting that there should be no dialogue on this. If there is a concern for patient safety then by all means let us address this matter as professionals. Going out and making "just because" decisions is not up to the standards of the profession that I belong to: Nursing. Please consider the hundreds of EC students that are hard working health care professionals with families and dreams of helping others. These inconvenienced students as you consider them, are working hard for the state of Georgia. I would hope that you reconsider your stance, even if it is just to go back and take another look at it using the principles of research that modern nursing is renowned for. I would ask you to be more thoughtful in your language when you refer to those people and their families who are making a great sacrifice so that they can better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. They are not merely inconvenienced students, and I can assure you as one of them, we are all just as concerned about public safety as you are. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Ivan
Ivan, RN, CEN, NREMT-P
Very well done!!!:yeah:Excellent points. I would love to see her reply.
I was considering moving back to Georgia. Of course that was/is one of several considerations.
Perhaps I'll have to write and see if my " multi-state " license will even be accepted there.:chuckle I wonder what their stance is on experienced nurses from other states who just happened to graduate from EC is????? Not that I am experienced yet. ( still too new ) But it would be 2-3 years before we move. :typing One of the colleges I wrote to was Medical College of Georgia because I had previously taken some courses through them. ( I plan to continue for FNP ) I had plans to go back there since my parents live down there and are not doing well. Seems like I have a letter to write, too.
Right now there is no standard set number of hours of clinical time for and RN program. Believe me I remember my LPN clinicals all too well and at times dreaded them....they were nothing like the clinicals that the RN students do in the hospital where I work. During summer semester we had a group of students doing saturday clinicals at our facility that were to graduate at the end of July....not trying to be nasty but let me say I pray they have an awesome preceptor wherever they decide to work b/c there isn't one of them I would let take care of my family! Oh yeah but us LPNs that finish EC are unsafe!?
Right now there is no standard set number of hours of clinical time for and RN program. Believe me I remember my LPN clinicals all too well and at times dreaded them....they were nothing like the clinicals that the RN students do in the hospital where I work. During summer semester we had a group of students doing saturday clinicals at our facility that were to graduate at the end of July....not trying to be nasty but let me say I pray they have an awesome preceptor wherever they decide to work b/c there isn't one of them I would let take care of my family! Oh yeah but us LPNs that finish EC are unsafe!?
I have been in both a RN program and a LPN program, and I wouldn't say there was that much difference during our clinical rotations. For RN clinicals we were there from 7-3:30 and during LPN clinicals we were there from 7-7. We had to perform complete patient care, handle multiple patients, interact with the patient support team, chart,give medications and interpret lab results-- all under the supervision of a RN.(One instructor per 8-10 students. Just like in RN clinicals.) Believe me, we worked our tails off. It is hard to believe that they aren't giving credit for any clinical hours for LPN's/Paramedics.
We need to continue to raise awareness and educate people about the truths of EC.
I was talking to a paramedic turned rn via Excelsior last night. She works at Kennestone which I am sure most of you know is the busiest ER in Georgia and one of the busiest in the nation. She was informing me that many of the nurses working the ER there are Excelsior grads including many of the charge nurses.
They are watching the developments closely. I was trying to get her to rally the troops. She said she would try.
Anyways, I thought this was an excellent example of a high concentration of EC grads in a high volume-high acuity setting proving just what kind of patient care and patient safety they can provide.
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Some of the best nurses I have ever worked with were EMT-P to RNs via EC, who worked in the ER with me. In fact, that's what got me hooked on the program in the first place.
when I spoke with EC counselors, they said EC is not willing to implement any clinical's, the counselors went on to say the school doesn't even have the funds for such a thing. Also , she said there are 50 states in the Confederate and most of them accept Excelsior grads. So I took that 2 mean the Heck with the states that don't. I personally feel that EC should implement some kind of optional clinical, for students who want to take them, or for those whose state require them to have them. This way the student pays the clinical fees. I know EC has been around for years with a good rep ( thats why i choose the school) but, times change, and you have to change with them or get left behind!!!
. 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.
dsmithkazk
48 Posts
Have they looked to see if there are more patient care offenses against EC grads vs. Traditional Grads. I would like to see those stats.