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 had to work so couldn't go but watched the Fox5 and WMAZ Macon reports. Media is certainly slanted to our side which is always a good thing. I plan to send links to news reports and another letter to my representatives, "just in case they missed it". Politicians hate bad press! It means they might have to work!
Looked like great representation for EC students and thanks again to everyone who went! I'm still hopeful for a "grandfathering" solution for those of us already invested. Totally agree with Ivan that they've known all along that they weren't going to do anything yesterday. Just more of their slippery toying around with our lives.
and that is how it goes. unfortunately this is not about evidence, truth, or fact. it is definitely not about human decency. it never was. i am not surprised at all that some key players did not show up. why should they? i bet you a case of diet pepsi that those same people have been sleeping soundly in their beds while the ec students have been sweating, worrying, stressing, praying, and not sleeping. this issue is affecting every aspect of their lives: their current jobs, their mental health and their relationships (with spouses, their children, friends, and family). meanwhile the people that made this decision are carrying on with their lives without a hiccup. was it not ms cooper that said "i don't care" if people have been "inconvenienced"? she said this on national television (all tv is national now because of the internet) so there it is right there. that is the crux of the matter. they do not care about you guys!!!! to them you are insignificant!!!!
again, not trying to upset anyone, but how do you beat that? with all that is going on the world where does one get the emotional resources to fight that fight. please, please, consider other avenues if you can.
ivan
a case of coke zero and you are completely right about ms cooper and tons of more just like her here in ga.
the very reason i gave up the fight with gbonvsec, it wasn't worth my health, sanity or losing my familyover, but of course ms cooper doesn't care about that either!
she is the very reason i left the hospital i used to work at, i was so tired of fighting high-ups like her every single night i worked.
if i could only find a genie in a bottle ! wait that won't work cause that genie did complete her genie school in ga!
thanks so much ivan, i only wish others in this state( my home state too, born here stayed till age 18 ,left and returned 15 years later, what was i thinking!) thought like you do and would stand up for what is right!!
yes, i know there are a few out there, but ivan is so right, this state belongs to the states of the good ol'e boy state club! nothing will change for at least another 100 yrs and counting!
thanks for your support ivan, by the way i prefer diet coke, but your diet pepsi is on the way, because you are right, they care about no one, not even the patients in georgia and the fact that the hospitals are already critically understaffed. i am soooo tired and emotionally drained, sometimes i feel like giving up!!!!!!!!
gradyrn,
i know just how you feel, this state does not care about its patients, nurses or healthcare in general!
the emtional draining got the best of me and i did give up, but only on the gbon/ec issues!
this hand off to another committee was very likely decided well before this meeting took place. this is how our government works. they have the luxury to put off the decision. they see this as a safe bet because they feel they have nothing to lose. they are betting the number of georgia ec students will decrease through attrition. they are guessing that those students will pursue other options or just quit.
i am an ec grad who lives in georgia. never i have seen a more backwards, nurse hostile, conservative state in my entire life. it is ridiculous. when i am done with school in a year, and when (read if) i can sell my house (thank you all of you pro deregulators and home owners who bought above your means) my family and i are running away from this state. you can have it. it is the good ol boys network down here. last state to get prescriptive authority for fnps because of turf bulls*&t.
excuse my rant. guys, i hate to be this way, but bail and bail now. i am not saying you can't win but even if you do it will be a phyrric victory. there will be delays, more delays, more cost, and more stress while they lose nothing and you stand to lose it all. the cpne is stressful enough without all of this. how can you effectively study with all of this over your head? look into traditional brick/mortar school, take out the loans, do what ever it takes. i know many of you think you can't go the traditional route, and maybe that is true, but when push comes to shove i am betting that many of you can do what it takes to get into and attend a brick/mortar school and succeed!:yeah:
don't look at any of your ec studies as a waste of time. all learning is worthwhile.
i am not being a defeatist just a realist. i hate to see you guys go through this all of the pain needlessly.
ivan
:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat: you said it and it is the truth!
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
I don't believe that the issues that they were referring to were directly related the EC nurses, It was my understanding that they were referring to the Endorsement of our Licenses. Debbie Hatmaker specifically ask for proof that any EC nurse has ever been brought before the GBON and thay were unable to provide that information. This all boils down to the fact that EC has never been a Georgia approved school and we have always gotten our licenses by endorsement for 25+ years by testing in other states and then transfering to Georgia. Just a side note: there were 6000 potential nursing students turned away by Georgia nursing schools last year because they do not have enough programs, so EC has always been the answer for many of these students. Georgia is shooting themselves in the foot with this whole thing!!!
I knew it- I was 100% confident they would not have any proof that EC nurses were problematic. This is NOT a matter of public safety. Looks like Cooper has gone into hiding, since she has nothing to back up her opinions.
Specializes in CHPLN- Cert. hospice/palliative care LPN.
I knew it- I was 100% confident they would not have any proof that EC nurses were problematic. This is NOT a matter of public safety. Looks like Cooper has gone into hiding, since she has nothing to back up her opinions.
]Although I live in VA (a state ALSO denying licensure to EC grads), I have been very interested in what has been going on in GA as well. I have come to the sad conclusion that the critical nursing shortage is, in part, perpetuated by the very boards of nursing that govern the profession. It's insane!
Does anyone know about this education committe and when the meeting in October will be? I guess it is good that talks are still going on but can the education committe say yes or no or do just give their comments or ideas back to board to decide. Anyone have any insight?
when you click on the link, on the left side of the page it gives a date of the gbon meeting and the very top one dated sept 2008, does say a thing, nothing is there!
now the second one that dates sept 2008 does have an article but it is short and sweet.
this is part of the press release from gna, for some reason i couldn't get it to copy and past for me. so i only typed in the major section that actually said nothing!
news release from gna- georgia nurses association
for immediate release;
september 9,2008
in july, the georgia board of nursing (bon) determiend that pursuant to house bill 1041, which became law this year, georgia would no longer grant registered nurse licenses to graduates of excelsior college's school of nursing after doing so for over 30 years. the georgia nurses association (gna) beleives that the board's action does not reflect legislative intent of hb1041, which primarily focused on criminal background checks for nurses seeking licensure in our state. excelsior college is a popular virtual university, which has been providing nursing education for over three decades. for it's part, gna has administered clinical performance examinations for ec students in ga for over 25 years.
it goes on about ec and how this will affect the nursing shortage in ga, blah blah blah.
please read the rest on your own.
this just :devil::banghead: me off, cause it doesn't not address the issues that ms copper came up with in reguards to gbon and ec.
now you see why we are losing a battle, we can't get a straight answer from either side.
first of all why do they, gna call ec a popular vitual university, when it actually a university in new york!
also, doesn't all state boards of nursing do criminal background checks on all people when they apply to take the nclex.
also correct me if i am wrong but ec also has their rn students do a criminal background check as part of the cpne application.
ok, the more i ponder, the angrier i get because so many people here in ga are in limbo and it seems nothing is being done about it except the ol'e wait and see game!!
I wasn't at the meeting but I just watched a report on fox 5 on the internet. The reporter said this may extend all the way out to the end of the year. Gosh. My annual enrollement is coming up and will be due before then. Does anyone know with our situation do we need to pay the annual enrollment fee or can we wait until a decision has been made. I would hate to pay for it and and the decision is no. I guess I need to call.
Also, I don't know why the college is not addressing the clinical argument. I keep hearing the Ga Bon's argument that they are concerned that we don't meet the clinical portion. Even though I believe we do why doesn't excelsior start including preceptorship/externships/interships included in the program. Alot of hospitals already have these and also I'm sure they would love more free labor. Also, some us that work at these place could already extern/intern a few extras week in different depts. The school needs to address this. Cali, Va, now ga (hopefully not) as well as other states are not accepting the students.
. 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.
:yeah:
oeue2007
70 Posts
I had to work so couldn't go but watched the Fox5 and WMAZ Macon reports. Media is certainly slanted to our side which is always a good thing. I plan to send links to news reports and another letter to my representatives, "just in case they missed it". Politicians hate bad press! It means they might have to work!
Looked like great representation for EC students and thanks again to everyone who went! I'm still hopeful for a "grandfathering" solution for those of us already invested. Totally agree with Ivan that they've known all along that they weren't going to do anything yesterday. Just more of their slippery toying around with our lives.