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 am currently practicing nurse in the state of ga and was wondering how many clinical hours as a generic rn student are you required to complete?
i would like to know so that i can make an informed decision on this legislation.
i can understand the frustartion you have when you have spene so much money on your education.
good question. at issue before the bon is not, or at least should not be, of quantity of clock hours but that of clinical proficiency in the form of competence as expected by a safe and beginning registered nurse. regents/excelsior graduates are held accountable to the same competency standards as all other nlan programmatically accredited schools. competence is a discrete nominal data set that either exists or does not. regents/excelsior graduates possess the same clinical competence as any other graduate from a nlan accredited school.
the bon has in bad faith and with faulty logic made the presumption that how one obtains clinical competence should take a back seat to whether clinical competence has been established as manifested by those who successfully negotiate a nlan accredited program. this erroneous logic is equivalent to suggesting that accredited nlan programs which have 3,000 hours of clinical education are better than those with 2900 hours or 1800 hours. again, competency either exists or does not. in a time where evidence directs best practices, the bon has failed to establish through any form of evidence that clinical competence does not exist in regents/excelsior graduates. as professional nurses who are trained, educated and experienced in critiquing best evidence and actions guided by best evidence, the georgia bon is to be condemned for their failure to adhere to the basic fundamentals of practice by which they hold others accountable as a regulatory agency.
i feel in time, once there is a significant critical mass, which seems to be brewing thanks to this thread, those stakeholders in georgia will band together and start a grassroots movement to follow the money. clearly, just like with the criminal activities related to the invasion of privacy regarding the state of ohio and joe the plumber, i am confident that similar impropriety will be discovered regarding the repugnant actions of members of the georgia bon, and the harm they have caused to the citizens (as consumers of health care) of georgia. as a consequence, they too, just like the ohio government officials, will be held accountable for their actions.
i am currently practicing nurse in the state of ga and was wondering how many clinical hours as a generic rn student are you required to complete?
i would like to know so that i can make an informed decision on this legislation.
i can understand the frustartion you have when you have spene so much money on your education.
the rn program at the college i work for requires 600 clinical hours. at excelsior, you can't even sign up to take classes in the adn program unless you have extensive clinical experience. many of the former military corspman and lpn have tens of thousands of hours of time working and performing medical skills. paramedics are required to have a certain number of each skill performed under the supervision of an rn and senior medics. i currenlty work with the rn program students at the college i work for. as a matter of fact i manage their nursing lab. they do not have to do certain number of injections, drug administrations, vitals signs or other skills. what ever happens to be there on the clinical site when they do clinicals is what they get. so, for a paramedic they require over 100 iv successful iv's or im injections. there are nursing students that graduate and never start one iv on a real patient. when i did my paramedic clinicals i ran accros rn's that did not know how to set up a thoracentesis tray and chest tube. they worked in the emergency room and gaduated from a local rn program. i have experienced rn's tell me that the new rn's arriving in the er and other areas can't start an iv. most of us in excelsior lost track about ten thousands iv's ago. now, i know that weather a student can start an iv or not does not determine what type of rn the will be. but, neither does graduating from a traditional program vs. graduating from excelsior. i am speaking from my own experience and own observations. as a navy corspman at the age of 19 i was responsible for a 24 bed hospital ward and one bed icu all rolled into one. for 12 hours i was the only medical personel working the ward. all the patients were my responsiblity. all the meds, procedures, iv's, pre-op's and post-ops fell upon my shoulders. i will place my nursing/medical skill up against any traditional nursing program graduate.
even with all this experience, we also have to take a two day comprehensive practical exam to prove our skills. no other adn program in the country requires this. if we don't pass it, then we have to retake it. if you don't pass it in three then you are out from what i understand.
excelsior is not for everyone, but it works for me. i had a doctor once tell a nurse that "i was the least certified, but most qualified medical personel in the building, and that includes the rn's and lpn's working here." he was the one that pointed me to excelsior as he knew i could not afford to quit my job and attend a traditional program.
guess i got to rambling, but i am just tired of all this. just let me finish and let me be.
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
It's a fantastic program for those who already have clinical experience and a good amount of self-determination. I was completely satisfied with the education I got from EC. It absolutely set a good foundation for my own RN practice, and subsequent education.
It's a fantastic program for those who already have clinical experience and a good amount of self-determination. I was completely satisfied with the education I got from EC. It absolutely set a good foundation for my own RN practice, and subsequent education.
It is a great program for the right individual. I've only taken one class at the graduate level, but I believe that the EC program better prepared me for graduate studies. It takes a certain amount of independence, and you really learn how to research and find answers. There's certainly no spoon-feeding of information to students.
As many on here have stated, every EC grad that I have known has excelled in their respective specialty areas. You won't find any evidence of patterns of incompetence or whatever the traditional nursing establishment likes to sometimes point out, with not a shred of evidence. Even if they did have something other than anecdotal evidence, you would have to compare it to graduates of other schools for it to be considered valid, and I don't think they want to go there. Because then what defense would they have? It's much easier to sit in the ivory tower and pass judgment based on misguided, misinformed opinion than to approach it as an academic and seek the scientific truth.
If I can't get through to the GA BON, then I'll certainly try to make sure that Georgia's lawmakers can make an informed decision regarding EC.
Somebody on the BON was in collusion w/ Rep. Cooper and I would have to guess somebody with the University System as well because they are the only ones who would "benefit" from getting rid of EC in GA. It's all ridiculous because every nursing program I know of has waiting lists.
Cooper's obviously a control freak. She was one of the representatives behind the law that makes me have to stand in a special line for 20 minutes, give a blood sample and three forms of identification to buy one box of Claritin-D. Obviously, that law has made a huge dent in the meth problem (not) so who am I to question her legislative acumen?
The University System was responsible for refusing to accept my nursing credits for transfer into one of their BSN programs because I had made the fatal decision to attend a private school which, (according to them), was an "unaccredited" institution prior to them closing their doors and reopening as an "accredited" four-year institution some eight years after I had graduated.
I wasn't told this until after I had spent over $1,000.00 in tuition for courses taken at one of their "accredited" colleges towards my BSN. "Sorry, but you'll have to take Fundamentals, etc. all over again", I was informed as if I had attended some fly-by-night correspondence school. Their attitude was that of maximum arrogance and indifference, as if "I should have known".
I had spent all that money for nothing. And, the faceless Bureaucrats (like Cooper) knew I had no recourse. But, they had my money, just the same.
I hope I live long enough to see politicians like her tossed out on their ear...and for
For those of you who haven't heard or trying to stay updated , here's the lastest.
December 2, 2008
Georgia Nursing Students and Graduates Call to Action
As we promised in our message to you on November 20, this letter is an update on what has happened regarding licensure opportunity for our associate degree nursing graduates in Georgia.
In addition, the time is now right to ask you to write a letter to the Board of Nursing (Board) and key legislative leaders. Information on what this letter should say and to whom it should be sent is outlined at the end of this correspondence.
Updates
Since Governor Perdue issued his statement on November 14 in support of bona fide nursing education programs such as Excelsior's, the Board has signaled a willingness to reconsider a means to resolve the current situation. We also understand that certain legislative leaders are interested in helping in this process.
The Governor has made three new appointments to the Board, all of which are effective immediately. The appointments replace three of the current Board members.
On Thanksgiving Day, the College placed a one-half page message in the Atlanta Journal Constitution in an effort to raise greater public awareness of the problem.
What You Can Do
As you know, Governor Perdue has promised to work with the General Assembly to obtain a legislative remedy that will keep the licensing option open for our graduates. This may take several months to achieve and we will need your help after an actual bill has been introduced in the General Assembly. We will provide specific information for a letter to your individual legislators in a future correspondence.
In the meantime, given the apparent renewed interest from the Board to consider an appropriate solution for currently enrolled students and recent graduates, we are asking you to write a letter now to the Board and to key legislators.
This letter would urge that students enrolled before July 1 (the effective date of the current amended law that the Board has relied upon), and recent graduates who have not been able to receive a license in Georgia, be eligible for licensure by endorsement. In other words, you are asking that you be considered eligible for licensure under the terms in effect prior to July 1.
The letter should be in your own words and tell the Board and legislators your story: why you want to become an RN and how important it is to you, why you chose Excelsior College to earn your degree, and how your current and past clinical experiences are helping you to achieve your goal.
This letter is an opportunity to show how you are affected by the Board's decision. It is important that your letter be professional in nature and not include any negative or derogatory statements. You want to make a good impression of yourself and Excelsior's program.
As you write this letter, it will be important to include certain points such as the following:
There is no evidence to support the Board's decision to place barriers in the path of Excelsior students and graduates seeking RN licensure in Georgia.
Excelsior's nursing program has been nationally accredited since 1975 and is one of only 13 Centers of Excellence in Nursing Education in the nation.
You enrolled in the Excelsior nursing program relying on the Board's 30-year history of licensing Excelsior's graduates.
There was no notice prior to July 1, by the Board or any other government agency, that HB 1041 would be interpreted in a manner that would deny you licensure.
Ask that the Board take action at its January meeting to allow you to be eligible for licensure in Georgia under the terms of Georgia law in effect at the time you enrolled in the Excelsior nursing program.
We suggest that you write and mail a letter, rather than sending an email, so that the volume of correspondence from students and graduates will be more evident to those receiving these letters. Please address your letter to the President of the Georgia Board of Nursing and send copies to the government officials whose addresses are shown on the following page. Please also send copies to Excelsior College and to the Georgia Nurses Association. These letters should be written and mailed as soon as you possibly can so that they are received prior to the Board's meeting in January.
. 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.
:up:
Dr. Tammy, FNP/GNP-C
618 Posts
good question. at issue before the bon is not, or at least should not be, of quantity of clock hours but that of clinical proficiency in the form of competence as expected by a safe and beginning registered nurse. regents/excelsior graduates are held accountable to the same competency standards as all other nlan programmatically accredited schools. competence is a discrete nominal data set that either exists or does not. regents/excelsior graduates possess the same clinical competence as any other graduate from a nlan accredited school.
the bon has in bad faith and with faulty logic made the presumption that how one obtains clinical competence should take a back seat to whether clinical competence has been established as manifested by those who successfully negotiate a nlan accredited program. this erroneous logic is equivalent to suggesting that accredited nlan programs which have 3,000 hours of clinical education are better than those with 2900 hours or 1800 hours. again, competency either exists or does not. in a time where evidence directs best practices, the bon has failed to establish through any form of evidence that clinical competence does not exist in regents/excelsior graduates. as professional nurses who are trained, educated and experienced in critiquing best evidence and actions guided by best evidence, the georgia bon is to be condemned for their failure to adhere to the basic fundamentals of practice by which they hold others accountable as a regulatory agency.
i feel in time, once there is a significant critical mass, which seems to be brewing thanks to this thread, those stakeholders in georgia will band together and start a grassroots movement to follow the money. clearly, just like with the criminal activities related to the invasion of privacy regarding the state of ohio and joe the plumber, i am confident that similar impropriety will be discovered regarding the repugnant actions of members of the georgia bon, and the harm they have caused to the citizens (as consumers of health care) of georgia. as a consequence, they too, just like the ohio government officials, will be held accountable for their actions.