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:
Because it would have made too much sense to hand it to someone reasonable and responsible....:angryfire
Tell your friends, your family, tell everyone, it is blitz time!!! Make this the only thing they can focus on by calling, emailing, then calling and emailing again!
Maybe everyone should email Glenn Beck....discrimination in state government and within the GA BON in the midst of a hypercritical nursing shortage might make a great national story!
My whole issue is not entirely how this will affect the nsg shortage, but the fact that claims are being made to discredit a nsg school with no scientific evidence to back those claims. No evidence to support their claims that public health will be in jeopardy if EC grads are allowed to practice in Ga. It's criminal in my opinion.
If EC is as substandard as S Cooper et al are claiming, then why is it accrettited by th NLN? Why is is accrettited by New York, regionally; etc, and one of only thirteen schools in the entire nation designated as a center of excellence in nursing education?
I would think that Georgia would welcome EC grads, and as far as I can tell, graduates of EC's program must be talented, dedicated, diciplined people who took the initiative to complete a very difficult program in an unconventional way. I applaud Governor Perdue and the legislators who appreciate this; I applaud each and every one of you, and you should be proud of your accomplishment; it is such a travesty that you are being slandered and harrassed for your hard work because you have chosen a different path than a few closed-minded tyrants who wish to harrass you..Don't give in to this. You must fight back or these tyrants will win.. I don't believe they have a leg to stand on, and they know it. Nevertheless, you must fight to defeat this. I sincerely hope and pray it works out in your favor. I'm fighting with you and for you.
And another thing that really upsets me: Ga. is importing nurses from truly substandard dirt-floor nsg schools from other countries and welcomong them,yes, welcoming THEM, yet slandering a school such as EC; slandering YOU!. Where is the outrage about this, Mrs Cooper? This is so disgusting and schizophrenic it makes me sick.
Absolutely!!! The NCLEX pass rate for EC grads is 90%. I checked this against Dee Keeton's alma mater, Mercer, and their pass rate average is 88%. Emory University is 91% so we are on par with Emory.
Now, get this: The pass rate of nurses from foreign schools? A whopping 40%! And, is the GA BON monitoring all of these foreign schools to make sure they are up to Georgia's "high educational standards" (I cannot type that without laughing)? NO...they leave that to one international governing body to make sure all of the schools, including schools from third world countries, are up to Georgia's "high educational standards"....
I am proud of my education, I am proud of my alma mater. I am a fantastic nurse and I love every aspect of my chosen profession. It is my calling, and how dare these elitists look down their noses at me and everyone else who worked hard to achieve their dream of becoming nurses!
Keep up the phoning and the emailing. If you don't receive a response quickly, do it again!!! Don't let them patronize you or act in a condescending way to you.....you deserve nothing but respect! Be that pesky mosquito that just won't go away! And don't accept their pat answers.....ask them the HARD questions and demand answers!!!!
All of you, unlike Dee Keeton and Rep. Cooper, are REAL NURSES (RN), because you truly care about others. They obviously do not care about the nursing shortage or about the lives that are torn apart by their discriminatory actions!!!
Send your emails/letters to the Speaker of the House, Glenn Richardson, and inquire why Senate Bill 49 was referred to HHS (health and human services) committee instead of HE (higher education) committee, like it was in the Senate.
Thank you so much for this!!! And yes, I agree.....EMAIL YOUR GOVERNMENT!!! CALL THEM!!!! They are supposed to be there to serve you as public servants and get paid handsomely for it!!!! Keep up the emailing and calling campaign!!! They ALL need to be called to the carpet, right up to the governor!!!
Or, you can call Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson at 404-656-5020. That is a very legitimate question, why is it this bill was passed into the hands of the very person who has brought all of this calamity upon all of us?
That is like the fox guarding the henhouse, with more catastrophic results.
i'm sorry to hear that your a nurse and unemployed gobsmackednurse....when you moved to ga were not able to get licensed because the ga bon stop licensing ec or were you let go because your a regents or nontrad grad but recieved your ga license?
i agree with all you on this. this is crazy the bill in the hhs committe and she's the head of this. that's insane!! i'm staying up all night emailing representatives and even her with a few choice words. don't worry nothing hateful just telling her what i think and giving her facts. as have been suggested i'm going to call everyone next week. is our side in the ajc? if not we need someone to get their opinion in the paper and on the news again. they need to make sure they tell both sides. this sharon lady is crazy......this lady can't continue to be a representative. was she already up for reelection? ....next time we have to make some noise in her area...one the news....radio...etc.. maybe we can take out ads against her...
hope their is something that can be done so this doesn't get stuck in the committe.
has anyone even got their license yet since they opened it? they are still making it hard even now.
with her bill i still don't think we get licensed even if have 800 hours and 2 yrs experience because also the way it reads it says someithing about if we deem your program equally or more stringent than the schools in ga. she doesn't so she will probably deny almost everyone....until you get a lawyer or something.
When I moved here, I applied for licensure by endorsement, since I have almost 10 years of critical care RN experience. I was denied, flat out, because I went to Regents. It didn't matter that I had years of experience or that I had specialized, none of it mattered. I and my little family did not matter to them. And, no, even though I filed the stupid waiver they requested back in late December, I still do not have my license and, if they get their way, I never will here in Georgia (never mind I can work in half of the country!)
That is why we have to fight! We have been patient long enough!!! They want to be mean and ugly? Fine. What they don't realize is they are going up against NURSES!! We are STRONG, we are TENACIOUS, and our numbers in this endeavor are growing!!!!
Tell your family and friends. Send them the links to where they can email and call. We will not go down without a fight!
If the H&HS committee, where this bill is right now, has their way, it won't be voted on. It will die in committee. The chairman of that committee is Rep. Sharon Cooper, the very one who has a discriminating view against EC grads
I faxed my letter to most everyone on the H&HS Committee last night. Of those who didn't provide a fax number, I sent an e-mail. I also sent it to the Speaker, Lt. Governor, and Governor.
I am an EC alumnus from GA, so I am already a GA RN. I was very blessed to have this opportunity through EC, and do not want to see it go away. Because of my work schedule, a traditional program was just not an option for me at that time. Also, for those with years of clinical experience, it just might not be necessary to take the traditional route.
Here in Georgia, we're frequently among the last to open our minds when it comes to change. Not something to be very proud of, but it seems to be true. Statistically, EC has increased the number of men entering the field of nursing and also has a very large number of African-American students. This trend of creating opportunity when it is not offered by the traditional establishment may be threatening to some. Draw your own conclusions, I guess.
As for the fight, I will keep it up. This is not the time to sit back and let others fight for you! WE NEED NUMBERS! For those that are still observers, start writing letters, e-mail, faxes, make phone calls. If you know any of these politicians, go meet with them. Call on your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. to do the same.
For now, focus on getting the word to members of the H&HS Committee. Go to this site and get the phone and fax numbers of these people, along with their e-mail contacts:
Their phones need to light up. Just because Rep. Cooper is the Chair of the committee doesn't mean that they have to agree with her. They are educated people for the most part, and may have a more open mind than she has.
. 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.
And yes, I agree.....EMAIL YOUR GOVERNMENT!!! CALL THEM!!!! They are supposed to be there to serve you as public servants and get paid handsomely for it!!!! Keep up the emailing and calling campaign!!! They ALL need to be called to the carpet, right up to the governor!!!
gobsmackednurse
86 Posts
Because it would have made too much sense to hand it to someone reasonable and responsible....:angryfire
Tell your friends, your family, tell everyone, it is blitz time!!! Make this the only thing they can focus on by calling, emailing, then calling and emailing again!
Maybe everyone should email Glenn Beck....discrimination in state government and within the GA BON in the midst of a hypercritical nursing shortage might make a great national story!
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