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:
Congratulation rjlchef! That's Great your offically a GA RN! Gosh, I'm sure your elated now you can move own with your plans.
Gobsmackednurse and others I hope will get your the offical yes next week as well. Their is no reason why you shouldn't get it. If ya'll can get endorsed than their is hope for the rest us.:)
the american spirit of free speech which founded out nation is alive and well in georgia. i have read your postings and have followed your plight since the georgia legislature took action to raise the standards of nursing in the great state of georgia. i am currently enrolled in a georgia board of nursing approved school and ccne accredidated program and the material from your posting has been of great interest in my nursing issues and professional development class. here have been some of the thoughts and discussions which we have shared about your choices and situations.
overall the nursing students in my discussions have been concerned by your inability to enroll in and complete existing nursing programs in the state of georgia. geographically there are over thirty schools within 50 miles of many georgia cities. many seats go unfilled due to lack of qualified applicants. qualified may range from a 2.0 gpa up to 4.0. it appears that many of you began your educational endeavors but transferred to non-traditional programs because of changes in your academic standing. while many of you believe there are no nontraditional programs in georgia, you should check with darton college and abac. abac allows individuals in the lpn and paramedic track to attend classes one day a week. surely one day a week is not too much to ask.
another discussion we have had centers on choices. many of you have chosen to start your lives and begin a family without thinking about your career goals. my classmates have chosen to obtain their career goals and later have families. research has shown that college graduates with career goals traditionally gain stable employment, have a secure future and have less family dysfunction because there is a decreased number of family stressors and financial burdens which in turn will allow children to obtain their goals. responsibility for choices made is a trait of a good professional.
clinical expertise is another concern of my focus group. we currently have over 600 hours of clinical experiences in campus skills lab, high tech simulation labs and with actual patients in a variety of acute care and clinical settings. you may feel that a two day clinical check off is enough to prepare you for a career in nursing but it truly is a patient safety concern. the feedback from qualified nursing faculty members who meet the rigid georgia board of nursing faculty qualifications have been paramount to our success. remediation in the skills lab and critical thinking and problem solving exercises, though they require a lot of energy and time have been the reason that we have been so successful. to place this into perspective let us examine the other professions such as medicine and dentistry. they continue to require more clinical experiences and their profession maintains high standards to ensure safety of their clients.
the topic of legal issues was also discussed. it is of great concern that when nurses are involved in legal cases that the credibility of the registered professional nurse is the basis for establishing competency and credibility. we feel that over 600 of hours of clinical experience are more beneficial in obtaining desired legal outcomes than a two day checkoff. a criminal attorney and the many legal nurse consultants always try to discredit their witnesses and this may prove challenging in the defense of a case.
the current economic environment in georgia has also been discussed by my class. while many of you believe there is a nursing shortage, hospitals throughout georgia are experiencing economic concerns leading to cutback in nursing staffing and reduction of hours. the current economy will probably lead to lower reimbursement and less money for patient care activities. we predict that nurses will be taking on additional duties such as respiratory therapy treatments, physical therapy exercises and phlebotomy. in many facilities these multiskilled nurse practitioners are in demand. employers are going to be faced with the need to employ registered nurses who have completed a multitude of skills and have experiences in a wide variety of complex disease processes. when faced with completing peer interviews with graduated of institutions such as georgia baptist, medical college of georgia, darton, and macon state, we feel that the applicants will be selected based on their extensive educational background. clinical experience as lpn's and paramedics are just that. registered nurse clinicals in professional schools require a multitude of complex clinical think skills in order to produce positive patient outcomes. lpn and paramedic clinical experiences are task focused. the overall coordination of care delivery is ultimately delivered by registered professional nurses.
the nclex-rn is a test specifically designed to measure entry level competency. the structured orientation and emersion into the role of the professional nurse may prove to be a challenge for individuals who do not have a broad educational experience. it is estimated that acute care settings spend over $40,000 on the orientation of a new graduate. in corporate america individuals who cannot become productive in the workforce will be replaced.
the georgia board of nursing is our regulation body. as we prepare for graduation and completion of our georgia board of nursing applications and person-vue nclex-rn testing we would request that you please allow us to process our applications and then resume your protest. we too have loans to repay, jobs awaiting us and many life plans to get on with such as a starting a career and family.
our class discussion became so concerned that we too began a campaign to notify state officials and the legislators in the house and senate that we want our high standards for the profession of nursing upheld. the georgia nurses association represents less than 3% of the registered nurses in the state of georgia and their membership continues to decrease as nurse educators in the state drop their membership. just in case you are unaware, the gna currently generates their revenue from the clinical check offs you take three or four times. while your letters and postings are filled with emotions, they lack the energy needed to overturn the high standards in the georgia approved nursing programs. in fact you may find difficulty transferring into their programs if you so desire. the media moments have been filled with passion but the media has moved on to other stories in the legislature like the budget, nuclear energy and jobs. you may want to continue sending your money to gna but our group discussion felt this was unethical to take money from your vulnerable population of individuals who do not have adequate financial resources. upon graduation we do not expect to join this organization because it does not truly represent the same values and professional attributes as our profession.
all in all you should consider advancing your career and applying to a georgia approved nursing school and join us in elevating the nursing education standards in georgia. thanks for posting your thoughts on this open forum. they have proved very valuable for discussions in my class and have helped me obtain an excellent grade on my professional issues paper.
leaders of the georgia association of nursing students will also be receiving a resolution calling for higher standards for nursing education in georgia. we salute the legislators and georgia board of nursing for their stand for excellence in patient care and safety.
mary anna
i would like to let you know that "some" of us nontraditional students are members of phi theta kappa and have received scholarships from prestigious hospitals in the atlanta area. as an lpn in ga, i have completed more than 700 clinical hours for my ga lpn license, but in actuality it is closer to 875 when you count the time that i was in a rn program. i did rotations in med surg, ob, icu, psych, rehab, geriatrics and peds with those same rn's that were assigned to you. however, life happens and sometimes not the way you expect it. i resent the fact that you think that lpn rotations were less in depth than yours. we had multiple patients, gave medications, completed skill/lab check offs, did care plans, etc.
i like the fact that you point out what research has found. no research has been found that ec graduates are any less competent than a "traditional" school graduate. nclex pass rates for ec is actually higher than most ga schools. abac had a rate of 81% and darton 88%. guess what??? ec has a higher pass nclex rate than that!
another point you mention is that the gna is an unreliable source, but have you heard of the national league of nurses?
have you ever thought that the reason that this whole thing was started was because of the empty seats in the nursing programs. some of the people involved in supporting these bills to "increase nursing standards" are receiving contributions from schools to campaign their elections. it has nothing to do with clinical/experience or else the rn with over 10 years in critical care that posted on here would have a license in the state of ga! think about it! the media has shown coverage of representatives saying untrue statements about ec requirements and basically stating their own opinion.
i also find it interesting that during your valuable class time at school, your instructors are conducting discussions of ease of enrollment, life choices, and economics in ga.
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Per the GA Board of Regents (see attached pdf):
"As Georgia is facing a severe nursing workforce shortage, one must consider if Georgia can afford to deny entry of nurses into the state from non-traditional programs, and even if it should continue to provide nursing education exclusively in the same way it has in the past."
"Given the times we face, Georgia may want to look more closely at these non-traditional methods, and perhaps others to ensure our nursing education systems can produce the number of nurses we will need."
"Traditional nursing education has historically been effective in providing competent and qualified RNs. In providing the regulatory function for the state, the Georgia BON is clearly comfortable with the model and design of the traditional programs. However, as we move toward the future, a consideration of the monumental changes in health care causes one to ask the question of why the provision of nursing education has stayed the same and not adapted to changing educational paradigms. It can be argued that traditional nursing education takes longer and costs more to educate RNs than non-traditional models. Furthermore, the current models for nursing education have not seen the level of student diversity that is desired within the field."
"Georgia may have reached a point in time in which it has become essential to consider alternative approaches to nursing education because of the level of output now required of the state's nursing programs to meet current and projected demand. Further, issues of cost, the time required to train new nurses and diversity in the nursing workforce may be better addressed using non-traditional educational models. However, the issues involved with nursing education, including those regarding public safety and the need to ensure basic competence in nursing graduates, are complex. This clearly suggests that the state needs to begin a dialogue on this matter to determine the relative merits of the non-traditional methods discussed in this paper and others that may exist, and ultimately set up a framework that supports the appropriate use of non-traditional approaches within Georgia."
Thanks for this, BBFRN....by the way, LOVE your avatar! I'm a HUGE Ab Fab/Jennifer Saunders fan from way back! And that pic of Joanna Lumley is brilliant!
My only real comment is that referring to the CPNE as "a two day clinical check off" demonstrates a very familiar lack of understanding of all that the CPNE encompasses.
Yeah. That's like saying a craniotomy is an extended and deeper root canal. Bottom line. People who have not been through the process will never understand.
That document from the Board of Regents actually sounds pretty encouraging. If Georgia has a problem with EC's methods, then they should say so and then provide supporting evidence. Then, figure out a way to make it work; whether it's through a precepted experience, as some other states require, or by making their own educational system adapt to the needs of the non-traditional student. I am an advocate of Excelsior. I would also be an advocate of an improved system based in Georgia. Why couldn't the University System of Georgia do something similar? They've seen that there is a demand for it. I don't think low enrollment would be an issue.
If the system in Georgia provided any real flexibility, then I would have definitely taken that route. Instead, it has remained rigid and stuck in the same old way of doing things. Then, as a knee jerk response to what they seem to view as an outside threat, certain members of the old guard make untrue, inflammatory public remarks about the program and its graduates. They even seem to be encouraging young, impressionable, uninformed, eager to please the professor-type students to make some of those same statements.
Personally, I believe that the CPNE is adequate. But, the goal in Georgia should be to make this work, even if it means compromises on both sides.
Do you know if, on Wednesday, they reviewed all the ones they'd received thus far, or was there a cut-off date? I see at least 4 EC students that I know from the EC EPN or here listed on that website, and I'm hoping they got reviewed when you did.
I am not sure how many were reviewed, I was told "some" by the BON. I was # 9 on the list and was holding my breath and praying. Hey, did you take one of Lynn's workshops in the fall (NOV or so) of 2007? I think I may have met you there. If not, I met someone named Lisa that seems to have many of your attributes. She was very nice.
Hey, did you take one of Lynn's workshops in the fall (NOV or so) of 2007? I think I may have met you there. If not, I met someone named Lisa that seems to have many of your attributes. She was very nice.
I took Lynn's workshop in Charlotte at the beginning of December 2007. :) I was sitting in the very back row.
. 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.
gobsmackednurse
86 Posts
i have all these numbers saved to my phone...i hope i can get a life when all of this is over...lol)
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