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:
Specializes in med/surg,peds,hemodialysis,LT care,MDofc.
Thank you Terri. I can not tell you what relief I feel. My employer has been holding a RN position for me for almost a year now. I was really getting embarassed by my responses everytime I was asked "have you gotten your License" , "When will you get your License". It was a wonderful feeling Friday to call my boss and basically scream "I've been approved for endorsement" She nearly began crying with me.
wOw rjlchef, that's absurd that they made you wait so long!
BTW, thank you so much for the advice you gave me awhile back, not to worry about Grady; I did pass my CPNE there last weekend, and you were right-- They are AwEsOme at Grady!!! The CA's, CE's and Staff were so nice, friendly, helpful! :0)
That is so good to hear about Grady...ten years ago, when I did my CPNE, I did mine in Columbus, Ohio. Grady would have been closer, but at that time, the word was it was a nightmare to take the CPNE there and that most people failed. Everyone in Ohio was very nice at that time. BUt I am so glad to hear that things have changed at Grady. Good for them!!!
Specializes in med/surg,peds,hemodialysis,LT care,MDofc.
:smilecoffeecup:Good morning Ya'll, (hi Pauliegirl!!) today is Legislative Day for me!!!:typing
I thought it was too late because I had the CPNE right when EC asked us to write, but I spoke with someone from the EC GAnurse dept on Friday and was told that HB 475 hasn't been voted on yet- so today I'll again write & call my Representatives and Senator, Gov Perdue, SOS, Glen Richardson, Lee Hawkins, members of the House Health and Human Services Comm (thankU disneyfan), and a cc to GAnurse at excelsior. One point I plan to make is: how much worse would the nursing shortage be if we all took a LOA from our nursing jobs to advance our degree- to better ourselves and the care we give to the public? Some of us (like me!) don't have the time and physical endurance to attend trad nursing school AND work full-time, take care of home & family, support my son in Iraq, have surgery twice, etc etc for 2-3 years... and that much of the time spent in trad school is wasted time spent in grooming and travel (get up, get presentable with makeup hair, etc-- that takes me an hour, sorry I'm naturally homely --then, drive to the school or wherever clinicals are.) By the time I've done all that, I could be halfway done with an assignment! LOL, with all the nurses in school just on my unit, there would be a major staff deficit if we all took an educational LOA.
If it were not for EC, my options would be: (1) no school, remain an LPN or (2) Take an educational LOA. That's it.
Thank you for your encouraging words and your support...!! Our message has always been ...it is not where you learned your education it is what you have learned...!! That will never change...Keep us posted as to how your doing!
I will keep you and all GA students in my thoughts!!
any possibility that someone from your hospital (your cno and other nursing colleagues) could send in letters to the editor countering rep. cooper's negative view of ec graduates?
rep. cooper has obviously been busy casting her negative and false information. the link below is to the web site for the beacon out of roswell and it looks like it appeared sunday, 3/1. here's the link and the article is repeated below for those not able to immediately access it online.
everyone, since we'll all be patients eventually, needs to pay attention to the most lobbied issue before the georgia legislature. sb 49 eliminates the georgia board of nurses' (gbon) authority to maintain georgia's standards for registered nurses (rns). excelsior college, a non-traditional new york program and the only nursing program in the united states with no supervised clinical training, is pushing this bill.
in recent years, non-traditional (online) nursing schools have become increasingly popular. other online programs include clinical training that meets the standards established by gbon. excelsior college has repeatedly refused the gbon's requests that they include clinical training. the school relies solely on online, self-study modules and a two-day assessment of a student's clinical skills. obstetrics and mental illness assessments are not included.
the school claims their students need no clinical training because the students have experience as emergency medical technicians, respiratory technicians, licensed practical nurses, military corpsman or other in "clinically oriented health care fields."
while i have great respect for the men and women working in each of the areas above, they each have competency in a very specific healthcare area. none cover the breadth or depth of skills that are required for registered nursing. for example, respiratory technicians are adept at caring for patients with breathing problems, but are totally unprepared for the responsibility of caring for an entire surgical unit with post-op patients of every description. for this reason, gbon requires several months of clinical training for every nursing student to ensure they receive clinical training in all patient settings in which rns practice.
sadly, the georgia nurses association (gna), which only represents about 3 percent of the state's rns, is supporting sb 49. the gna administers the two-day clinical test for excelsior students from all over the country. this has become a major funding source for the association, since students pay $1,900 to take the test and many fail the first time.
supporters of sb 49 say georgia's nursing shortage is reason to rush passage of this bill. with 110,000 rns in georgia, perhaps the question should be, "why are rns choosing not to work?"
according to one national study, one in five rns quit within their first year. hospital patients are sicker now than they have ever been, causing many novice rns to report feeling overwhelmed managing multiple patients and making critical decisions without sufficient support. flooding the system with less experienced graduates will only make matters worse.
one excelsior graduate was such an imposition to his supervisors they requested he, "not return to the unit because he places excessive demands on staff time due to his lack of fundamental knowledge of the nursing process." two major health systems in north carolina do not hire new excelsior graduates for this reason and for concerns for patient safety.
for similar reasons other states are questioning the lack of clinical training in excelsior college's nursing program. for example, one graduate attempted to catheterize a man who could not urinate. being untrained in the technique, he inflated the catheter balloon in the man's urethra instead of his bladder. to make matters worse, he then pulled out the catheter, balloon inflated, causing the man to experience excruciating pain and excessive bleeding. another graduate could not place an iv in the patients' vein so he just pushed the fluids into the patients' surrounding skin. examples such as these have led many states to consider or establish additional licensing requirements for excelsior graduates. some states evaluate excelsior graduates on an individual basis, while others will only license excelsior graduates who have worked as rns in other states.
try to imagine yourself as a hospitalized patient; if you believe it is important for a nursing student to have supervised clinical practice in their nursing education programs before they become rns, please take the time to call or email the governor, the lieutenant governor, speaker glenn richardson, and all the members of the health and human services committee. log onto georgia.gov for all of the contact information.
there is a place for non-traditional programs in educating nurses, but before we wholeheartedly adopt a radically different approach, we need to carefully study the issue. i do not believe that even the author of sb 49, who is a dentist, would want a dental assistant to take online courses, a two day test, and receive a license to be a dentist.
According to one national study, one in five RNs quit within their first year. Hospital patients are sicker now than they have ever been, causing many novice RNs to report feeling overwhelmed managing multiple patients and making critical decisions without sufficient support. Flooding the system with less experienced graduates will only make matters worse.
So this makes it sound like traditional schools are not sufficiently preparing their students ... and we all know that EC grads are NOT less experienced. Interesting.
It's interesting that she thinks "we should carefully study the issue" of distance ed via Excelsior since EC is not something new. What is there to study really? Judging by the caliber of EC grads that I've seen on this board and the types of positions you guys hold that speaks volumes of your health care experience and the theory taught at EC. I think the traditional models could stand to learn a thing or two from EC and its grads. I think she's just grasping at straws...............really. As this saga continues, more and more people's interest will be piqued then everyone will see that EC is not something that should be done away with.
As a respiratory therapist not tech I take great offense to what she said. After seeing many nursing students in clinical I know for a fact that they get hardly no hands on training. I put in iv's and foleys. I take care of patients with more than just breating problems. My degree is in cardiovascular care. I have learned to asses patients just not from a respiratory standpoint but asses all systems because all body systems are interrelated. It is amazing she has all of insight but no research showing that excelsior graduates are inferior to traditional graduates. Medicine is all about evidenced based pratice and she has none! She fails to point out that all new graduates go through an intensive new grad orientation that consists of classes and hands on training. I have plenty of friends who have completed excelsior programs and two og them are RN at a level one trauma center and they both work in critical care areas! Both were given consideration for these areas because of their prior medical experience!
Funny she has time to write in to her local neighborhood paper, but she has yet to answer a single e-mail from a tax-paying Georgia RN wanting to discuss this issue. After seeing how she's handled this, I don't think I could ever trust her to address ANY Georgia issue. She has taken advantage of the ignorance of her colleagues and constituents. Most people know nothing about this issue, or even heard of EC, so why should she bother doing any homework in an attempt to gather the facts and make an informed decision, when her agenda is to get her fellow legislators to vote in her favor? Just tell them what YOU want them to hear. You're a nurse, Cooper. They'll believe anything you tell them. Get them to drink your Kool-Aid.
Also Cooper, who the heck are you quoting in your opinion piece? If I place a statement in quotes, then I feel obligated to tell the reader who said it. Otherwise, I could make up something totally untrue about someone, then place the statement in quotes as if someone else said it and to attempt lend it some credibility. HEY, WHAT THE??!?!?!?!?!! Wait a minute! "Rep Sharon Cooper has behaved unethically by using dishonesty and inflammatory fear tactics in hopes of making Excelsior graduates ineligible for licensure in Georgia, and should be investigated by the Ethics Committee." See what I mean? Who said that? Couldn't tell ya....Wasn't me.....Must have been someone very credible though.
EMTs are not allowed in the program, Cooper! It's PARAMEDIC, and I beg to differ on your opinion of the depth of my Paramedic education. If this is what you know about nursing education, then I would bet that you don't know a damn thing about Paramedic education. I personally know many EC graduates; they're all considered to be some of the best! Every single one that I know. How about you, Cooper? Think you could compare? I doubt it. Also, those two major NC healthcare systems: Would that be Duke and UNC? EC grads are there too. They're probably busy today precepting students and new grads.
And as for EC grads' lack of experience: Experience is the sole reason the program exists, and has been extremely effective for 30 years. These EC students already have relevant experience.
And for the horror stories that you found during the official Sharon Cooper in-depth investigation of EC graduates, that's as hilarious as your ability to use truth and science to settle this issue. I have precepted numerous students and graduates of traditional programs (as I'm sure everyone on here has), and I have seen similar problems. One difference though: I stopped them before they inflicted any harm. What happened in your anecdotal cases? Who was responsible for supervising these new grads you speak of? Sounds like there's way more than an EC grad to blame. It wasn't you precepting, was it Cooper? If so, someone should contact the Georgia BON.
Specializes in med/surg,peds,hemodialysis,LT care,MDofc.
"good morning to you as well!
thank you for your encouraging words and your support...!! our message has always been ...it is not where you learned your education it is what you have learned...!! that will never change...keep us posted as to how your doing!
i will keep you and all ga students in my thoughts!!
we are here if you need anything!!"
i've been typing all day...
(a copy of the letter i'm sending today to the health and human services committee, my local representatives and senator, sos, senator lee hawkins, governor perdue, speaker of the house glen richardson...)
{{{should i also send this as a counter to rep cooper's editorial article, adding that i have seen many traditional school graduates/nurses commit these very same and similar errors that she describes?? as if these were exclusively excelsior college nurse errors-- how absurd of her. let's take a poll: who commits the most errors in patient care, trads or ec. how about pushing straight ivp phenergan without any dilution, wow... i've seen that more than once,... and not by an ec grad either!}}}
please support sb 49!!! please defeat hb 475!!!
there is no evidence that excelsior school of nursing graduates are less qualified than graduates of traditional schools of nursing. excelsior’s graduates are equally or more qualified – my fellow graduates have been practicing safely and effectively in georgia for up to 30 years!
the clinical requirements of the excelsior nursing school program are no less stringent than those of georgia schools; in fact, from my experience and perspective, having been assigned to instruct and work with georgia nursing school students frequently throughout my nursing career of 31 years, i have seen first hand that the clinical requirements of the excelsior nursing school are much higher and more difficult to achieve than those the georgia students must meet. when i often precept these rn students, even in the last weeks before they are to graduate, it has been necessary multiple times to stop them in action to remind them to fulfill the simplest fundamentals of washing hands prior to patient contact, and checking the patient's id by comparing the mar (medication administration record) with the patient's id arm band each time prior to giving medications- to prevent medication errors. these actions should be first-nature (not 'second nature') to these students about to complete their degree, as it is to me!
i am a typical successful excelsior college adn student.
an excelsior graduate would not fail to take these steps- the fact that one is a graduate of excelsior stands as proof that one did not fail in those requirements, and hundreds of others.
the cpne, the final clinical trials required for completion of the adn nursing program, was the most difficult educational challenge i have ever experienced in my 31 year career. as an lpn i completed all clinical requirements; have for years witnessed and participated in implementing the requirements for adn students on rotation assignment at my facility, and precepted newly hired adn and bsn staff (if i am actively teaching clinical skills, how then can i lack clinical skills or experience?); and have participated in many educational offerings that were over and above the requirements for my degree, such as acls (advanced cardiac life support), ekg-interpretation courses, and pals (pediatric advanced life support), for example. i have been a resource person sought out by others for instruction and assistance with clinical skills (such as inserting foley catheters, naso-gastric tubes, how to administer an intravenous medication or calculate the correct dosage, as a very few examples) for the 17 years i have worked full-time med/surg at my busy medical center, and been pulled countless times from my unit to work in the er, triage, icu, oncology, nursery, pediatrics, endoscopy, ambulatory surgery, and all the med/surg units. none of these experiences, not all of them together, came close to the stringent level of preparation, with the constant assistance of excelsior faculty available to me -the further detailed learning of and strict adherence to, nursing fundamentals- that i, and other successful excelsior students, implemented for this cpne: the ultimate challenge.
anyone who is successful in achieving the completion of this all-consuming test deserves the ultimate reward: rn licensure in the state of georgia!
excelsior college is helping me to achieve my goal of becoming an rn although my life circumstances make it difficult to attend a traditional school of nursing. georgia has already experienced failures in the
recruitment and retention of the nursing workforce as compared to other states. how much worse would this nursing shortage become if nurses took a loa from our nursing jobs to advance our degree- to better ourselves and improve the level of care we give to the public? some of us (as myself), though very energetic and extremely capable, do not have the advantage of time and physical endurance to attend traditional nursing school and work full-time, take care of home & family, support my son through 4 full deployments to iraq, have major surgery twice, etc., and maintain that level of physical and mental labor consistently and effectively for at least 2-3 years... with consideration that much of the time and energy spent in traditional school is completely wasted: an hour spent in grooming and preparation, and then another hour of travel to the school or clinical setting. in that amount of time i could be studying or halfway done with an assignment! if only the several nurses currently in school on my own unit took an educational loa, there would be a major staffing deficit that would persist for two to three years at the least. our current and worsening nursing shortage can not endure that additional strain.
excelsior college school of nursing is an benefit to all of georgia that we can not afford to lose!
if it were not for excelsior college, my options, and i am certain for numerous other potential students, would be: (1) no school, remain an lpn or (2) take an educational loa. that's it.
that does not meet the needs of the state of georgia.
bringing nurses from other countries into georgia does not fairly or reasonably address the nursing shortage. if there is concern that excelsior college, with its excellent reputation and accreditation does not meet georgia's standards, then what program originated in an outside country, that we may have limited knowledge of or limited factual access to information about, can promise this level of excellence or security? why would we be more willing to access outside resources rather than our own excellent nurses here in the usa?
excelsior college school of nursing is accredited by the national league for nursing accrediting commission (nlnac).(the nlnac is a specialized accrediting agency for nursing recognized by the u.s. secretary of education and the council for higher education accreditation (chea)); the national league for nursing (nln) once again in 2008 re-designated the excelsior college school of nursing, as one of only 13 centers of excellence in nursing education in the nation, a 2008-2011 nln center of excellence in nursing education. it is the only fully distance learning program that has been awarded this distinction. other schools of nursing recognize and often follow the example of the excelsior college program as a leader in nursing education. graduates consistently pass the national licensing exam at a rate equal to or higher than the national average. excelsior college is an option available only to those who currently have significant health care and experience in specific fields; is a viable, workable, and reasonable option that enables georgia to take a national leadership position in approaching the nursing shortage in a positive and innovative way, without creating competition to in-state nursing programs, and at no cost to the state of georgia.
vote against hb 475- a bill that rep. sharon cooper has introduced which effectively eliminates licensure opportunity for excelsior graduates by placing severe restrictions on our program and graduates. this action is once again completely unfounded, lacking any evidence against excelsior school of nursing or graduates. rep. cooper has broadcast incorrect information regarding excelsior college criteria requirements in the past, and maintains her stance even after being informed that her information was, and still is, incorrect.
vote for sb 49- introduced by senator lee hawkins to keep rn licensure available in georgia for excelsior graduates. the bill passed the senate on a 46-2 vote, and is now being considered by the georgia house of representatives as the way to keep the excelsior option open for georgia residents like myself!
Specializes in med/surg,peds,hemodialysis,LT care,MDofc.
ok, i made edits under advisement (to take out some bolding & underlining, make reader-friendly paragraphs)- found more typos and rephrased some stuff in the process too, hope this is better?? (and font not so huge!)
i hate writing letters cuz it takes me 3 days to edit and perfect ...lol, i'll still be changing things a week from now; grr ocd!!...................
please supportsb 49!!! please defeathb 475!!!
[color=#010101]
there is no evidence that excelsior school of nursing graduates are less qualified than graduates of traditional schools of nursing.
excelsior’s graduates are equally or more qualified –
[color=#010101]my fellow graduates have been practicing safely and effectively in georgia for up to 30 years!
[color=#010101]the clinical requirements of the excelsior nursing school program are no less stringent than those of georgia schools; in fact, from my experience and perspective, having been assigned to instruct and work with georgia nursing school students frequently throughout my nursing career of 31 years,
[color=#010101]i have seen first hand that the clinical requirements of the excelsior nursing school are much higher and more difficult to achieve than those the georgia students must meet. when i often precept these rn students, even in the last weeks before they are to graduate, it has been necessary multiple times to stop them in action to remind them to fulfill the simplest fundamentals of washing hands prior to patient contact, and checking the patient's id by comparing the mar (medication administration record) with the patient's id arm band-each timeprior to giving medications- a standard step implemented consistently to preventmedicationerrors. these actions should be first-nature (not 'second nature') to these students about to complete their degree, as it is to me!
[color=#010101]i am a typical successful excelsior college adn student.
an excelsior graduate would not fail to take these steps- the fact that one is a
graduate
of
excelsior
stands as proof
that one did
not
fail in those requirements, and
hundreds of others
.
[color=#010101]the cpne, the final clinical trials required for completion of the adn nursing program, was the most difficult educational challenge i have ever experienced in my 31 year career. as an lpn i completed all clinical requirements; have for nearly two decades witnessed and participated in implementing the requirements for adn students on rotation assignment at my facility, and precepted newly hired adn and bsn staff (if i am
actively
teaching
clinical skills, how then can i
lack
clinical skills or experience?); and have participated in many educational offerings that were over and above the requirements for my degree, such as acls (advanced cardiac life support), ekg-interpretation courses, and pals (pediatric advanced life support), for example.i have been a resource person
sought out by others
for
instruction and assistance with clinical skills
(such as inserting foley catheters, naso-gastric tubes, how to administer an intravenous medication or calculate the correct dosage, as a very few examples)
for the 17 years
i have worked
full-time
med/surg at my busy medical center; and been pulled countless times from my unit to work in the er, triage, icu, oncology, nursery, pediatrics, endoscopy, ambulatory surgery, and all the med/surg units.
[color=#010101]
none
of these experiences, not all of them together, came close to the
stringent level of preparation
,
with the constant assistance of excelsior faculty
available to me
-the further
detailed learning
of and
strict adherence
to,
nursing fundamentals- that i, and other
successful
excelsior students, implemented for this cpne: the ultimate challenge.
[color=#010101]anyone who is successful in achieving the completion of this all-consumingtest deserves the ultimate reward: rn licensure in the state of georgia!
[color=#010101]
excelsior college is helping me to achieve my goal
of becoming an
rn
although my life circumstances make it difficult to attend a traditional school of nursing.
georgia has already experienced failures in the recruitment and retention of the nursing workforce as compared to other states.
how much worse would this nursing shortage become
if nurses took a
loa from our nursing jobs
to advance our degree- to
better
ourselves and
improve
the
level of care we give to the public?
some of us (as myself), though very energetic and extremely capable, do not have the advantage of time and physical endurance to attend traditional nursing school and work full-time, take care of home & family, support my son through 4 full deployments to iraq, have major surgery twice, etc., and maintain that level of physical and mental labor consistently and effectively for at least 2-3 years... with consideration that
much of the time and energy spent in traditional school is completely wasted:
an hour spent in grooming and preparation, and then
another
hour of travel to the school or clinical setting. in that amount of time i could be studying or halfway done with an assignment! if only the several nurses currently in school on my own unit took an educational loa,
there would be a major staffing deficit that would persist for two to three years at the least.
our current and worsening nursing shortage can not endure that additional strain.
[color=#010101]
excelsior college school of nursing is an benefit to all of georgia that we can not afford to lose!
[color=#010101]if it were not for excelsior college, my options, and i am certain for numerous other potential students, would be: (1) no school, remain an lpn or (2) take an educational loa. that's it.
[color=#010101]that does
not
meet the needs of the state of georgia.
[color=#010101]bringing nurses from other countries into georgia does not fairly or reasonably address the nursing shortage.
[color=#010101]if there is concern that excelsior college, with its excellent reputation and accreditation does not meet georgia's standards, then whatprogram originated in an outside country, that we may have limited knowledge of or limited factual access to information about, can assure a comparable level of excellence or security?
[color=#010101]why would we prefer to access outside resources, rather than our own excellent nurses here in the usa?
excelsior college school of nursing is accredited by the
. (the nlnac is a specialized accrediting agency for nursing recognized by the u.s. secretary of education and the council for higher education accreditation (chea)); the national league for nursing (nln)
once again
in 2008 re-designated the excelsior college school of nursing, as one of only 13 centers of excellence in nursing education in the nation, a
. it is the only fully distance learning program that has been awarded this distinction. other schools of nursing recognize and often follow the example of the excelsior college program as a leader in nursing education. graduates consistently pass the national licensing exam
at a rate equal to or higher than the national average
. excelsior college is
an option
available
only
to those who currently have
significant health care experience
in specific fields; and is a
viable
,
workable
, and
reasonable option
that
enables georgia
to take a national
leadership
position in approaching the nursing shortage in a
positive
and innovative way,
without creating competition to in-state nursing programs
, at
no cost to the state of georgia.
[color=#010101]
in conclusion, please consider seriously the preceding information as you:
vote againsthb 475- a bill that rep. sharon cooper has introduced which effectivelyeliminates licensure opportunity for excelsior graduates by placing severe restrictions on our program and graduates.
this action
is once again completely unfounded, lacking any valid evidence against excelsior school of nursing or graduates.
rep. cooper has broadcast
incorrect and/or incomplete information
regarding excelsior college criteria requirements, and actions or errors made by excelsior graduates in the past (errors which are not exclusive to excelsior nurses, and which actually raise questions reflecting more negatively regarding these nurse's preceptors or facility orientation/training practices and procedures for newly-hired nurses, than toward the errant nurses themselves.)
rep. cooper maintains her stance even
after being informed
that
her information
was, and
still is
,
incorrect
.
vote forsb 49- introduced by senator lee hawkins to keep rn licensure available in georgia for excelsior graduates.
the bill
passed the senate
on a
46-2 vote
, and is now being considered by the georgia house of representatives as the way to
. 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.
I'm 31 in NurseYears
30 Posts
wOw rjlchef, that's absurd that they made you wait so long!
BTW, thank you so much for the advice you gave me awhile back, not to worry about Grady; I did pass my CPNE there last weekend, and you were right-- They are AwEsOme at Grady!!! The CA's, CE's and Staff were so nice, friendly, helpful! :0)
♥terri