Got a job, but need clarification/input. Help please.

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hi everyone!

i feel extremely blessed right now! i graduated on 6/23 and got a call for an interview on 6/26. the interview was with the hr nurse recruiter and it went extremely well. two hours after i left i received a call from a nurse manager to set up another interview. about two days later i found out that the manager wanted to hire me.

but the hr recruiter said that i would not be able to start working there as a new grad because i attended school in a different state. which sucks because i applied for a license in a state other than where i was offered the job, so i will have to take/pass my boards, wait for a license number, and then transfer the license to the state where i was offered the position. so im looking at about 2 months ,maybe more before i will be able to start, and thats assuming they actually hold the job for me. i just dont know what to do. i was so excited and then when the hr recruiter told me that my spirit just dampened.

has anyone ever heard of this before? i was under the assumption that a new grad was a new grad regardless of what state they went to school in. im trying to contact the bon but have been unsuccessful. i just want to get more information before i contact the recruiter regarding it. she kind of seemed like she didnt know a lot about the whole licensing process so im kind of weary about taking her word as fact as of right now. especially since she told me that i cant even work there with a temporary license after i endorse my initial license (?). thats false according to the bon website, so im thinking that i need to gather some info and speak with her again.

my plan was to sit for my boards (pray that i pass), endorse it into the new state and work under a temporary license until i got my permanent license. the only requirement with a temporary license is that you work under an rn at all times until you get your permanent license. and i didnt see that as a problem since i would be precepting with an rn anyway since orientation is 6 months long.

sorry so long. im just frustrated!

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Could you abandon your current application and do an original application for the state where the job is, in order to cut out some of the back and forth time? I would try to go that route since you can't count on getting another job offer so easily.

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

Probably hospital policy. Most state BONs have their own requirements for nursing schools. It sounds like the hospital only allows unlicensed nurses to start working at the hospital if they graduated from a school approved by the BON in that state.

However, the process you listed for getting your license in that state is not the best way to go. If you're not going to be working in the state where you graduated, you should not apply for a license there, wait to take the NCLEX and then submit an application and wait to get it endorsed.

You can apply for a license in the new state and then go onto the Pearson VUE website and change the BON where you have registered for your boards. There is a $50 fee to change BON's, but then, once you get your ATT, you can sit for the NCLEX and get your license in the state that you will be working. You'll pay a little extra money, but it will be much quicker than taking your test in one state and then applying for endorsement.

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@ Caliotter3

I was actually thinking of doing just that this morning. So I contacted the MI BON (where I received the job offer) and the rep that answered the phone said that would be a bad decision because it would take 6-8 weeks to process my application, which would make the process longer because then I would have to wait even longer before they released me to receive my ATT.

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Probably hospital policy. Most state BONs have their own requirements for nursing schools. It sounds like the hospital only allows unlicensed nurses to start working at the hospital if they graduated from a school approved by the BON in that state.

However, the process you listed for getting your license in that state is not the best way to go. If you're not going to be working in the state where you graduated, you should not apply for a license there, wait to take the NCLEX and then submit an application and wait to get it endorsed.

You can apply for a license in the new state and then go onto the Pearson VUE website and change the BON where you have registered for your boards. There is a $50 fee to change BON's, but then, once you get your ATT, you can sit for the NCLEX and get your license in the state that you will be working. You'll pay a little extra money, but it will be much quicker than taking your test in one state and then applying for endorsement.

Well I graduated from a school in OH, but applied for licensure in TX because I thought I wanted to move there. But the job I was offered is in MI, where I am originally from. --This whole thing is a big mess, I know--. All of my family and friends are in MI and it was really hard being away from everyone I loved for so long. I guess when I applied for the job in MI, I didnt assume they would call me back. I applied to about 50 places before I graduated and the MI hospital was the first and only one to contact me (must be fate).

And I actually just received my ATT (literally) so I cant abandon my TX application now. The woman I spoke to today at the MI BON advised me to just endorse instead because it would take about two months for them to even process my application. Endorsing was her suggestion. She said I should send in the paperwork even before I test because it takes so long to process things. She even said that it takes 4 weeks to process the electronic fingerprints! Crazy!!!

I just scheduled NCLEX for the 24th. Im going to get my fingerprints and send in the paperwork on Monday, then hopefully things will move faster.

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Policy at my hospital is that new grads must have a license in hand before they can even start orientation. For this reason, our new grads wait several months after graduating to even get started, depending on how long the licensure process takes. I know this isn't your exact situation, but perhaps that's why the recruiter is under the impression that you can't work even with the temporary license (ie--she may not understand that it is different from being unlicensed). I would get some clarification from her about what the hospital's policy actually is and then see what can be done. If the policy is similar to what Ashley described above, you may be able to work with the temporary license and the recruiter may just not fully understand the process. If the policy is similar to my hospital, they may expect you to take a month or two to get started. I graduated in December and didn't actually start on my unit until March (due to fingerprinting issues and ATT, etc.). My manager was pretty understanding. Hopefully your potential employer is willing to work with you. Good luck!

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Thanks. I'm going to stay in extra close contact with the recruiter to try and ensure that my job isn't given to someone else. Most people can't even get an interview, so the fact that I got a job so quickly and on a Stepdown unit at that is a really big deal for me.

But I agree. I don't think the recruiter understands. When I mentioned the temporary license, I believe she said something along the lines of 'that won't work because they have to be able to look me up on the MI BON website'. But temporary licenses appear on the website just as the permanent licenses do. So I'm just going to explain that to her and keep them updated on where I'm at in the licensing process.

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