I Need Guidance Getting To The Us!!!

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Hi all! I am a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in British Columbia. I'm trying to get my licence in Washington State, and I know that they are one of the harder states to get licenced in. My issue is that as an RPN, I have had the equivalent amount of education as a General Nurse BUT my major was in Psychiatry. In order to take the NClex-RN in Washington, I have to take the CGFNS which verifies you on your hours in theory/clinical in several areas. Surgical and paediatrics are not part of our rotation in the Psychiatric Nursing Program. I am not willing to work for less than what an RN gets paid, as in BC, we are under the same contract as the General RNs, therefore get paid the same as them. Does anyone have information on how to get around this? Has anyone ever gone through these steps, and even if you are working as a practical nurse, or community health worker vs. an RN, please tell me what you had to do.....THANK YOU! I am extremely stressed about this whole thing!!!:cry:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

You will need to meet the BON requirements before you will be allowed to sit the NCLEX. This happens a lot with UK nurses as training more specialised but CES will let you know if you need to make any hours up. There is no way round it as you will not be able to work in the US without meeting BON licensure including passing NCLEX and also getting a visa screen certificate. Also to add for immigration or TN you need to be RN as there is no shortage of practical nurses

Welcome to the site

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Thanks for your info. I'm not a practical nurse, and I have heard that there are ways around the CGFNS. I have heard of former students of my program being able to get around it and becoming restricted in their RN licences in the US by working only in Psychiatry. Just a question....what is BON? Thanks...

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Thanks for your info. I'm not a practical nurse, and I have heard that there are ways around the CGFNS. I have heard of former students of my program being able to get around it and becoming restricted in their RN licences in the US by working only in Psychiatry. Just a question....what is BON? Thanks...

BON is board of Nursing.

Not sure if there is a way round but most states accept CES from CGFNS with only a few do their own assessment. Things are always changing with the BON's so what may have been done in the past may not be done now.

The only reason I mentioned practical nurse was because you mentioned them

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Nursing education and licensure in the US are set up to produce generalists -- there is no way that you will be able to be eligible to write the NCLEX without having completed the required number of didactic and clinical hours in all the required areas of nursing (inc. OB, peds, and adult med-surg). I don't know who the people are who told you something different or on what they based their information, but there is no such thing in the US as being licensed to practice only as a psychiatric nurse. You are either an RN (educated in all areas), or you're not. There is no way to "get around" this.

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