Is NLNAC or CCNE required for VA Hospital RN's

[RLeeRN]

Hello all, this is my first post on Allnurses.com. I am currently seeking employment as an RN with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as a New Graduate, and would like to know if every VA hospital requires all of its RN's to be graduates of NLNAC or CCNE RN programs? I have seen some job announcements on usajobs.com that specify NLNAC or CCNE and other that say that your professional education must be on the list of accepted accredited schools according to the Federal Dept of Education. Does each VA Hospital vary on its education requirement above just having and active unrestricted license in the US. After applying for a position I received a letter stating that I have been found qualified and referred for consideration. I submitted my school where I attended the RN program which is not NLNAC, but rather regionally accredited, and of course by the State BON. If you have any insight on this please send it my way? Thank You.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

I've seen the same thing. I'm thinking it varies as well, but not sure.

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

Application documents at http://www.minneapolis.va.gov/careers/nursing/care_nur_how.asp

From my read of these documents if you hold a valid unrestricted state nursing license you are eligible to apply...

My suggestion would be to work directly with the nursing recruiter for the VA hospitals where you would like to work....

[RLeeRN]

I will be contacting the local nurse recruiter for certain, however she is unavailable until next week. I will post what information I find out. It would seem that this would not be a varying requirement by the Federal Government. I know that there are many non NLNAC/CCNE Community Colleges that are producing safe and capable entry level RN's, however I have already faced some obstacles in furthering my education by not coming from an NLNAC/CCNE accredited RN program. Being a military family we have moved to a new state where the state college here will not even review your transcripts to attend their RN-BSN program because they are NLNAC accredited and my RN program was not. Just another hoop to jump through. Looking forward to seeing what doors open up ahead of me. THank you for the responses.

[elkpark]

I know the VAs in my region require NLNAC or CCNE accreditation, and I didn't realize it wasn't a national policy.

Unfortunately, people who are "shopping" for nursing programs are typically not in a position to understand that attending a non-accredited program can hurt you later on -- and the programs without NLNAC or CCNE accreditation certainly don't make a point of explaining that to potential students ...

[jonesgeo]

I found the attached language in the VA Handbook. I am also in a nursing program that is not accreditated by the NLN or AACN but has been state approved and regionally accreditated.

(1) Waiver of NLNAC or CCNE Accreditation Requirement. The approving official may

authorize a waiver of the requirement for NLNAC or CCNE accreditation of any degree in nursing

provided the college or university has regional accreditation or was State approved at the time of the candidate’s graduation and the composite qualifications of the applicant warrant such consideration.

Waivers at the doctoral level are not required; however, the program must be regionally accredited at the time of the candidate’s graduation.

[RH-CC2011]

I found the attached language in the VA Handbook. I am also in a nursing program that is not accreditated by the NLN or AACN but has been state approved and regionally accreditated.

(1)

Waiver of NLNAC or CCNE Accreditation Requirement. The approving official may

authorize a waiver of the requirement for NLNAC or CCNE accreditation of any degree in nursing

provided the college or university has regional accreditation or was State approved at the time of the candidate's graduation and the composite qualifications of the applicant warrant such consideration.

Waivers at the doctoral level are not required; however, the program must be regionally accredited at the time of the candidate's graduation.

Thanks,

That is good to know! I am also in a program that is only in candidacy status for NLNAC accreditation. I would like to possible work for the VA someday, but when I was reading the requirements, I started to get a really sick feeling.

[marriedtoRN]

Wife is in a situation where she has 15 very successful years of experience as an RN and has an ADN but her school was only regionally accredited and approved by the state board of nursing. I just spoke to a recruiter at the Minneapolis VA and she said it is each VA center's call whether to allow that waiver. The Minneapolis VA will not waive. In my opinion they are missing out on some very great talent.

[jeckrn, BSN, RN]

With todays job market it will be hard to find any VA that will grant a waiver since it is easier (less paperwork) for HR to hire someone who went through a accredited program.

[DinoJack]

I know this thread is old, but hoping RLeeRN could answer they ever worked for the VA or not. I an active duty veteran and military spouse who got my ADN from a non NLNAC college. Since then, I received my BSN through a CCNE college. Wondering if it is worth my time applying to a Dept of VA job. I don't want to call a recruiter to ask because then I feel like my application is flagged. Maybe I should apply and just see if it goes through.

[prvrbs35]

I work at a VA facility as a RN. In my opinion the CCNE degree should supersede the non-NLNAC requirement. The VA where I work only hire BSN prepared RNs. My ADN did not matter even though I graduated from a NLNAC college. I suggest that you go ahead and apply. Being a veteran should give you priority over non-veterans applying for the same position. I hope this is helpful.

[DinoJack]

Thanks for the info. I read the VA handbook and this requirement can be waived but it varies by facility. They might take into consideration that my BSN came from a CCNE college - who knows. It is worth a shot...the worst that can happen is that I won't be able to work there. It makes no sense that the handbook also states that "In cases of foreign graduates, possession of an unrestricted nursing license will fulfill the NLNAC accreditation requirements." That should apply to nurses who graduated from US nursing schools also. Thus far, my nursing school has never impacted my career in a negative way. In fact, Ill be getting my MSN soon. Thanks again...I post a follow up on my situation.