Licensing Dilemma

[ilovenursing2009]

hello everyone!

i have a dilemma that i hope you can help me with. i will be a new grad this may. i will get my degree from a hawaii school and i will be moving to california in june.

i called the california board of nursing (cbn) and they told me that they could not guarantee my degree and credits to be accepted by them to license me in california. i asked to know what credits i would need in order to be approved by the california board and they told me that they would have to see my transcripts. that would mean paying the $156.00 application fee.

i am very worried that all my hard work will be worthless because when i get to california they are going to tell me i need to take more classes. i will be crushed.

i thought that i could take my nclex in hawaii and become a rn here in hawaii and then transfer, but according to the cbn website i will still need to give them my transcripts. i feel like there is so much "red tape" to get through; it almost seems impossible to get a license.

does anyone have any experience with transferring licenses to california either as a nurse already licensed or a new grad from another state?

i would love to hear your opinions about how i should go about getting my california license. thanks!!!

[ilovenursing2009]

I have been licensed in 3 states and never had an issue with obtaining licensure. The NCLEX is a national exam that ALL states are supposed to recognize. I have only had to submit my current licensure information with a completed application and the fees. They also require a licensure verification from your origional licensure state. Are they aware you will be taking the NCLEX before transferring, not just transferring to the state then taking the NCLEX?

I wont be taking the NCLEX before I move. I am moving a couple weeks after I graduate (no choice). I have heard that I can take the NCLEX in California to be a Hawaii nurse. But that would do me no good since they still want my transcripts. I think I am just going to need to pray that California will be ok with my credits and let me get my license in their state. California sure has strict rules. Hawaii is so easy, they dont even ask for fingerprints!

[ImAgypsy]

Good Morning "I Love Nursing 2009",

re: "...I thought that I could take my NCLEX in Hawaii and become a RN here in Hawaii and then transfer, but according to the CBN website I will still need to give them my transcripts. I feel like there is so much "red tape" to get through; it almost seems impossible to get a license..."

]Unfortunately, Nursing Licenses, RN, ARNP, LPN, & LVN, although issued by each individual state; are not recognized inter-state, as driver's licenses are. So yes, there is alot of "red tape to get through", and money to pay, to get a license in another state after you get your original license. I have been licensed in about a dozen states, some are much slower than others to process the paperwork, and Cali is one of these. Some ask more questions than others on the endorsement application; but almost all that I recall, asked for official transcripts from your nursing school. So, this is the norm in acquiring a license from another state. I got my Cali license with no problems, by endorsement, after sending all they required with the appropriate fees 25 years after I got my original license in CT.

]

]Way back when, some states had less course and hour requirements and others were higher; such as California, so it was more difficult if for example, a nurse from Mississippi, wanted a license in Cali by endorsement to get one; because the Mississippi schools of nursing did not include all that was required in the Cali schools to obtain original licensure.

]

]Over the years, the states and schools of nursing have all raised the bar so that there is not such vast differences in the courses/programs now being offered.

]

]I would suggest contacting the Cali BON and asking them exactly what are their course, clinical, theory, hours requirements before you take your NCLEX; compare those to what your school in HI has required, and if necessary, take whatever courses you are lacking that are required in Cali (if any) BEFORE you sit for the NCLEX.

]

]As long as you pass the NCLEX, and have all the required course and hours that Cali requires, you will then avoid having to do this AFTER you move to Cali to fulfill your career dreams. Good Luck to you.

[boxerretreat]

OK, that helped to realize you were not taking the NCLEX prior. They verify your ability to test using your transcripts. I guess each state has their way of doing things, which can make it difficult.

NY and PA did not require fingerprinting, however NC does. Each one had a different application process too.