NCLEX in Oklahoma to Texas Question

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Hi Everyone, I finally enrolled in an LPN program in Oklahoma and will be done in 11 months, then will continue on to be an RN.

I chose this route for lack of jobs in my current field and had the opportunity to go to school full time during the day and complete an LPN program so I can find work then off to complete an RN and then eventually a CRNA.

What i'm wondering is the following and hope you can help as I will ask the school too but looking for advice from professionals now in the fields.

1. When I graduate from my current school as an LPN and take the NCLEX in Oklahoma as the school preps me for it, will it be good to work in Texas? Is the NCLEX for all over?

2. As an LPN I see jobs are starting in Dallas around 40k - 50k anyone can confirm this? RN will be? I heard you can make 80k and up as an RN. Can you work 7 days on and 7 days off? How about work 3/4 days and be off for some? What are typical schedules like?

3. Are online schools good to bridge the LPN to RN? In Oklahoma I can go to Oklahoma State to do it and get an Associates from them in a year but wondering about these online courses?

4. Is overtime readily available in this field?

5. I know Texas has a great need for nurses.....which other state do you think to secure a good future and that is not so out of control with the cost of living? I was thinking Florida, Miami, since condo's are down costwise....or is nursing just easy to obtain work in any state?

Thanks

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Will move this to a more appropriate forum

NCLEX is a national exam however you will need to meet the state requirements when endorsing, all info should be on the state website

May find answers to your other questions in the state forum United States Nursing Forums - Nursing for Nurses

Regarding online courses you may want to check out the distant learning forum Distance Learning for Nursing - Nursing for Nurses

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

once you have your license in any state you can get another license in another state by making application to the second state's board of nursing. You do not have to re-test. Some states are "compact" which means you can work in one and use the license in the other, but your license has to be in the state where you live.

As for online schools, check out the local colleges and universities. Many have plans that are cheaper than Excelsior or Phoenix.

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Specializes in Junior Year of BSN.

OK is not a compact state but Texas is a compact state. You may want to take your NCLEX in Texas so that you can get a TX Compact License if you want to move to TX once you graduate.

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Specializes in Legal, Ortho, Rehab.

5. I know Texas has a great need for nurses.....which other state do you think to secure a good future and that is not so out of control with the cost of living? I was thinking Florida, Miami, since condo's are down costwise....or is nursing just easy to obtain work in any state?

Thanks

Miami, FL is not cheap. Chances are if you see low condo prices, they are in the shady parts of town. Many of my co-workers left Miami for TX.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
OK is not a compact state but Texas is a compact state. You may want to take your NCLEX in Texas so that you can get a TX Compact License if you want to move to TX once you graduate.

Remember to qualify for compact state you need a permanent residency in the state you are applying to and need to maintain that residence. As mentioned by someone else think of it like the driving license, OK to drive around on state license but as soon as you move residency to another state you have to get a license for the new state

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Miami, FL is not cheap. Chances are if you see low condo prices, they are in the shady parts of town. Many of my co-workers left Miami for TX.

Miami Florida right now is feeling the economy downside and almost all of the condos out there on Collins Ave are for 300k and under which you can get a great deal....alot are above but if you look on Realtor.Com you can do a search for 300k 2bedroom 2bath and you will get a whole bunch. Please do your research before you just assume something about the whole city.

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once you have your license in any state you can get another license in another state by making application to the second state's board of nursing. You do not have to re-test. Some states are "compact" which means you can work in one and use the license in the other, but your license has to be in the state where you live.

As for online schools, check out the local colleges and universities. Many have plans that are cheaper than Excelsior or Phoenix.

Thank you I will take my test in Texas which Dallas is only 2 hours away from me since I want to live there after this first school. I appreciate your advice.

And is Excelsior and Phoenix reputable for getting your RN Associates? What if I want to get a BSN afterwards? and then my CRNA? are all of these courses transferable?

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Remember to qualify for compact state you need a permanent residency in the state you are applying to and need to maintain that residence. As mentioned by someone else think of it like the driving license, OK to drive around on state license but as soon as you move residency to another state you have to get a license for the new state

What if I take the test in Texas before I have an apt after passing the class in OK? Will they not let me because I don't have a residence there? Will a PO Box help or the use of a friends address? I'm in a part of OK that nothing is around so working here won't be a consideration, will have to be Texas. I'm thinking I may have a hard time? If I pass in OK can I write to the nursing board to change it once I move? How does a person move from one state to another? Retesting? UGH I hope not.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

No you do not have to re test once you have passed NCLEX. When moving from one state to another all you have to do is meet requirements for endorsing. Compact license only works if your state participates in it and you maintain residency in the state but work in another state on the list i.e you have permanent residence in AZ and work in NM as long as you maintain permanent residency in AZ you can work in NM with your AZ license however if you sell or give up rented accommodation in AZ and move to NM and get new accommodation you have to apply to NM BON and endorse your AZ license giving you 2 licenses one in AZ and one in NM.

So if you apply to Texas state BON and pass NCLEX and then move to OK then you need to apply to OK BON for endorsement and meet requirements. If you plan on living in Texas and trained in OK then you apply for initial license with TX BON meet requirements, doesn't matter if you live in another state, you don't need an address in TX to meet requirements

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
2. As an LPN I see jobs are starting in Dallas around 40k - 50k anyone can confirm this? RN will be? I heard you can make 80k and up as an RN. Can you work 7 days on and 7 days off? How about work 3/4 days and be off for some? What are typical schedules like?
The average pay for a new LVN in the Dallas area is between $18 and $21 hourly. The average pay for a new grad RN in the major hospital systems in the Dallas area is between $22 and $25 hourly base rate. A brand new RN in Dallas would have to bust his/her butt and/or work two or more jobs to achieve $80,000 worth of earnings per year.

5. I know Texas has a great need for nurses.....which other state do you think to secure a good future and that is not so out of control with the cost of living? I was thinking Florida, Miami, since condo's are down costwise....or is nursing just easy to obtain work in any state?
Texas has a great need for nurses, but it is not in the major cities such as Dallas, Austin, Houston, or San Antonio. These job markets are already saturated with too many nurses looking for work at once. The demand for nurses is in West Texas and the border towns of South Texas. Basically, the demand is in the places where people generally do not want to live.

Nursing jobs for new grad RNs in the Dallas metro area are growing more difficult to find due to several issues.

First and foremost, an abundance of nurses have been relocating to the Dallas area from out of state, which is flooding the local job market with too many nurses when the demand is declining. Second, plenty of nursing schools exist in and around the Dallas area that churn new graduate nurses into the local employment pipeline every few months, which further saturates the job market around here. Moreover, census is down at many facilities because less people are having elective procedures performed, more people are unemployed and uninsured due to the economy, and people are staying away from healthcare facilities unless it involves a dire emergency. Finally, tons of experienced nurses live in the Dallas area who can hit the ground running without orientation or expensive training.

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No you do not have to re test once you have passed NCLEX. When moving from one state to another all you have to do is meet requirements for endorsing. Compact license only works if your state participates in it and you maintain residency in the state but work in another state on the list i.e you have permanent residence in AZ and work in NM as long as you maintain permanent residency in AZ you can work in NM with your AZ license however if you sell or give up rented accommodation in AZ and move to NM and get new accommodation you have to apply to NM BON and endorse your AZ license giving you 2 licenses one in AZ and one in NM.

So if you apply to Texas state BON and pass NCLEX and then move to OK then you need to apply to OK BON for endorsement and meet requirements. If you plan on living in Texas and trained in OK then you apply for initial license with TX BON meet requirements, doesn't matter if you live in another state, you don't need an address in TX to meet requirements

Thank you very much for this information. Much more relieved now!

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