NEW RN needs help and advice

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hi to all nurses!!!

i just passed the very recent licensure exam in my country (philippines)and am very interested in working in the US. A lot of my friends are in the process of applying for the california nclex but i have read in a lot of blogs and forums here in this site that california is not a very good choice for initial licensure exam because of the retrogression and slow licensure process. IS this true? coz I am torn between applying for california or vermont because i hear that in vermont it has a faster processing time and better reciprocity laws than in california. California would naturally be a more convenient decision for me since i have some relatives and friends working there, so they can help me out while i'm starting. Is it okay to apply in vermont and take the exam say , in a nearby state somewhere in the west coast? or is one really forced to sit for the exam in vermont/east coast?? please help, if anyone who has a good knowledge base on this matter, pls reply. am really so confused right now, after all it would be much more expensive for me to take the exam in vermont in the future when the time comes...

would really appreciate a factual response on this one...

thank you very much all!!!!!!

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

The NCLEX is the NCLEX, no matter which PearsonVUE center you take it at.

You apply to the State BON where you want to be licensed, then after processing, you are issued an Authority To Test (ATT). Once you have your ATT, you can test at ANY testing center. If you pass, the State where you applied will issue the license.

Simple as that.

Where you practice then is determined as to where you are licensed and which states offer reciprocity.

There are also several states which have joined the "Nursing Compact". In these States (12-13 of them, I believe), a license for any of them is a license for all of them.

Hope this helps.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Regarding the compact states, here is a link to a website with that information. Unfortunately, neither California or Vermont are part of the compact. There are however currently 19 states in the compact and two more states are in the process of joining.

http://www.nh.gov/nursing/licensure/NurseLicensureCompact.htm

If you are licensed in one of these states, you are eligible to practice in all of them---a nice bonus!

Good luck to you.

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this really clears up a lot of things for me

thanks also for the added info re the compact states

thanks clee1 , bookwormRN!!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
this really clears up a lot of things for me

thanks also for the added info re the compact states

thanks clee1 , bookwormRN!!

you are in the Philippines, Compact does not apply to you. We have answered your question appropriately in the International forum

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