Non NLN schools

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I graduated from an LPN nursing program that was state and nationally accredited; however, they were not regionally accredited. We get half-way through the nursing program only to find out that we will be limited on where we can work at due to my school not having their NLN. I was absolutely furious! I mean, how would a normal person off the streets know what an NLN is anyways? I didn't know anything about the NLNAC until I was half-way through the program. So, as we all get further along in the program, we realized just how important an NLN is.

Certain hospitals won't even look at your application if they know you came from an NON NLN school, especially the Magnet hospitals in town. I have two problems with this:

1. If I take the nursing boards and someone else from another school ( that has their NLN) takes the same boards, then how is that fair? By the state, we are both able to practice as nurses!

2. If the schools know that an NLN is what gets you hired and it's required, then why aren't they held accountable? I think it looks terribly bad on them if many of their nurses are having a hard time acquiring a job due to not having their NLN. I mean, what does that say about their success rate?

BTW, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there are more than 32 million people without healthcare and employers are being picky about what school you came from. At some point, all the ranks will have to be pulled in regardless of what school you came from.

Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated! :redbeathe

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There's no relation between licensure and employment (in the sense that getting a license doesn't guarantee you a job). NLNAC accreditation is voluntary (and complicated and expensive!) and there is no state BON that requires that schools be NLNAC accredited in order for their graduates to be eligible for licensure. Your school, and plenty of other LPN programs (and RN programs) have chosen not to pursue it. Your school offered to prepare you for licensure, and it did that -- you got the education necessary to pass the NCLEX and enter practice, and you were eligible for licensure when you graduated.

A license is required to be able to practice as an LPN or RN, but, beyond that, employers are entitled to be as picky as they like about who they choose to hire as long as they're not violating any Federal or state employment law. Some healthcare employers will only hire graduates of NLNAC (or CCNE) accredited schools, others (most) don't have that requirement -- just as some healthcare employers will only hire BSN-prepared RNs and others (most) don't distinguish among BSN, ADN, or diploma grads. Your school didn't guarantee you employment when you finished school. If employers in your area are primarily interested in graduates of NLNAC-accredited schools, you may have to consider relocating (or, at least, a long commute) to find a job. Or a job that is not your first choice or "dream job." On the other hand, lots of hospitals don't hire LPNs at all, regardless of where they went to school, and LPNs in some areas have v. few employment opportunities beyond long term care. I'm sure a lot of individuals who read your post will be jealous that there are, apparently, some hospitals in your area that hire LPNs.

Also, lots of new graduates, from all schools, are having trouble finding employment these days, because of the lousy economy -- there are fewer nursing positions available, more individuals competing for them, and employers are able to be much pickier than they've been in a long time. That's not likely to change until the economy seriously turns around (and, even then, it may take quite a while).

I don't see anything about any of this that's not "fair" -- it's just how the world works. Best wishes for your job-hunting --

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Thanks for your reply! You're right, there is no relation between licensure and employment and that licensing doesn't guarantee employment. It's just hard to take "all that in" when you're almost though school and you then realize you could've made a different choice. I guess that's where the frustration comes in at.

My school, I found out later, is in the 2nd phase of obtaining their NLN. So, hopefully by next year sometime, they will at least be in the candidacy stage.

The entire situation still stinks to me though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it.

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Specializes in Aspiring to become something great!.

What school is it? I ask b/c the local schools around here(medtech, brown mackie, etc) have been telling people for over a year now they are almost done with accreditation and it hasn't happened yet. I will tell you in Indy, Clarian and such will not hire or even look at the application of a person who graduated from a Non-NLN. I understand they take the same test, but they are magnet hospitals and are not taking that risk.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation and I would have definitely done some research before putting in time and effort.

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Thanks for your reply! You're right, there is no relation between licensure and employment and that licensing doesn't guarantee employment. It's just hard to take "all that in" when you're almost though school and you then realize you could've made a different choice. I guess that's where the frustration comes in at.

My school, I found out later, is in the 2nd phase of obtaining their NLN. So, hopefully by next year sometime, they will at least be in the candidacy stage.

The entire situation still stinks to me though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it.

The NLN posts a list of "candidate" schools on their website (http://www.nlnac.org/forms/candidacy.asp), so you can check and see whether your school is actually in the accreditation process or not. As Ftr_NurseJackie notes, some schools, esp. proprietary tech/voc schools, claim for years that they are "pursuing" accreditation or "in the process of" getting accredited when people ask about accreditation, but, unless they have actually applied for accreditation, that means nothing.

However, just to clarify, even if your school eventually gets accredited by the NLNAC, if it was not accredited, or at least an active candidate for accreditation (listed on the NLNAC website), at the time you graduated, you will still (always) be a graduate of an unaccredited school. The accreditation isn't retroactive beyond the time the school formally started the accreditation process.

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Specializes in Aspiring to become something great!.

Elkpark, you are so correct! I personally know people in that situation right now that cannot find jobs b/c they did not do their research. I know plenty and this is why I immediately bypassed those types of schools. They have to work in nursing homes.

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What school is it? I ask b/c the local schools around here(medtech, brown mackie, etc) have been telling people for over a year now they are almost done with accreditation and it hasn't happened yet. I will tell you in Indy, Clarian and such will not hire or even look at the application of a person who graduated from a Non-NLN. I understand they take the same test, but they are magnet hospitals and are not taking that risk.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation and I would have definitely done some research before putting in time and effort.

I attended Brown Mackie College.

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The NLN posts a list of "candidate" schools on their website (http://www.nlnac.org/forms/candidacy.asp), so you can check and see whether your school is actually in the accreditation process or not. As Ftr_NurseJackie notes, some schools, esp. proprietary tech/voc schools, claim for years that they are "pursuing" accreditation or "in the process of" getting accredited when people ask about accreditation, but, unless they have actually applied for accreditation, that means nothing.

However, just to clarify, even if your school eventually gets accredited by the NLNAC, if it was not accredited, or at least an active candidate for accreditation (listed on the NLNAC website), at the time you graduated, you will still (always) be a graduate of an unaccredited school. The accreditation isn't retroactive beyond the time the school formally started the accreditation process.

That's the first time I'm hearing about this regarding the accreditation not being retroactive. My school said we would be "grandfathered in." I don't think many of my classmates knew either.

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Specializes in Aspiring to become something great!.

Trust me, if they are not accredited by the time you graduate and I'm sure they will not be, it's not retroactive. It's a loss! That makes me so mad they don't inform their students, but why would they? They are for-profit and they are after your money. I'm sorry about that.

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After you graduate get a job somewhere, anywhere! Then do an LPN to RN bridge that IS accredited online. After that you are good to go plus you will have some experience. ISU has an accredited online program.. there are some out there. Just be glad you didn't decide to get the RN from a for profit non accredited school... that would suck.

Goodluck

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Specializes in Aspiring to become something great!.

Yes ISU has an LPN-RN bridge course that's online and you can complete the clinicals where you live, most of the time. But I will tell you, they are tons of classes you will have to take to even start this program. I talked to them and it's a 3-year program. They only accept certain classes from NON-NLN schools. So there's a year of just taking pre-req's to get in or maybe 2yrs depending on your time and if you can handle a full-time load. Check out their site, it shows all the classes needed in order to apply.

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After you graduate get a job somewhere, anywhere! Then do an LPN to RN bridge that IS accredited online. After that you are good to go plus you will have some experience. ISU has an accredited online program.. there are some out there. Just be glad you didn't decide to get the RN from a for profit non accredited school... that would suck.

Goodluck

I didn't want to be "stuck" in my current situation so I decided to enroll in Excelsior a few months ago. I couldn't get motivated, but after I thought about it, why not? So, I just paid for my first exam and plan to take it in 2 weeks.

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