nursing graduate cant work

[dasani7]

i graduated from non accredited nursing program. whenever they get accred can i go bak and take boards

[nicenrse]

Im not sure how that works, but why did you go to a non-accredited school? You should call your local board of nursing and ask to be sure!

[mengil]

what school was this?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Are you in the U.S.? You should still be able to take boards, even if you have graduated from a program that was non-accredited.

Many people fail to realize that there is not one state board of nursing in the U.S. that requires accreditation for nursing programs. Many people get accreditation confused with approval and tend to use these terms interchangeably.

In order for graduates of any school of nursing to be eligible to take NCLEX and become an RN or LPN/LVN in the U.S., they need to have completed a nursing program that is approved to operate by the state's board of nursing. Accreditation is an extra, voluntary measure taken by nursing schools to affirm that their programs are meeting specific standards of quality that go above and beyond. There are many graduates of unaccredited programs who are working as nurses today because they attended nursing schools that were merely approved to operate by the board of nursing.

The NLNAC (National League for Nursing) accredits LPN, ADN, BSN, and graduate nursing programs. The CCNE (Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education) accredits only baccalaureate and graduate level nursing programs.

[elkpark]

I agree with TheCommuter -- the only way you wouldn't be eligible for boards would be if you graduated from a program that wasn't approved by your state BON, and that's a whole lot more serious than a program not being accredited. I have heard that CA has had some problems with unapproved programs operating in the state, which is basically fraud, since graduates are not eligible for licensure. (To further confuse things, the CA BRN does use the term "accreditation" when it's talking about state approval, at least sometimes.) OP, is this maybe the situation you're in??

If we're somehow misunderstanding the question and this is about NLNAC (or CCNE) accreditation, the general answer is that accreditation is not retroactive (beyond the accreditation process). Since the accreditation process takes a few years, students who are attending and graduate during the time that the school is being evaluated by the NLNAC, will be considered graduates of an accredited program if the school ends up getting accredited. However, students who graduated prior to the school formally applying for accreditation and starting the active process will still be graduates of an unaccredited program, and always will be. There's nothing you can do to change that.

I would imagine the same is true in the case of a program not approved by the state BON -- I doubt the state will let previous graduates write the NCLEX even if the school later gets approval. However, one's best bet is always to speak directly to your state BON about licensure questions -- their answer is the only one that matters. :)