Options for LVN in Orange County/LA area?

[RabbiVole]

I'm sorry if this overlaps a lot with other threads on this board, but there's a lot of information here... hopefully some helpful individuals can guide me to the particular answers I want...

I'm not a nurse, my wife is. She became an LVN in Texas and had worked about 4 months in an ICU step-down floor at the Scott & White Hospital in Temple, a bit north of Austin.

Then I lost my job; and in the ensuing job hunt I got a fantastic opportunity in Irvine, CA. We struggled with the decision for many reasons, one being that we felt that while this move would be fantastic for my career, it probably would be quite a poor choice for her career. In the end we decided to make the move and we're now living in Irvine.

First of all it has taken months, and looks like it will still take much longer, for the CA BoN to review her credentials and approve her for an LVN/LPN/whatever license for CA.

Worst of all, she seems very discouraged about her career options here. She says that it will be essentially impossible for her to get a position at a hospital, or in fact anywhere except a nursing home or a doctor's office... neither of which appeal to her, especially after the excitement and the great experience of her previous job.

She had already thought of going on to get her RN at some point. But apparently, until we live here in CA for a year, she would have to pay out-of-state tuition, which I believe she said would be double what it usually is. Besides that, there would probably be a year-plus waiting list for these programs.

Back in Texas she had talked about doing a "distance learning" RN program through Excelsior. Now she tells me that CA is almost the only state that won't accept Excelsior's program.

We were talking and we wondered whether this was an option:

1. She goes through the Excelsior program as though she were still a TX resident.

2. She takes the NCLEX and gets her RN license for TX. (Would this be allowed if she were not a TX resident? If not, what constitutes being a TX resident exactly? We still have an address in TX...)

Then...

3a. She transfers her RN license from TX to CA... OR

3b. She works for a "travel nurse" agency as an TX RN who is "hired out" to a CA hospital.

Ultimately I just want to figure out some way for her to have a worthwhile career, or to invest in her career, during our time here in CA. (Note that we're thinking it's likely that we'll move back to Austin sometime between 1 and 3 years from now.)

She's generally been talking about working in an LVN "float pool"... and/or just not working at all. The latter option is especially discouraging to me... I know she valued her career and loved being a nurse and think she would be much happier if she could do so... and more importantly I know she'd be a big asset to any hospital she was with. (She was head and shoulders beyond the rest of her LVN class and excelled very quickly even during her 4 short months as an LVN. Seriously she has the intelligence to be a doctor or a lawyer if she had chosen to go that direction; and she has a natural aptitude for nursing and medicine in general...)

Sorry if this was long, but I'm feeling very troubled about the wrench I've thrown in her career and want to be sure we're aware of all the options available to us. In particular I wonder whether the options I outlined above would be viable. Thanks for any help you can provide!

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

She may be able to do the LPN-BSN program through ISU's distance program: http://www1.indstate.edu/degreelink/lpn-bs.html

CA does accept their program. Good luck to you both!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

California will not accept a nursing education from Excelsior under any circumstances. Even if your wife would have completed Excelsior in Texas and obtained her initial RN licensure in Texas, California would have never endorsed her RN license into Texas. Five years ago, the California BRN (Board of Registered Nursing) determined that Excelsior's program does not fulfill the state's 850 clinical hour requirement.

Your wife can, however, complete an online RN program through Indiana State University, which is accepted by the California BRN. Good luck to you!

By the way, I'm a native Californian who moved to Texas in 2005 due to the career opportunities.

[newleaf2012]

lomalinda & mt saint marys colleges have pretty good lvn to bsn programs..

california dept of correction and la county sherrifs are always looking for lvns

good luck

[goodness123]

yea corrections... good luck

[suzanne4, RN]

There are actually about 8 states that do not accept Excelsior training for the RN license; CA is not the only one.

There are also quite a few bridge programs that can be done by her once she actually has the LVN license in hand from here. Or she can start using the Texas license if she wishes to get started ASAP.

[goodness123]

has any1 worked in Prisons? how is it?

[stasis_DC5]

i haven't. however, you can find some very useful info on changingprisonhealthcare.org. i've checked it out. they tell you the details about working there and the duties of each position.