esayaray

Response from VCU for anyone who's interested: 1 credit didactic = 1 hour in the classroom for 15 weeks plus 2 hours of preparation time. 1 credit clinical = 2 hours in clinical setting for 15 weeks plus 2 hours prep time. -So, my calculations gave me 30 hours per didactic credit and 90 hours per clinical credit. Is this correct? 1 hour x 15 weeks = 15 hours/15 weeks x 2 hours prep/didactic hour = 30 hours/15 weeks. 1 didactic credit = 30 hours? And clinicals, 2 hours x 15 weeks = 30 hours/15 weeks x 2 hours prep/clinical hour = 90 hours. 1 clinical credit = 90 hours?

Aha... well, that makes sense. Sucks it has to be that way but I totally understand why they're being cautious in that case. And I doubt I'll get CGFNS to impart on any information before I pay them $$$ to do so . I need the information on a more comparison grounds in order to determine if I should take any additional courses in areas where I may be lacking theoretical knowledge before I start the entire application process and while I'm still in school. I'm eyeballing at least a minimum of 95 theoretical hours in obstetrics/maternal nursing; hope that's enough? I guess I just have to dive right in and take the risk of it either working out or not working out and see where I should go from there. Not so easy for someone who likes to be very very prepared though. :/

Which party determines the amount of theoretical hours, which should be completed in all BSN-RN programs? The BoN? Why would they not share that information? Don't the amount of hours awarded for each credit hour differ from university to university? Side track and a little background about my situation: I'm a foreign general nursing student and inquired VA BoN about the amount of theoretical hours required and the response I received was that the CGFNS determines the amount of theory hours once they evaluate my credentials. My concern is why can't I be informed of the amount of theoretical hours before my credentials are evaluated if the BoN does ultimately decide if I have enough theoretical hours or not? Why is this information not readily available before initiation of your application process?

I have looked at school websites and sample curriculums but I cannot find any information on how their credit hours are evaluated. I sent VCU an e-mail but posted here as well in the hopes that I might receive a faster response. Va BON said they are not authorized to comment on how many theoretical hours are required.

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Hi,Can someone please help me figure out how many theoretical hours are required in all 6 areas (Med/Surg, Obstetrics & Pediatrics, Mental Health and Geriatrics) from a traditional BSN-RN program in Virginia (VCU)? How many credit hours do you need to complete in each area in order to be eligible to take the NCLEX-RN in the State of Virginia? And how many hours does 1 credit hour typically yield? Thank you! /Sara

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Foreign nurses applying to Virginia... please drop me a private message. I need help!

Hi! Were you exempted from taking the English exam due to theoretical hours received in English? Do you know why you were exempted from taking the English language exam? Thank you for your help! I'm in the process of applying to Virginia bon via Cgfns.

Thank you! I'm not receiving alerts on responses I receive on my threads but thank you so much for responding! Thankfully I was able to get the answers to most of these questions on the original thread :)

Thank you so much silverdragon! When I contacted Virginia's BON, I was informed they require a total of 500 clinical hours in all areas and a minimum of 8 hours in obs/maternity and pediatrics... but ofc I would have to complete many more hours than the bare minimum. The BON told me they are not authorized to comment on the amount of theoretical hours they require in certain areas since it's CGFNS that decides but I do know all theoretical hours have to concur with Virginia's board of higher education but I can't seem to find any information on theoretical hours in these areas, I've tried looking for program curriculums but I don't know if that helped either. Could you please point me in the right direction... any suggestions on where I can find state specific requirements for theoretical hours?

Hi, I'm working on my RN licensure applications via CGFNS (filling out sample versions) of CES professional report since I'm applying to Virginia. My mind is going insane trying to figure out if I have sufficient enough theoretical hours in obstetrics/maternity care nursing + pediatric nursing. What's the general rule of thumb regarding the amount of theoretical hours the CGFNS accepts in these areas?? Pleaseee help, anyone! I need to know so that all of this isn't in vain just because I lack two or three theoretical hours...

Bump Please!

Hi :) I'm currently in the process of studying for the NCLEX-RN examination using Saunders, Exam Cram, Kaplan, all the audio books I can find about the NCLEX and topics in the NCLEX and I'm listening to various different podcasts. Literally drowning in material. It's going okay so far, but there is a lot of studying I need to do. I have nearly two years ahead of me until I graduate and I'm not wasting any time with studying for the NCLEX exam. I want to be very prepared once I get to the stage where I take the actual exam. I'm a second year general nursing student here in Finland and the language of instruction and reading material for this program is English. I am planning to apply for licensure in the state of Virginia. I contacted the BON and got information about the clinical hour requirements; they require 500 total hours in med/surg, mental, obs/ped and geriatrics with a minimum of 8 hours in each clinical area but it is highly recommended to do more clincial hours. I discussed doing obs/ped clinical houes with my degree supervisor (since we don't have clinicals in these areas here in Finland; we do however have theory in these areas). My degree supervisor said I can do my clinical hours in obs/ped as part of my medical nursing 2 clinical period at a maternity ward and day care center or a pediatric ward and the school can arrange special certificates to show CGFNS that I have met the clinical hour requirements. I also know that the state of Virginia requires that all nursing students should be instructed about child abuse and intervention methods and in our degree curriculum in Finland we have a course in child/adolescent development and this most likely includes how to deal with children who have been abused and how to intervene in these situations; should I also obtain a certificate for this so that the CGFNS is aware that I have had theoretical knowledge in this area? Now my biggest question is, do I need to take the CGFNS exam before I am approved to take the NCLEX? I read on the Virginia BONs website that they only require a CES report and TOEFL exam if the language of instruction was conducted in another language than English. The language of instruction for my degree is English and additionally, I graduated from High School in the United States and I am a US citizen, so I would hope I am exempt from the English proficiency exam.. On VA BONs website the requirements for foreign nurses state the following: A. With the exception of applicants from Canada who are eligible to be licensed by endorsement, applicants whose basic nursing education was received in another country shall be scheduled to take the licensing examination provided they meet the statutory qualifications for licensure. Verification of qualification shall be based on documents submitted as required in subsection B or C of this section. B. Such applicants for registered nurse licensure shall: 1. Submit evidence from the CGFNS that the secondary education and nursing education are comparable to those required for registered nurses in the Commonwealth; 2. Submit evidence of passage of an English language proficiency examination approved by the CGFNS, unless the applicant meets the CGFNS criteria for an exemption from the requirement; and 3. Submit the required application and fee for licensure by examination. (This is the part that's throwing me off) -- What exam are they referring to here? The CGFNS exam, a state specific exam or the NCLEX? I'm guessing it's most likely not the NCLEX because I know I have to go through Pearson Vue for that. Any idea what they're referring to here? Also, this is another portion on the Virginia BONs information for foreign nurses: E. In addition to CGFNS, the board may accept credentials from other recognized agencies that review credentials of foreign-educated nurses if such agencies have been approved by the board. Which additional agencies are approved by the Virginia BON? Is it probably safest to go through CGFNS? Thanks for your time.

Hi everyone! I called Virginia BON and was told the total clinical hours requirement for the state of Virginia is 500 hours and that the board looks for an absolute minimum of 8 hours in all five areas of clinicals (although it is highly recommended to do many more hours). I explained to the administrator we were doing at least 415 total hours of med/surg and she was shocked :) I was told that doing 3 days to a week of pediatric and obstetric clinicals during my second year in nursing school would be sufficient in VA. I will talk to my degree supervisor about including these hours into my transcript and if they can be counted as credits towards my nursing degree.

Yep - that can be arranged. We have a Midwife specialization program in the same school (conducted in Swedish), I'll discuss this with my degree supervisor and see if I can conduct clinicals through that program and get the clinical credits added to my official transcript.

I should clarify that by "work document," I was referring to the clinical hours form that is provided to students by the school to be filled out with a clinical supervisor. This is what we have for all our clinical hours conducted. The school cooperates with a hospital/ward and the supervisors fill in a document of the hours that you have "worked" in that hospital/clinic and give you an evaluation. I didn't mean work as in compensation for clinicals. So, if I manage to get these clinical hours during the school year, it will counted as part of the actual program - correct? I am not planning on completing these clinical hours after graduation.

Hi, Can I add more comments to this thread? I tried attaching 2 picture files of my course overview for the degree program but I don't have access/privilege to do it. I noticed we are going to be taking courses in maternity care, psychological development, diseases/illnesses amongst children and adolescents, etc. Can I get any suggestions on how to get my clinical hours? What kind of document will the CGFNS accept for clinical hours completed at a maternity ward/day care? Do I have to get the documents from my school or can I get the hours confirmed through a work contract from a ward/day care facility I do my clinical hours in? I have read more about the concurrency issues on this forum and it seems around 16 states have implemented specific clinical hour requirements in Pediatrics, OB, etc. Virginia and NYS are amongst those (I think). I still haven't found any information on how many hours these states require in specific fields, it is very very difficult to find the hour requirements. Does anyone know of any website where I can find out the hour requirements for NYS/Virginia? Would it help to look up nursing school curriculum for specific states and see what their clinical hours requirements are for US trained nurses? --Also, I would like to apologize if I came off as rude earlier. I didn't mean to come off that way, I do appreciate all the information I get here and that there are people who take their time to reply and notify us of issues we may not be aware of. It's not going to be an easy journey so I guess a little constructive advice is needed :)

Thank you. I have completed theoretical courses in Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology during my first year. And I guess we are pulling in more hours than average? Because my first clinicals in an elderly care setting equals to nearly 120 hours and my second clinicals in medical nursing equals to nearly 220 hours. I finished these clinicals recently. And the psychiatric/mental health clinicals next year is another 120 hours, if I am correct. Our medical/surgical nursing clinicals are almost 415 hours. And there are more clinicals in the final year which is nearly 340 hours of clinical practice. I will try to talk to my supervisor and see if I can do some clinical hours in pediatric/maternal/infant nursing. It shows for Vermont at least that the total requirement is 80 hours and I can try to see if I can do my clinicals at a maternity ward or day care to substitute for those hours. These are just the clinical hours, theoretical hours are much more. I'll have to look into it a bit more state specific.... but it's proving to be very difficult to find information ! --I should clarify that my degree program is towards attaining a Bachelor's Degree, equivalent to 3.5 years of study and gives you licensure to practice as a registered nurse in Finland. And it is a General Nursing degree.

I have read in this forum that Finnish nurses who have completed the same program as I have have taken maybe max. one or two theoretical courses as required by the state they were applying to. Nowhere have I read that clinical hours have to be enough or that the credentials are evaluated based on hours of clinical practice. There have been no problems with the amount of clinical hours completed. The CGFNS evaluates the credits I have earned and I doubt this will be an issue since we do several and I mean several hours of clinical practice as nursing students in Finland. --And if there are, I have yet to read about it. I don't understand why my actual courses are being brought up and being questioned here since it is not this forum that determines whether or not I have enough "hours" or credentials, that part is up to the CGFNS to decide.. Anyway, thank you for the new bits of information I got. It's a headache to start thinking about all the paperwork ahead but I'm hopeful things will go well after initial licensure in whichever State I decide to settle in.

My degree program includes all the areas you have listed above. I just finished my first elderly and adult medical clinicals this year and will be starting mental health clinicals Spring 2014. I am taking theory in surgical nursing, surgical diseases and treatment, gynaecology and mental health next year as well. I will also be doing surgical and second level medical clinicals later on. We will also have theory in pediatrics.

Thank you. Can you verify that after CGFNS evaluates my credentials through NYS and they determine that I have certain requirements to fulfill (extra courses), does this mean that after I fulfill these course requirements I should re-apply for a credential evaluation through CGFNS with the full application fee? Will I have to pay the full application fee twice?

Ok, thank you. PA seems to be such a hassle. Looks like you have to go through the CGFNS exam, NCLEX AND a State licensing exam...more money, more time. It does not seem to be the smoothest transition route I'm looking for. NYS requirements seemed relatively smoother since CGFNS has an application process specific to NYS. I have to weigh my options and read more about this. --Is there a website which gives you short summaries of most or all State BON and what their requirements are?

My family lives in NYC but I am still undecided on which state I plan on settling in when I move back. My plan is to go to graduate school after licensure and a year's work experience but I'm still trying to figure out which will be the smoothest transition with manageable graduate degree tuition fees. I've been looking into Virginia and Pennsylvania but still need a lot more information on what the states' requirements are for foreign nurses.

My family lives in NYC but I am still undecided on which state I plan on settling in when I move back. My plan is to go to graduate school after licensure and a year's work experience but I'm still trying to figure out which will be the smoothest transition with manageable graduate degree tuition fees. I've been looking into Virginia and Pennsylvania but still need a lot more information on what the states' requirements are for foreign nurses. --Pennsylvania BON website has no information for foreign nurses. The only way to get more information on state requirements is to call them. But I'm not licensed in Finland yet, I am still a nursing student. I'm doing research and preparing for what my next steps after graduating should be since it will keep me more informed when the time actually comes to start applying.