question about being accredited

[AuntieRN]

Can someone please explain to me what the difference is and what it means between a school being state approved vs being accredited. The way I thought I understood it was if your school was not accredited you could only work in the state you graduated in, couldn't take the NCLEX or transfer your license elsewhere is this correct? Also, does it have to be your school thats accredited or your nursing program? Some of the programs at this school say they are accredited by other groups but the nursing program only says it is fully approved by the state board of nursing. I am trying to find this out for my BIL who is attending a program that does not say it is accredited in FLA. I do not want to see him go through this whole program which is accelerated at that and not be able to work anywheres. Thanks for any info yall can give.

[TazziRN, RN]

If you do not take the NCLEX you cannot work in any state, not as a nurse.

Accreditation is meeting certain standards. Any school can say they teach nursing, but accredited schools adhere to similar cuuriculums and have similar standards as all other accredited schools. Anyone who graduates from nursing school can take the NCLEX, but most jobs require graduated from an accredited school. Being approved by the state board is not the same thing. Your BIL will be wasting his time and money.

[AuntieRN]

Thank you Tazzi, that is what I suspected.

[Montessori Mommy]

The school I attend is a small, hospital-based nursing school that is not accredited. Up until recently, hospital-based schools could not be accredited, and since then my school has chosen not to go through the costly process. We have far more clinical hours in our ADN program than the other local, accredited schools. We can go on to attend many schools for our BS, and ALL local hospitals hire our graduates. Our December graduating class had a 100% NCLEX passing rate.

I contacted NLN before attending the school, and was told that the school has a wonderful program. I was warned that we cannot go to work for the Federal government or into the military with our degree, but since then the military has been recruiting at our school.

The only lesson in all this is that some schools are not accredited because they haven't gone through the process, NOT because they couldn't get accredited!!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I attended an LVN program in Southern California that was not accredited. I am licensed in California and Texas, and now live and work in Texas. The major problem with attending an unaccredited school is problems with credits transferring to other schools if you choose to further your education.

[catlady, BSN, RN]

The school I attend is a small, hospital-based nursing school that is not accredited. Up until recently, hospital-based schools could not be accredited, and since then my school has chosen not to go through the costly process.

I graduated in 1985 from a hospital-based nursing program that was NLN-accredited. Why do you think hospital-based schools could not be accredited?

[Leda]

State approval is a requirement, accreditation is voluntary.

In order for any nursing program to operate legally within a state, it must be approved by the state board of registration in nursing. The board of nursing sets the minimum curriculum standards to protect the public. Without state approval a school is operating illegally within the state, and the graduates are not able to take the NCLEX examination.

For the most part any graduate of a state approved nursing school that has passed the NCLEX can apply to another state for licensure endorsement, and not encounter any problems. Some states may require candidates to complete coursework (i.e. a domestic violence course if the candidate did not have that content in their nursing curriculum) or clinical hours (if the candidate's nursing curriculum had less hours than required by the state in which they are seeking endorsement). When these rare exceptions are encountered, the candidate for endorsement can work with the state board of nursing to meet the requirements without much difficulty.

Accrediation is voluntary. A school that is accredited has met the standards established by the national accrediting agency. Graduating from a nonaccredited program can make it more difficult (but not impossible) to attend higher degree programs.

[Montessori Mommy]

i contacted an administrator at nln when i first heard my school was not accredited. this is the reply i recieved. (i've removed the name of my school for privacy reasons.)

(your school) is not accredited by nlnac. due to a technical reason we were not able to accredit hospital-based associate degree nursing programs in new york state until this year. we are reviewing two such programs this spring. i do not know if (the school) plans to seek accreditation from nlnac.

re your other question, i lived in (your area) for many years and know a number of the faculty at (your school). i believe they have a good reputation. i know that graduates of (your school) can go on to sage for bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing if you are planning ahead. you should have no problem getting a job either, unless you want to work for the federal government or the veterans administration, which require nurses to have graduated from an accredited program.