question for those who sat for NCLEX

Posting so I can be notified when someone answers:)

You can apply to your States Board of Nursing right after graduation and to Pearson the NCLEX testing company. You can not sit for the NCLEX until your transcripts from your school are received by the BON and Pearson. Once they receive them you will get an ATT (authorization to test) You need this number to schedule your test When you get it you can browse testing facilities, times and days of available tests. It took my school 4 weeks to get the transcripts to the BON and when I received my ATT I tested within 24 hours.

Most of the students from my program tested between 2-6 weeks after graduation. The last poster explained it perfectly. Regarding applying for jobs most new grad positions these days require you to have already completed this process before they will consider you, but I would call the HR departments at the hospitals or companies you are interested in and ask what opportunities they have for new grads and what their requirements are. A few hospitals have special programs for new grads and they may hire you as a graduate nurse. However, in my area of FL there is a surplus of nursing schools and new grads so none of the facilities do this anymore. Also, employers take a risk in devoting time and money to training graduate nurses who then do not pass the NCLEX on their first attempt and since there is not a shortage in my area any more they consider it an unnecessary risk.

Good luck to you and congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

My school was really good about sending in the list of graduates from my nursing program. I applied the week of graduation and in a few days I rec'd my authorization to test (ATT). The real wait was to find an open slot to test. In my class I was the 3rd person to say they passed the NCLEX and that was 4 weeks after graduation.

As for jobs we we're advised to wait to apply until "after" you passed. The rationale was...

1. none of the local hospitals accept unlicensed RN's

2. your application stays on file 90 days to 6 months depending on facility. You run the risk of having future applications pinned as unlicensed if you apply before being licensed.

3. Take a breather... you've stressed the last 2 years in school. You deserve a couple days to yourself.

4. You need to study for the NCLEX. Seriously, put the study time in you don't want to take this test twice.

Good luck

In Ga, we have nurse resident positions. We can apply to these positions and are offered jobs contingent on us passing the boards. So let's say the resident program starts in July, they may say you can work for us but you need to have your license by June 14 etc. So yes, In Ga you don't have to be licensed before applying.

I know it's late, but I wanted to add for anybody else reading, that you can (and really should) apply while in nursing school the last semester. There are fingerprints, paperwork, background checks, and fees that need to be handled. My college has 3 different campuses, and apparently my campus was the only one that was told to apply for the license before graduating. Because I was prepared, I was able to take my NCLEX less than 1 week after my school sent the transcripts.