Requesting information on challenging RN state boards in California

U.S.A. California

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I have completed half of my third semester of RN school and I am currently an LVN. I would like to challenge the state board exam in California. Has anyone done this? What are the requirements? Are there any problems with doing this if I wish to pursue a BSN? Any advice would be appreciated. Best wishes to all of you out there!

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I have completed half of my third semester of RN school and I am currently an LVN. I would like to challenge the state board exam in California. Has anyone done this? What are the requirements? Are there any problems with doing this if I wish to pursue a BSN? Any advice would be appreciated. Best wishes to all of you out there!

I don't understand your question. Before you can take the NCLEX RN exam, you must graduate from an ADN or BSN accredited nursing school. There's no "challenging" it. You can go on afterwards and get a BSN if you like, but there's only 1 NCLEX exam for the RN title. Hope that helps.

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i think i overheard this before. they said that if you have 2 years work experiences as a LVN you can challeges RN board. i don't know if its true. hmmm

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I have completed half of my third semester of RN school and I am currently an LVN. I would like to challenge the state board exam in California. Has anyone done this? What are the requirements? Are there any problems with doing this if I wish to pursue a BSN? Any advice would be appreciated. Best wishes to all of you out there!

You are referring to CA's 30 unit option.

You still must complete all of the nursing components, the 30 unit option only shaves off some of the general ed classes and it's not worth it.

You might as well stick it out and finish at this stage of the game.

Going the 30 unit option route will limit your employment options as an RN to CA only as other states will not accept it for RN endorsement.

In addition, every RN to BSN program I've ever looked into requires either the ADN degree or a diploma in nursing and the 30 unit option will give you neither. An RN license alone without the degree or diploma will not get you into these programs to get a BSN later.

CA may possibly have BSN completion programs for their 30 unit option nurses but I've never heard of them and I've looked into a lot of CA nursing schools.

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i think i overheard this before. they said that if you have 2 years work experiences as a LVN you can challeges RN board. i don't know if its true. hmmm

Definitely not true.

I've been hearing those stories about certain states allowing LPN/LVN's to challenge the RN boards without going back to school as long as I've been a nurse and not one state allows it.

But the story keeps resurfacing every once in a while.

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Thanks to all for your replys and valued information. I have an interview with a representative from The College network. It is an online LVN to BSN program just approved in the state of California and accepted by The California State Board of Registered Nurses. Completing this online program will make me eligable to take the RN NCLEX exam and receive liscensure as well as obtain my BSN. This is how I understand it. I will keep you posted on any information I obtain during this meeting.

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Interested in hearing what you find out about this new program. It sounds rather strange that the BRN would approve a new online program when they just went through yrs of efforts to get rid of an established program, Excelsior. How are they going to justify this? You should be very careful and make certain that whatever you are told, you actually follow up with the BRN yourself. I understand that Chamberlain stopped accepting California students when California ditched Excelsior, so I would expect that other online programs would follow suit.

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Thanks to all for your replys and valued information. I have an interview with a representative from The College network. It is an online LVN to BSN program just approved in the state of California and accepted by The California State Board of Registered Nurses. Completing this online program will make me eligable to take the RN NCLEX exam and receive liscensure as well as obtain my BSN. This is how I understand it. I will keep you posted on any information I obtain during this meeting.

The College Network is not a school and has no authority to grant degrees of any kind. They are a very expensive publishing company that sells study guides and nothing more.

They are most likely going to get you to sign a contract to bind you into buying study guides from them.

The only LVN to BSN distance program at this time is Indiana State University and I'd call the CA BNE to verify their acceptance before signing anything with either the schopol or The College Network.

Excelsior has been around for a very long time with the vast majority of states still accepting it for RN licensure.

I too am having a hard time believing that they would reject Excelsior yet embrace a very new distance program with no strings attached.

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I just had a conversation with a representative of the BRN in California. He stated that the LVN to BSN online program through Indiana State University has yet to be approved and they will be reviewing it and making a decision on February 16, 2007.

He also confirmed there is no challenging state boards.

Keep you posted.

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Just to clear up a few things:

There is no challenging of the RN exam for any state, all require actual documented school and clinical time in an approved school of nursing.

For the PN exam, the only condition where it can be challenged is in Virginia and California, and only if you were a corpsman in the military. For no other traing.

If you are in an RN program, and have completed the appropriate amount of hours that are required for the LPN/LVN license, then you may sit for that exam, but you wound not be challenging it.

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Hi!

This reply is for the people who wants to challenge the LVN board exams in California in addtion to Suzanne's answer, please check the California board of nursing because a CNA can challenge if you have 51 months of paid experience in an acute setting, 5 weeks of maternal nursing, 5 weeks of pediatric nursing, all paid experience, and 54 hours of pharmacogy.If you pass, you can only work as LVN in Ca. For more details go check their web site.

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to what the person said above me and to the person above them.....

I was reading this and some times I really REALLY hate second hand information so i CALLED the CA BRN and CA LVN boards and asked both as for the RN there is NO equivalence test. But for the LVN test there are four ways you can try and take the test:

Method #1: Graduation from a California "accredited" Vocational Nursing Program. Method #2: Graduation from an Out-of-State "accredited" Practical/Vocational Nursing Program.

Method #3: Completion of equivalent education and experience.

  • Pharmacology - 54 HoursPaid
  • Bedside Nursing Experience - 51 MonthsVerification
  • of Skill Proficiency.

Method #4: Completion of education and experience as a corpsman in the United States military.

  • Twelve (12) months active duty rendering direct bedside patient care.Completion
  • of the basic course in nursing in a branch of the armed forces.General
  • honorable discharge from the military

To use method three and you are in RN school you need to call them and they will turn clinical hours and lecture hours into working months to count towards the 51 paid months....but this is more on a PERSON-to-PERSON basis......so basically call if you want to know what method is best for you!!!

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