So disappointed with VA process

[studentnurse50]

First of all, I'm just relating my discouragement and disappointment with the VA hiring process because I need to get it out. I interviewed with the VA in June after applying for a job back in late April. The interview went well and I was given a conditional job offer in late June. I went through the five hours of online paperwork including VetPro, background check and other things. A representative from the VA called me and scheduled my physical and fingerprinting. Everything went well and I thought it would only be a matter of a short period of time before I would begin work. Then I had an appointment with one of the human resource hiring managers who informed me that since my school wasn't NLN or CCNE accredited, I was not eligible for employment. You could have knocked me down with a feather. After calls to the director of the nursing program from which I graduated, and checking online, it was determined that the program was indeed not accredited by either organization at the time of my graduation. Further searching online revealed that there are waivers for the accreditation requirement that may be granted by the nurse executive of the VA facility. Mine was not approved.

This is so upsetting and discouraging that it is hard for me to even want to continue a job search-I graduated in December of 2011, received my license in March and have been looking ever since. The most upsetting part to me is I am the spouse of an active duty military member who has 18 years of service in so far. Due to his career, my nursing education has been uprooted and restarted numerous times. The school where I completed the major nursing school prerequisites (and where I wanted to attend,) has a wait list of 3 years. They ARE NLN accredited. The school which I ended up attending due to no wait list and direct acceptance, is not. To make a long story shorter, my spouse got orders to the other side of the states 6 months before the date of my graduation, and we decided that if I didn't stay and complete the 6 months, it could have taken another 3-4 years to get into a school and graduate, IF they accepted me immediately upon application. I stayed behind and finished school while the rest of my family moved to the other coast to begin another duty assignment. When school was over, I drove cross-country and joined my family. Since then, I've been trying to become reacquainted with my family. What seems so ironic to me is that I put my education/career on hold so many times so that our family could serve the country through the military. Now that I'm seeking a position with a government agency, I'm told "your education isn't good enough, because the NLN hasn't accredited it." We've faithfully served the country and the military with at times, great personal sacrifice, and I'm not good enough to serve the veterans of the same military. I'm just so disheartened right now. Thanks for respecting my need to vent.

[spparky]

I hope things go well for you...that is not cool

[studentnurse50]

Thanks spparky. I'm very discouraged right now.....

[AJPV]

Can you transfer into a school that is accreditted and finish with an accreditted degree? I think it will be very difficult if not impossible to get hired without an accreditted degree. I thought your nursing degree had to be NLN or CCNE accredited in order to be eligible to take the NCLEX??

[studentnurse50]

Im looking into Rn to BSN programs right now. I wont even entertain the school if its accreditation comes ip for review within five years. The notion that every program is accredited by NLN is a widely accepted misconception. My understanding is that the program must be recognized/accredited by the state board of nursing in order to be considered for eligibility to sit for the NCLEX.