Published Dec 13, 2010
mr.hustle
119 Posts
I would like our Forums current "30 unit option" RN's to check in to this posting and please share with us your experiences of being a 30 unit option RN.
Please share with us EVERYTHING and ANYTHING.
Mainly, have you had any trouble finding a job? Does your RN license state "30 unit option" on it, or does it look like any other RN license? Also, in terms of schooling how was it for you compared to your classmates who were obtaining theyre ADN or BSN?
Again, ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING .
thank you nurses.
Chuck RN CCRN
8 Posts
I did the 30 unit option in 1978. I had been an LVN for 6 years.
I did not "graduate" with the other Associate degree nurses.
As an LVN, I had been working in an ICU/CCU. I was doing Swan Ganz and giving all med sand hanging IV's except IV push . I was also titrating vaso- active IV meds based on the hemodynamics that I was monitoring. (the IV meds were hung or pushed by RN's that I worked with) I did Cadiac Outputs via iced saline injection via the proximal port of the Swan Ganz (considered venous, and covered under LVN IV infusion as it lay within the SVC or Rt. Atrium....the venous system)
Upon completion of the 30 unit program, I took state boards....along with about 3,000 ladies.... An exhaustive 2 day event that covered every body system and nearly every medical entity. IE; OB, peds, nutrition, geriatric, etc. Not 60 questions and your done, but over 3,000 questions. T'was the same for my LVN boards.
Within 2 months (the time it took in those days to get your state board results) I was working as "Charge" in the CCU. I soon took the CCRN exam and passed it.
Since then, I have worked in many different facilities in California and had never been asked to provide proof of "graduation". Experience....is what counted.
I 1990, I decided to move to Mississippi for a while. I applied for endorsement, being concerned because in the the back of my mind I had remembered the thing about "possibly not acceptable in other states".
So, I did all the stuff you gotta' do, and VIOLA! I go my ticket to practice in Mississippi. Got a job there, ICU, and worked for a while. Nobody asked for my degree. Recently did the same in two other states......not a problem.
And, now, as you probably are aware, the "standards" are much higher in regard to back ground checks and Official Certified Transcripts being sent direct to the State Boards from your School and your first State of licensure.
Re; "Standards"...
I remember when all the boards "dumbed down" the state board test requirements so that hospitals could "import" foreign nurses and pay way lower wages, keeping them at their facillity via green card requirements for two years.
I have applied to jobs where it says "Must have attended an accredited school of nursing, BS degree prefered"
Never a problem.
Now some facilities are adding, "Must obtain Bachelor degree within 5 years"
We'll see. I should be retired by then.
ChaZ
Just look over your question again.
There is no difference in License. They do not not state Degree.
As a previous LVN, you will have had many more hours of clinical education and work experience that any of your peers. You will feel comfortable in the enviornment.
DO NOT exclaim all of your experience nor be the one with "all the answers".
You are an equal. Show humility and respect for your instructors.
Lose any cockyness that you might have.
Be quiet, and continue to learn.............you can't ever know it all.