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Method 3: Qualification Based on Equivalent Education and/or Experience

Method 3: Qualification Based on Equivalent Education and/or Experience Authority per section 2873 of the Vocational Nursing Practice Act and section 2516(b) of the California Code of Regulations

[Note: This method does not apply to those individuals who are seeking credit for military experience. Please refer to Method 4: Nursing Service in the Medical Corps of any Branch of the Armed Forces of the United States]

Overview

Qualifying for the licensure examination based on prior education and experience, often referred to as "the equivalency method", requires the applicant to provide documentation of a minimum of 51 months of paid general duty inpatient bedside nursing experience in a clinical facility and completion of a 54-theory-hour pharmacology course. If the applicant has successfully completed additional formal nursing education, that education may be substituted for some of the required bedside nursing experience.

The equivalency method permits unlicensed individuals who have had extensive inpatient bedside nursing care experience, plus a limited amount of formal education, to demonstrate that they have acquired sufficient basic nursing knowledge to be eligible for the licensure examination.

Please note that achieving licensure via the equivalency method may limit the licensee's ability to be hired as a licensed vocational nurse or psychiatric technician. No other state accepts licensees who have been licensed via this method. In addition to licensure, some health care facilities within California require that their potential employees be graduates of accredited nursing or psychiatric technician programs. Such facilities will not hire licensees who have achieved licensure via the equivalency method. If you have questions about licensure in another state, please contact that state's board of nursing. If you have questions about the hiring practice of a particular health care facility in California, please contact that facility.

Experience

Pursuant to the California Code of Regulations section 2516(b), the 51 months of paid general duty inpatient bedside nursing experience must include a minimum of each of the following:

  • 48 months medical/surgical nursing
  • 6 weeks maternity or genitourinary nursing
  • 6 weeks pediatric nursing

The majority of the paid bedside nursing experience must have occurred in a inpatient clinical facility providing the types of patient care that will prepare the applicant for the content topics covered in the licensure examination. It is required that all experience must have occurred within the past ten years, with half of the required experience occurring in the past five years. The experience must have been recent enough that the applicant is knowledgeable regarding current types of patient care equipment, policies and procedures.

When calculating work experience, the applicant can substitute up to a maximum of eight months of the required medical-surgical clinical experience with experience obtained outside of the acute care setting; however, a minimum of 40 months of medical-surgical experience must have occurred in an acute care facility. Paid work experience in the following areas will be applicable toward the eight months that can be substituted for acute medical-surgical experience:

  1. Communicable Disease Nursing
  2. Public Health Nursing
  3. Occupational Health Nursing
  4. Office Nursing (M.D.)
  5. Psychiatric Nursing
  6. Operating Room Nursing
  7. Private Duty Nursing (Performed in acute care facilities only)
  8. Emergency Room Nursing
  9. Out Patient Clinic
  10. Post Anesthesia Recovery Nursing
  11. Hemodialysis Nursing
  12. Rehabilitation Nursing
  13. Gerontological Nursing
  14. Emergency Medical Technician Service

[Please note: The following types of work experience will not be accepted in this category; home health aide, in-home care provider, in-home hospice provider, board and care provider, residential care provider, unit secretary, ward clerk, transport aide, phlebotomist, monitor technician, field paramedic. This list is not all-inclusive, but is offered for clarification purposes.]

In the application packet, an Employment Verification form is provided. The applicant must provide a copy of this form to all employers. On the verification form, all paid bedside nursing experience must be verified by the applicant's employer(s) indicating specific dates of employment and the number of hours worked in each area. The employment verification form must be mailed directly to the Board by the employer in an official business envelope.

The verification of experience must also include certification from the Director or Supervisor (must be a registered nurse) that the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated the following knowledge and skills:

  1. Basic Bedside Nursing
    1. Ambulation techniques
    2. Bedmaking
    3. Urinary Catheter care
    4. Collection of specimens
    5. Diabetic testing
    6. Administration of a cleansing enema
    7. Feeding patient
    8. Hot and cold applications
    9. Intake and Output
    10. Personal hygiene and comfort measures
    11. Positioning and transfer
    12. Range of motion
    13. Skin care
    14. Vital signs
    15. Communication skills, both verbal and written, including communication with patients who have psychological disorders
  2. Infection control procedures (may be demonstrated in classroom, lab, and/or patient care settings.)
    1. Asepsis
    2. Techniques for strict, contact, respiratory, enteric, tuberculosis, drainage, universal and immunosuppressed patient isolation.

Required Pharmacology Course

In addition to the required paid bedside nursing experience, the applicant must also have completed a pharmacology course of at least 54 theory hours that covers the following content:

  • Knowledge of commonly used drugs and their action
  • Computation of dosages
  • Preparation of medications
  • Principles of administration

The pharmacology requirement may be satisfied by completion of 54 theory hours of pharmacology in a Board accredited vocational nursing or psychiatric technician program or 54 theory hours of pharmacology offered as part of an approved registered nursing program. In some cases, applicants attended an accredited psychiatric technician, vocational nursing or registered nursing program but did not complete the program. In order to receive credit for pharmacology content that was offered in that program, documentation provided by the program must clearly delineate that the applicant successfully completed 54 hours of actual pharmacology content, which included the 4 content areas described above.

Many individuals and organizations offer pharmacology courses that fit the criteria listed above. The Board does not review, approve or endorse these courses. At the bottom of this page there is a list of individuals/organizations who offer pharmacology courses to equivalency applicants. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the pharmacology course taken includes the required content topics listed above. When the applicant submits the licensure examination application, the applicant must present documentation for the pharmacology course taken that indicates the number of theory hours of the course and lists the content presented.

A maximum total of 54 theory hours of credit may be granted for completion of any pharmacology course. If the course contains additional material that is not specific to pharmacology, credit is awarded for pharmacology content, only.

Equivalent Education

Applicants who have acquired additional formal nursing education from an approved/accredited vocational nursing, practical nursing or registered nursing program may submit official transcripts for evaluation for possible credit in lieu of paid bedside nursing experience. The transcripts must be submitted to the Board directly from the school where the courses were taken and must show theory and clinical hours completed, as well as the grades for each course. Applicants must achieve a C or better in the course in order to be given equivalency credit for the course. Education credit will only be granted for those courses taken in approved/accredited vocational nursing, practical nursing or registered nursing programs.

Disclaimer: The following list of pharmacology courses offered for equivalency applicants is provided as a courtesy to applicants. The board does not review, approve or endorse these courses. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the pharmacology course taken includes the required course hours and content topics. Note that costs among courses vary considerably. The board suggests that applicants compare costs of courses before enrolling.

American College of Education
4643 Beverly Blvd, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 461-0588
FAX (323) 461-0432
amerced@sbcglobal.net
Anderson Medical Career college
10752 Burbank Blvd
North Hollywood Ca 91601
818-762-7095
Fax: 818-762-7522
Angeles College of Nursing
3440 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 310
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 487-2211
admin@angelescollege.com
California Academy of Healthcare
Online Course
(925) 324-2787
Allan P. Apostol
California Preparatory College 11024 Balboa Blvd. #779
Granada Hills, CA 91344
(818) 723-8388
California School of Health Sciences
12966 Euclid Street, Suite 430
Garden Grove, CA 92840-5200
(714) 539-7081
Clara M. James
P.O. Box 268
Rocklin, CA 95677
(916) 789-1832
clara@nursing-edu.com
Consolidated Learning Services
7410 River Road
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
info@learningsvc.com
Continue CPR
12631 E Imperial Highway Bldg D-108
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
(562) 807-2420
Elizabeth Gerber, RN
Anna Corona
 3308 El Camino Ave Suite 300- 195
Sacramento, CA 95821
(916) 317-9969
Anna Corona,
RN, FNP, PA, MPAS
CPS Nursing Education/Consulting Institute
207 Allen Avenue
Glendale, CA 91201
(818) 563-1935
June Belyea-Cochran,
PhD, MS, RN
Gabriel Education Associates
2412 Foothill Blvd, #56
Calistoga, CA 94515
(707) 942-4175
Linda Gabriel, RN, MSN
54 hour course
Hayward Adult School
22100 Princeton Street
Hayward, CA 94541
(510) 293-8595
65 hour course
International Health Group Inc.
7770 Vickers Road
San Diego Ca 92111
Tel: 858-278-9800
Fax 858-278-9818
54 hour course
Hall Employment Network
(678) 712-5050
60 hour online course
Long Beach City College
4901 East Carson Street
Long Beach, CA 90808
Los Medanos College
2700 East Leland Road
Pittsburg, CA 94565
(925) 439-2181
54 hour course
Nurses' Development Center, Inc.
 17100 Norwalk Blvd., Suite 105
Cerritos, CA 90703
(562) 403-2115
FAX (562) 403-2118
RN Learning Center
3440 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 808
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 389-3110
Junelou C. Enterina, Director
San Marcos Healthcare Learning Center
P.O. Box 727
San Marcos, CA 92079-0727
(760) 870-1290
Fax: (760) 798-1620
Total Healthcare continuing Education
18020 Crenshaw Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90504
(310) 532-2487
Fax (310) 532-2694
WestMed Training
5300 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 200
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 977-0723
Veronica Shepardson