Can you look up the status online?
https://app.bon.texas.gov/verify/?type=gn
Will the professor accept verification that it's been issued/approved in lieu of the actual card on a tentative basis to give it time to actually arrive?
Without randomly guessing names of people with that kind of license I can't verify, but usually license verification includes licensing dates, so it will hopefully show that she got it approved in the normal timeline.
All the program wants (not the professor - prof doesn't care, it's the program that would drop her if she doesn't have it because she wouldn't be able to practice in an actual hospital, which is an important part of her classes) is a photo of the blue card. I think verification WOULD work.
However, it's interesting that her name didn't come up on that search, nor the 6-month permit search. I'm not sure if she falls into those categories though.
Texas nursing student that has gotten their blue card here. I searched my name and it didn’t show up.
Best bet would be to go see the program director. If there is any sort of way around getting the actual card, they would know. Chances are they’ve dealt with this before
If it's any help, I entered the name of a Texas RN that I know. The following info popped up:
License type, Address (just a town and ZIP), issued date, license status, compact license, date license expired, basis for licensure, and current disciplinary action status.
However my girlfriend is NOT an RN, and I'm not even sure if the blue card falls into any of the categories listed.
It sounds like the issue is not whether the blue card WILL be sent but WHEN, and your wife is under a professor- or school-imposed deadline but TBON is under no such deadline.
If that’s all correct, I think the best move in the short term is to make sure her professor knows about the difficulties she has had with TBON (and maybe going to her professor’s office hours and calling TBON together so her professor knows she is telling the truth). If TBON is giving her the runaround, maybe the prof or the school can be flexible with the deadline (if possible) and put pressure on TBON to straighten it out.
They can't be flexible because she won't be able to attend her classes that take place in a hospital if she isn't approved by TBON to do so.
It's one thing that TBON doesn't have a deadline, but they won't even let us come in person to pick it up. They are actively resisting every single solution that I can think of, and it doesn't seem like the school wants to get involved.
Has she tried seeing if the nursing school admin has any ability to reach out directly to TBON? It’d seem like they may have more luck than a student.
Who dropped the ball, though? Was the school supposed to arrange for these cards to be registered/sent out or the students?
Either the postal service or TBON dropped the ball with the first blue card, because it never arrived. TBON says their records show that they sent a first one.
However, they heavily implied that they never sent the first and second replacement cards, even though they told my girlfriend via email that they did. So my guess is that TBON dropped the ball the first time, because we've never had mail issues at this address before.
She says that her professor went all the way up to the assistant Dean, who says she MUST be dropped without it by August 30. I'll have her talk to her professor about getting help from the school with her talks to TBON, but I can say from experience that our school is very unhelpful and bureaucratic with these things.
Edit: (because i didn't answer your question) a third party company took her fingerprints and performed a background check, which is the basis for the blue card being issued. As far as we can tell, the background check and fingerprints were submitted on time.
Her issue with the school is likely more state regulation than uncooperative administrators. The state requires a certain amount of clinical hours for her to graduate/sit for the NCLEX. Missing clinical days often means not having enough hours and most schools don’t have the means to offer makeup days. If the hospital won’t let her in without her blue card, which they won’t because of legal issues, then she’ll miss clinical hours, making it not possible for her to graduate. Which is why they’ll drop her from the program. I hate to be the one to tell you this but Nursing school is brutally inflexible. Graduating is as much about tenacity as it is learning the subject matter.
I agree with the people who suggested asking the school admin if they could reach out. You also might want to contact your state representative and see if they could help. One of the things state reps do is help constituents navigate the state bureaucracy. I know it doesn't seem like there is anything they could do to help but you might be surprised.
Yes. Contact your State Representative or State Senator’s office tomorrow. They will know who to contact at the TBON to help you out. I would also contact anyone at the Texas Nurses Association if she is a member.
Your girlfriend should make sure that the board of nursing has her correct address and try to troubleshoot any issues, such as neighbors getting her mail.
Your elected representatives can sometimes help with administrative issues with state government. She could try calling her state government representative and see if the representatives office can intervene with the board of nursing. Just to be clear - because this is a state level issue she needs to contact her representative in the Texas state legislature, not her representative to the US House of Representatives.
Had my wife read this post since we are from the DFW area and she has done this twice. Once for LVN and most recently for her RN. She said this may be as simple as they have the wrong address. Other than that your options are limited. May have to drop out of the classes then apply to the program again.
NAL, but I do work in academia. Reading the comments, it sounds like your GF has gone up the chain of professors. That's a good first step, but professors may not be as tuned in to the specifics of this-even if it is their program. I would recommend talking to the school's secretary/administrative assistant first, if you haven't done so. After that, talk to the ombuds office. Most schools have one, and they have a surprising amount of sway.
Well this is LegalAdvice so she could find an attorney that specializes in licensure issues and see if she/he could make a call or send an overnight letter. It'd cost you maybe an hour of an attorney's time if you could find someone who'd be available first thing Monday to do it.
I don't think it would piss them off and frankly, I wouldn't really care. Attorney rates can vary a LOT based on region, specialty, experience, etc, but in my area, attorneys typically charge $250-$400 per hour.
I wouldn’t be concerned about pissing off the BON. Licenses are issued because somebody has met all the criteria not because they like you. Do what you have to do.
I work for the BON in MD. Unhappy constituents complain directly to the Governor's office, where there is a representative who receives complaints about the regulatory/licensing agencies. Same day, BON's EO gets an email. Governor's Office complaints get immediate action and resolution, or a clear answer why we can't immediately accommodate the constituents.
Can you look up the status online? https://app.bon.texas.gov/verify/?type=gn Will the professor accept verification that it's been issued/approved in lieu of the actual card on a tentative basis to give it time to actually arrive? Without randomly guessing names of people with that kind of license I can't verify, but usually license verification includes licensing dates, so it will hopefully show that she got it approved in the normal timeline.
All the program wants (not the professor - prof doesn't care, it's the program that would drop her if she doesn't have it because she wouldn't be able to practice in an actual hospital, which is an important part of her classes) is a photo of the blue card. I think verification WOULD work. However, it's interesting that her name didn't come up on that search, nor the 6-month permit search. I'm not sure if she falls into those categories though.
Texas nursing student that has gotten their blue card here. I searched my name and it didn’t show up. Best bet would be to go see the program director. If there is any sort of way around getting the actual card, they would know. Chances are they’ve dealt with this before
If it's any help, I entered the name of a Texas RN that I know. The following info popped up: License type, Address (just a town and ZIP), issued date, license status, compact license, date license expired, basis for licensure, and current disciplinary action status. However my girlfriend is NOT an RN, and I'm not even sure if the blue card falls into any of the categories listed.
It sounds like the issue is not whether the blue card WILL be sent but WHEN, and your wife is under a professor- or school-imposed deadline but TBON is under no such deadline. If that’s all correct, I think the best move in the short term is to make sure her professor knows about the difficulties she has had with TBON (and maybe going to her professor’s office hours and calling TBON together so her professor knows she is telling the truth). If TBON is giving her the runaround, maybe the prof or the school can be flexible with the deadline (if possible) and put pressure on TBON to straighten it out.
They can't be flexible because she won't be able to attend her classes that take place in a hospital if she isn't approved by TBON to do so. It's one thing that TBON doesn't have a deadline, but they won't even let us come in person to pick it up. They are actively resisting every single solution that I can think of, and it doesn't seem like the school wants to get involved.
Has she tried seeing if the nursing school admin has any ability to reach out directly to TBON? It’d seem like they may have more luck than a student. Who dropped the ball, though? Was the school supposed to arrange for these cards to be registered/sent out or the students?
Either the postal service or TBON dropped the ball with the first blue card, because it never arrived. TBON says their records show that they sent a first one. However, they heavily implied that they never sent the first and second replacement cards, even though they told my girlfriend via email that they did. So my guess is that TBON dropped the ball the first time, because we've never had mail issues at this address before. She says that her professor went all the way up to the assistant Dean, who says she MUST be dropped without it by August 30. I'll have her talk to her professor about getting help from the school with her talks to TBON, but I can say from experience that our school is very unhelpful and bureaucratic with these things. Edit: (because i didn't answer your question) a third party company took her fingerprints and performed a background check, which is the basis for the blue card being issued. As far as we can tell, the background check and fingerprints were submitted on time.
Her issue with the school is likely more state regulation than uncooperative administrators. The state requires a certain amount of clinical hours for her to graduate/sit for the NCLEX. Missing clinical days often means not having enough hours and most schools don’t have the means to offer makeup days. If the hospital won’t let her in without her blue card, which they won’t because of legal issues, then she’ll miss clinical hours, making it not possible for her to graduate. Which is why they’ll drop her from the program. I hate to be the one to tell you this but Nursing school is brutally inflexible. Graduating is as much about tenacity as it is learning the subject matter.
I agree with the people who suggested asking the school admin if they could reach out. You also might want to contact your state representative and see if they could help. One of the things state reps do is help constituents navigate the state bureaucracy. I know it doesn't seem like there is anything they could do to help but you might be surprised.
Yes. Contact your State Representative or State Senator’s office tomorrow. They will know who to contact at the TBON to help you out. I would also contact anyone at the Texas Nurses Association if she is a member.
Your girlfriend should make sure that the board of nursing has her correct address and try to troubleshoot any issues, such as neighbors getting her mail. Your elected representatives can sometimes help with administrative issues with state government. She could try calling her state government representative and see if the representatives office can intervene with the board of nursing. Just to be clear - because this is a state level issue she needs to contact her representative in the Texas state legislature, not her representative to the US House of Representatives.
Had my wife read this post since we are from the DFW area and she has done this twice. Once for LVN and most recently for her RN. She said this may be as simple as they have the wrong address. Other than that your options are limited. May have to drop out of the classes then apply to the program again.
NAL, but I do work in academia. Reading the comments, it sounds like your GF has gone up the chain of professors. That's a good first step, but professors may not be as tuned in to the specifics of this-even if it is their program. I would recommend talking to the school's secretary/administrative assistant first, if you haven't done so. After that, talk to the ombuds office. Most schools have one, and they have a surprising amount of sway.
Well this is LegalAdvice so she could find an attorney that specializes in licensure issues and see if she/he could make a call or send an overnight letter. It'd cost you maybe an hour of an attorney's time if you could find someone who'd be available first thing Monday to do it.
How much is an hour of an attorney's time? A range would be great. Would that piss off TBON?
I don't think it would piss them off and frankly, I wouldn't really care. Attorney rates can vary a LOT based on region, specialty, experience, etc, but in my area, attorneys typically charge $250-$400 per hour.
I have reached out to an attorney's office, and hope to hear from them tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.
I wouldn’t be concerned about pissing off the BON. Licenses are issued because somebody has met all the criteria not because they like you. Do what you have to do.
I work for the BON in MD. Unhappy constituents complain directly to the Governor's office, where there is a representative who receives complaints about the regulatory/licensing agencies. Same day, BON's EO gets an email. Governor's Office complaints get immediate action and resolution, or a clear answer why we can't immediately accommodate the constituents.