Two boards regulate nursing in California: registered nurses answer to the Board of Registered Nursing, vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians to a board of their own. Which one you deal with changes the application and the renewal.

Median Healthcare Salaryin California

10%$18.55/hr

median$28.00/hr

90%$81.00/hr

Top Median Salary by Rolein California

Top Open Rolesin California

The staffing number is written into the rule

California's ratios live in regulation. Health and Safety Code 1276.4 tells the Department of Public Health to adopt them, and 22 CCR 70217 holds the numbers as ceilings: at any one time one licensed nurse takes no more than two patients in critical care, five in medical/surgical and four in an emergency department while patients are receiving treatment, though critical care patients there count at two. That same section bans averaging, within a shift or across any period, and lets nurse administrators, supervisors, managers and charge nurses who have demonstrated current competence to the hospital on that unit relieve licensed nurses for breaks, meals and other routine absences.

Healthcare jobs in California by role

Healthcare jobs in California by city

Your questions about healthcare jobs in California, answered

Can I work in California on a compact nursing license?: No. California hasn't enacted the Nurse Licensure Compact, so a multistate license carries no privilege here. An RN applies to the Board of Registered Nursing for licensure by endorsement, which wants a current and active RN license from another state, a U.S. territory or Canada, an education meeting all of California's requirements, and a pass on the NCLEX-RN or on the older State Board Test Pool Examination. The Canadian Comprehensive Examination doesn't count. Our RN licensing guide has the mechanics of applying by endorsement.
Which board issues an LVN license in California?: That one goes to the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians. If you already hold a valid, unrevoked practical or vocational nursing license from another state or a foreign country, Business and Professions Code 2872.1 says the board may license you without an examination, on written application and the fee, provided it finds you meet the other requirements in sections 2866 and 2873. Both spellings of the job land on one page here, at the LPN and LVN openings in California.
What else does California's approved nurse assistant training include?: A 16-hour orientation sits inside it. Health and Safety Code 1337.3(c)(1) puts that orientation in the approved training program, to be given to newly employed nurse assistants before they provide direct patient care, and lists it separately from the classroom and clinical hours in the same subdivision, and our CNA certification guide counts those hours up. The scheme is written around skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities, which is where section 1337 defines the job in the first place.