Remember that time you proudly tossed your high school cap in the air and thought, “I’ll never need this diploma again!”
Well, surprise! The U.S. boards of nursing would like a word.
Whether it’s been a couple of years—or a couple of decades—since you graduated, that piece of paper suddenly matters again. And not just your nursing degree. Nope, they want everything: your educational transcripts and your high school or secondary school diploma (or GED).
Because apparently, proving you can do long division and write a five-paragraph essay is still part of becoming a nurse in America.
Why the Boards Want It All
The U.S. boards of nursing are big on documentation. They want to confirm your education from start to finish—no gaps, no mysteries, no “I swear I passed biology” claims.
It’s all part of verifying your eligibility for licensure, especially if you’re coming from outside the U.S. The process is thorough… and sometimes, a little too thorough.
You’ll need these documents for your Credential Evaluation Service (CES), which helps the boards of nursing verify that your education meets U.S. standards. So yes, they’ll want transcripts from your nursing school, your high school, and maybe even that one semester of night school you forgot about.
The Great Diploma Hunt
So now you’re digging through old boxes, calling your high school, and wondering if your mom still has that folder labeled “Important Stuff.”
If you’ve moved a few times (or continents), this might feel like an archaeological dig.
Some tips to get started:
- Contact your high school or school board. They usually have a records department that can send certified copies.
- If your school closed down, the local or national education ministry usually took over the records.
- If you completed your GED, contact the testing service or provincial/state education authority where you took it.
- Don’t panic if it takes time—schools can take weeks (or months) to respond, especially if they store records in archives that predate the internet.
Why You Should Start Now
If you plan to apply for your U.S. nursing license soon, start tracking down your documents now.
You’ll need them for:
- Credential evaluations (like CGFNS/TruMerit or Josef Silny & Associates)
- CES reports (required by most U.S. boards of nursing)
- VisaScreen certification
- State board of nursing applications
Waiting until the last minute is like trying to find your passport the night before an international flight. Stressful. Avoid that.
One Final Thought
Yes, it’s annoying. Yes, it feels ridiculous that your high school diploma matters when you’ve been saving lives for years. But hey—rules are rules.
So grab a coffee, make some calls, and start hunting down those transcripts. Future-you (and your U.S. nursing career) will thank you.
