[NRSKarenRN]

From Nursing Spectrum, Monday April 9, 2007Author: Don Vaughan



Maryland No Longer Issues Paper Nursing Licenses

Donna Dorsey, RN, MS, FAAN, executive director of the Maryland Board of Nursing, knew something was amiss when a nurse in Prince George’s County called about a satellite office where she could renew her nursing license.

...Under the new program, initial licensees and those who come in through the endorsement process will receive a certificate containing their initial licensing date and license number. The license itself will be available only on the Board of Nursing website (see box). Nurses will receive a letter when they renew their licenses...

[elkpark]

I'm sure more and more states will be moving to the "paperless" systems. I have worked in recent years as a hospital surveyor for my state and the Feds, and it's been years since the Feds and my state considered a photocopy of the nurse's license in the employee file to be adequate proof of licensure (that the hospital has verified the nurse holds a valid, active license to practice) -- instead, the hospital has to have documentation that someone has verified the license at the BON website. If that's now the basic, acceptable standard for verifying licenses, why bother with the paper (or plastic, "credit card" type that some states have gone to in recent years) license? It's so easy to check someone's license on the BON website and then there's no question about it.

[ARBY]

I, too, think it would be much easier to just go to the BON website to verify...so why, when I wanted to be registered in TX, did I have to write to all of my non-compact states to have them tell TX that I was/had been registered there?...maybe for the $$$$. TX wouldn't go to CA's website to verify that I was currently registered there...I had to send a check to CA to forward the info to TX

[oramar]

I guess if I would have thought about it I would have realized doing something like this would make sense. Even so, this does not eliminate potential for abuse. People always figure a way around the safeguards.

[Hopefull2009]

I'm not a nurse, but just from reading what you wrote...that is probably to force hospitals and other healthcare providers to check with the Board of Nursing at license renewal rather than just assuming it's valid, because there won't be anything to file. Anything that is in print, is also subject to forgery. They are probably SUPPOSED to be doing that...but chances are, it's not getting done.

The question is...for all those that are currently licensed...what type of red tape will you have to go through and how long will it take?

[weirdRN]

Has anyone had any exposure to the NCSBN NURSYS? You pay them $30 to verify your licensure from one state to another. Is this maybe the first step to a portable nationwide licensure for nurses? If so, I would think this would be an excellent idea, except all the states need to have one standard for renewal. So many CEUs or hours of practice in that state or what ever.

[sayitgirl]

Originally Posted by Hopefull2009

I'm not a nurse, but just from reading what you wrote...that is probably to force hospitals and other healthcare providers to check with the Board of Nursing at license renewal rather than just assuming it's valid, because there won't be anything to file. Anything that is in print, is also subject to forgery. They are probably SUPPOSED to be doing that...but chances are, it's not getting done.

The question is...for all those that are currently licensed...what type of red tape will you have to go through and how long will it take?

Just for your info. Healthcare facilities that employ nurses do check with the board of nursing online to confirm validity. They keep a copy on file for inspections only.

[elkpark]

Originally Posted by sayitgirl

Just for your info. Healthcare facilities that employ nurses do check with the board of nursing online to confirm validity. They keep a copy on file for inspections only.

(My emphasis added) That was my earlier point -- I've worked as a state and Federal surveyor in recent years, and I can assure you that surveyors doing inspections are no longer looking for copies of the nurses' licenses -- they're looking for the documentation that the facility verified the license directly with the BON (typically, through the BON's website). We actually encourage facilities to not bother with making and keeping copies of the licenses, because no one (licensing agencies) cares about that at all any more.

[sayitgirl]

Originally Posted by elkpark

(My emphasis added) That was my earlier point -- I've worked as a state and Federal surveyor in recent years, and I can assure you that surveyors doing inspections are no longer looking for copies of the nurses' licenses -- they're looking for the documentation that the facility verified the license directly with the BON (typically, through the BON's website). We actually encourage facilities to not bother with making and keeping copies of the licenses, because no one (licensing agencies) cares about that at all any more.

There are a lot of facilites that continue to do just that in South Jersey; copy licenses. They do it at interviews. A little silly isn't it ?

[elkpark]

Originally Posted by sayitgirl

There are a lot of facilites that continue to do just that in South Jersey; copy licenses. They do it at interviews. A little silly isn't it ?

Lots of facilities in my state still do it, as well. I think it's just habit at this point. In my state, if they have copies of the licenses in the file but don't have documentation of having verified the license directly with the BON, they'll still get cited for not having verified the licenses. It doesn't help them at all that there is a copy of the license in the file.