I want to be an RN in both NJ and NY

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello. Hope someone can help me. I am currently in my last year of nursing school and plan to take the NCLEX right away. I plan to take it here in New Jersey. My plan is if God Willing I pass the NCLEX and become a full-pledge RN, I want to work part time in a New Jersey hospital and per diem in a nursing home in New York City. How would I go on with this? Do I need a license in both NJ and NY? Do I apply for reciprocity? Hope someone can answer.

Specializes in ED, CTSurg, IVTeam, Oncology.

Welcome to nursing!

Yes, you need to be licensed in both states. Check the Board of Nursing (BON) web sites for each individual state that you wish to work in. Not all states are the same with their rules. You would usually take the test once, and as New Jersey is the state that you tested in , it would then be declared as your home state; you apply to the other (NY) for reciprocity (or aka 'endorsement').

Additionally, for other state liscensure, there are a number of Nursing Licensure Compact States, where one member state's license is accepted by all other sister compact states. Unfortunately for you however, neither NY or NJ is a compact member.

Good luck with your upcoming NCLEX!

Specializes in Critical Care.

you need a home state to get your initial license in, So if you live in NY, you get that license first then must apply by license by endorsement to get ur jersey license. It costs about 250 or so and takes like 2 months. And just as an FYI idk many hospitals that will take you per diem without at least 2 years experience, but then again I could be wrong.

I am licensed in NY but recently checked into also becoming licensed in neighboring states (NJ in particular) so I could improve my chances of finding Per Diem work. It is extremely easy to do by completing the correct paperwork (downloadable) but I opted not to do it because it cost quite a bit for the additional license and it was actually unlikely I would use it. But, if it would be good for you, don't worry, it's just a matter of completing an application and paying the fee.

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