License Endorsement

Nurses Career Support

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Hello AN,

I plan to start applying for employment 1 hour away in another state. Should I apply for endorsement before I apply for positions? Will I be contacted with an out of state license? I am unemployed at the moment and I am trying to spend my money wisely.

Thank you.

Some states allow nurses from bordering states to practice with only a license from their home state. It might be worth your time to call the nursing board to find out.

Some states allow nurses from bordering states to practice with only a license from their home state. It might be worth your time to call the nursing board to find out.

Hi,

My state (Massachusetts) does not participate in compact state license. Rhode Island (the state that I am interested in) does participate in compact state licensing. So I would have to be a resident on Rhode Island and apply to their state license to be able to work in other compact states. I am under the impression that as a MA resident I will have to apply endorsement to which ever state compact or not.

I was just wondering would it be waste of time applying to RI positions without and RI license.

I wouldn't think it would be a waste of time but I do think you should look at a few things first. I think you should see how competitive the job market is and base your judgement on that. If you live in a super competitive market then the facility probably won't waste time hiring someone pending a license when they have other candidates that are already qualified. The facility would also run the risk of you not being able to obtain a license by endorsement for some unforeseen circumstances.

Specializes in medsurg, progressive care.

You should post in that state's boards (RI) and see if anyone has any experience with endorsing their license to that state as well. I am from CT but endorsed my license to both MA and GA. The Massachusetts license pretty much required me to fork over a couple hundred dollars, and I had the license in 3 days. The Georgia license required background checks, fingerprinting, and took 6-8 weeks. I had a job interview in GA that ended up with a job offer and only barely managed to get my license in time to the would-be hire date. I had a second job offer that day at a hospital in my home state so I chose that one, but it was close. You wouldn't want to apply for jobs and get an offer, only to have to weight over a month for your license.

I wouldn't think it would be a waste of time but I do think you should look at a few things first. I think you should see how competitive the job market is and base your judgement on that. If you live in a super competitive market then the facility probably won't waste time hiring someone pending a license when they have other candidates that are already qualified. The facility would also run the risk of you not being able to obtain a license by endorsement for some unforeseen circumstances.

MA is very competitive but I am unsure of RI. It is about an your away from Boston. I guess it could be safe to assume that RI could be as competitive.

Specializes in NICU.

Does RI have a temporary license? If so it only takes a few weeks to get a temporary license. If offered a job, you could get a temporary license and start working in 2-4 weeks while they approve your permanent license.

See if the new state does temp licencse. If so, most jobs will accept that while waiting for your endorsement to go thru. Most will not hire without it.

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