New NP & DEA #

IsabelK · Jul 15, 2015

I'm not in Virginia, but here's what I found:

1) Apply for jobs. No need to wait for the DEA number or the Medicare/Medicaid numbers, etc. Many places will hire you pending completion of all of that and if you are a new graduate, many employers will help with the paperwork.

2) No you should not need a collaborating physician before applying for a DEA number. Virginia may require you to have a collaborating physician before you can start practicing/prescribing, but the DEA number, like your NP license and RN license is your number. It is, however, likely that your employer will want you to change the address on the DEA number to the employer's address.

3) As soon as you have a your NP license apply for the National Provider ID number. Information can be found on the web. Pretty painless. It will be tied to everything else you do. It's also tied to your social security number.

4) Credentialing with some insurance companies is quick, others can take months. Your employer will help with that. Actually, most of your insurance ID numbers for billing will be through the employer. Medicare and Medicaid took the longest. Don't be surprised, either, if every 3 - 6 months you have to sign something saying your status hasn't changed. I get them periodically.

5) Individual state nurse practice acts vary. Make sure you really look at your state's nurse practice act and what the state requires you to do before you can practice.

Hope that helps,

Isabel

Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 16, 2015

Great question.

Absolutely apply for jobs as you get closer to graduating. I was offered a few positions during my last year of school, and most of my class had something lined up by graduation.

As the previous poster said, you do not need a physician signing on for your DEA number. HOWEVER, if Virginia is like Texas/New Mexico (where I am located) you will need a state controlled substance license, (In Texas it's called a Controlled Substance Registration number). In Texas I needed a physician to sign off on this, but not in New Mexico. In either case, the DEA required my state controlled substance number before they would even accept or issue my DEA license. Make sure and check if you need this type of license in Virginia because if you apply for your DEA license and it is incomplete, their website straight up says you forfeit the $700+ fee for not having all your ducks in a row.

I would ask a local NP what they had to do because if your school is anything like mine, they do a terrible job of teaching you the finer points of obtaining all the various licenses you will need to practice after you graduate.

In terms of credentialing with insurance companies, wherever you end up working should have a billing person that is responsible for that. In my experience, it takes roughly 30 days before you are credentialed, with the government entities being the biggest pains.