Compact License Question

idialyze, BSN, RN · Feb 29, 2016

By the way, I would recommend not working in TX. Besides a nasty BON, working conditions are typically poor with hostile management and docs (which leads to a high BON report rate), and high patient ratios. There is also a notorious (and legal) blacklist run by the major hospital association there (you can find long threads about it on Allnurses and articles on PanTravelers). The cost of private malpractice insurance is 8 times higher in TX than any other state for the same coverage. That alone tells you about risks of working there.
The chances of you actually having a license problem are relatively low of course, just higher than other states. But because I know about it, I have no desire to ever work there. I prefer to work in more nurse friendly states and just visit TX as a tourist.

I agree that Texas is a bully with their BON, as well as State Inspectors. I travelled there a total of 12 months some years back, sounds like they have gotten even worse!

Julius Seizure · Feb 29, 2016

Alright so, I was renting a house in the compact state that I'm licensed in, Missouri. I decided to start travel nursing and went for my first assignment in a compact state, South Carolina. I've been here for 6 weeks and now my housing has fallen through from Missouri. My permanent residence will now be my parent's house in Kansas, which is not a compact state. What do I need to do? I would figure get a temporary South Carolina license for the last 6 weeks of my assignment, but am I allowed to keep working while I'm doing that? I'm under contract with the hospital so it is important that my work isn't interrupted by this. And I'm needing to start looking for my next assignment, thinking Texas, which adds another layer of oh crap. Lol. Help?

I would get that south carolina temp license asap and DONT change your address on anything official to kansas until after that. Texas is easy to get a temp license in as well but it is only good for 90 days so dont do it too far in advance or it will expire before your contract ends.

l would also suggest that you check the SC BON website for their compact license rules regarding home much of a grace window you might have.

daout · Mar 8, 2016

Alright so, I was renting a house in the compact state that I'm licensed in, Missouri. I decided to start travel nursing and went for my first assignment in a compact state, South Carolina. I've been here for 6 weeks and now my housing has fallen through from Missouri. My permanent residence will now be my parent's house in Kansas, which is not a compact state. What do I need to do? I would figure get a temporary South Carolina license for the last 6 weeks of my assignment, but am I allowed to keep working while I'm doing that? I'm under contract with the hospital so it is important that my work isn't interrupted by this. And I'm needing to start looking for my next assignment, thinking Texas, which adds another layer of oh crap. Lol. Help?

I would just get a Kansas license asap if it was me. You should be able to continue working without a problem to finish your assignment, but I'm no expert.

chare · Mar 8, 2016

I would just get a Kansas license asap if it was me. You should be able to continue working without a problem to finish your assignment, but I'm no expert.

As long as the OP maintained licensure in Missouri, with a legal residence in Missouri, her license granted multi-state privileges. This is what she was workkng on in South Carolina.

If she changed the address on her Missouri license to a Kansas addreess, then this license became a single state license, which is good only in Missouri. If this is what happened, she is no longer licensed in South Carolina. Also, as Kansas is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact, licensure there would not allow her to work in South Carolina.