compact state school vs not

elkpark · Dec 9, 2010

First, the NLC (Nurse Licensure Compact) has nothing to do with nursing school, and vice versa. It makes absolutely no difference whether you attend school in a compact state or not. What matters is where you get licensed after you finish school. You do not automatically get licensed in the state in which you attend school; you graduate from school and then apply for licensure in the state of your choice. For most people, that happens to be the state in which they attended school, but it doesn't have to be. You can attend whichever of the two schools you prefer, and apply for licensure in whichever of the two states suits you when you graduate (or some other state entirely :)), and there's no connection between the two.

There is a lot of confusion about the NLC, and it really only affects a small minority of nurses -- primarily, a) travel nurses, and b) individuals who live close enough to the border of two "compact states" to commute between states to work. For most US nurses, it has no impact at all.

As long as you have a valid, unrestricted license in one US state, you can apply for and get a license in any other US state, regardless of the NLC. It's mostly a matter of how quickly or slowly a given state BON processes the paperwork, and how outrageous a fee :) they choose to charge. There are also some minor differences in paperwork and a few states have some specific requirements about continuing education courses you have to complete for their state, but getting licenses in different states is generally not a big deal. IMO, there's no reason to move just to get a compact license, unless you know you're going to be using the license to work in other compact states while still living in your home state. (If you move from one compact state to another, you still have to apply for a new license in your new state.)

I'm not sure that really clarifies much, but you definitely don't need to worry about the NLC when deciding which school to attend! Best wishes for your studies --

cookderosa · Dec 9, 2010

First, the NLC (Nurse Licensure Compact) has nothing to do with nursing school, and vice versa. It makes absolutely no difference whether you attend school in a compact state or not. What matters is where you get licensed after you finish school. You do not automatically get licensed in the state in which you attend school; you graduate from school and then apply for licensure in the state of your choice. For most people, that happens to be the state in which they attended school, but it doesn't have to be. You can attend whichever of the two schools you prefer, and apply for licensure in whichever of the two states suits you when you graduate (or some other state entirely :)), and there's no connection between the two.
There is a lot of confusion about the NLC, and it really only affects a small minority of nurses -- primarily, a) travel nurses, and b) individuals who live close enough to the border of two "compact states" to commute between states to work. For most US nurses, it has no impact at all.
As long as you have a valid, unrestricted license in one US state, you can apply for and get a license in any other US state, regardless of the NLC. It's mostly a matter of how quickly or slowly a given state BON processes the paperwork, and how outrageous a fee :) they choose to charge. There are also some minor differences in paperwork and a few states have some specific requirements about continuing education courses you have to complete for their state, but getting licenses in different states is generally not a big deal. IMO, there's no reason to move just to get a compact license, unless you know you're going to be using the license to work in other compact states while still living in your home state. (If you move from one compact state to another, you still have to apply for a new license in your new state.)
I'm not sure that really clarifies much, but you definitely don't need to worry about the NLC when deciding which school to attend! Best wishes for your studies --

Thank you SO MUCH! It absolutely clarifies it, I misunderstood the implication of the NLC. That's really good to know!!