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Discussion

Forgot To Renew ?

forgot-renew-nursing-license.jpg.28d28d100e5ef26c526632370c552fa0.jpg

I probably won’t leave this up for very long but I need guidance/someone to tell me this has happened before and it will all be OK. 

I have had a lot going on lately leaving very little space in my mind for the little things (or in this case, big things). I have never let my license expire before, until today. It expired last night and I thought of it today ?

Thought I could renew today but I can’t remember my password. The password reset was sent to my old work email which has been deactivated. So essentially now I’m totally locked out until I can call the board Monday. I’ve had to call out for this weekend and the guilt is overpowering. 

I feel like a bad (non) nurse and a bad employee and I’m really beating myself up over this. my old employer was good about reminding but this one apparently isn’t; I understand it’s on me though. 

I’m not sure if it varies state to state but I’m curious to know the penalties, the long term implications, and of course how long it takes to renew after it lapses/that whole process. 

Much appreciation for anyone who reads through this and has any insight. 

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    • Featured Replies

    Take a deep breath, it will all be okay. Not saying it won't be a pain, but it will be okay.

    Obviously you already let your employer know so you're not working without an active license. So you're not going to get in legal trouble from that perspective. I hope you'll be able to clear everything up when business hours resume on Monday.  

    Next year circle it in red on the calendar!! Good luck. 

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    18 minutes ago, JBMmom said:

    [...]

    Next year circle it in red on the calendar!! Good luck. 

    This.  And in addition, why would you not use a stable personal email address for this?

    Best wishes.

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    • Author

    Good question. It was a dumb mistake. I honestly thought I’d had it set for my primary. I also only recently changed jobs and thought I’d changed all my email stuff over

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    Search "[state] late renewal nursing license." You'll get an idea of what is needed. I just searched my state and apparently there's a grace period and small additional fee.

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    Never my nsg license. You caught the lapse. Just annoyingly DUMB and you're feeling it. You're NOT a bad employee. You just want to whack yourself!

    I did let my car registration expire. My error! I was relieved in a weird way that the error was caught. Paid my ticket = $46.

    Just as a funny aside - recently I dreamt I was still working and 'discovered' that my nsg license had expired for some time while I was still working. I DON'T have 'work dreams' since I retired. But this was one was so vivid. And odd!

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    It happens. I did that once years ago, and had to work as a nurse tech for a few weeks while things got sorted out. Expensive lesson, and I took much ribbing from my co-workers, but not the end of the world or my career. Just let your manager know, and see what your options are at your facility.

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    • Moderator

    You will be fine! Hopefully there is a grace period. If you use something like Google calendar, put it on your calendar. Stuff happens, life gets busy. I almost forgot about my car registration until the night before the last day I had to renew it - I seriously sat up in bed at midnight and cussed. LOL. I know car registration is not the same as a nursing license, but it's just another thing to keep up with. 

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    Deep breaths, hun. You aren't a bad nurse, employee, or human being for making a mistake. Mistakes are inevitable for us all and beating ourselves up rarely results in better outcomes in the future. We all have objections to self-compassion but they rarely serve us well: 

    In terms of the actual legal or professional implications of this, I believe it is very state-specific. The fact that you called off work for the weekend was brilliant! So smart, please pat yourself on the back. My state allows, I believe, a 60 day grace period. I know some others have similar things. 

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    You are stressed because all healthcare workers are stressed right now. Many are developing pstd from the last year-and-a-half. You have been asked too much of and I advise you to see your provider and get a medical leave of absence and file for FMLA to help you through this stressful time

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    • Author

    Thank you everyone for your helpful comments ❤️ I got it sorted today and in the grand scheme it’s a great lesson and not a big deal. Thanks again everyone

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    • Moderator
    2 hours ago, Forgetfulandtired said:

    Thank you everyone for your helpful comments ❤️ I got it sorted today and in the grand scheme it’s a great lesson and not a big deal. Thanks again everyone

    What a relief, right?? So happy for you! ❤️ 

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