I graduate in May and want to move right after graduation. License help please!

[Brooklyn95]

I graduate in May from nursing school with my BSN. I currently live in and am in school in Louisiana, but my boyfriend lives in Colorado due to his work. I want to move to Colorado to work there after graduation, but there is still a possibility of us moving back to Louisiana within the next couple years. Colorado is a compact state and Louisiana is not. I've been looking on both state's BON website and I cannot get a clear answer on what to do. I guess I'm wondering which way would be easier/faster/less expensive.

Should I get my initial license in La by exam, then endorse it to CO? Or should I move to CO first, get my initial license there by exam, then when we move back to LA endorse it then?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

You could apply for licensure in CO even when you don't live there- it wouldn't be a compact license because your legal residence isn't there, but it would allow you to work in CO. The key is whether or not you plan to work in LA at all before moving to CO. If not, it wouldn't make much sense to spend the money to get licensed in LA and then have to turn around and endorse to CO. Living in a non-compact state, I am not sure of how it would work if you have a single state license and then move to the state and then qualify for the compact license.

[chare]

As for the compact license. The enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) becomes effective 19 January. There are, I believe, three original NLC (oNLC) states that have nor yet signed on: CO, NM, and RI. After 19 January, if you hold a multi state license in one of these states, you will not be able to practice in any of the eNLC states. However, as I understand, if you're licensed in one of these states, with multi-state privileges, these privileges will only extend to the other two, and then only as long as both states remain in the oNLC.

From what I have been able to find on the internet, it is likely that these three states will join the eNLC at some time. New to the eNLC are the 11 uniform licensure requirements for a multistate license, which CO currently does not require. However, based upon information in another post, it sounds if legislation is pending to add this requirement.

Assuming CO joins the eNLC, and you apply for licensure while living out of state, your license would only grant you single-state privileges. I am unsure how it works in CO, however when I relocated back to NC, my license automatically became a multi-state license. If you are licensed, regardless of whether or not you reside in CO, prior to their joining the eNLC, or at least having met all of the 11 uniform licensure requirements for a multistate license, you are likely going to have to apply for multi-state privileges; at least this is how WV is handling the transition.

Best wishes, whichever option you choose.