Indiana bill to join NUrse Licensure Compact

[jlynn2303]

Fyi- i just found out that a bill to add Indiana to the Nursing compact state license agreement has passed the Indiana senate and is in house committee. They have until April to decide. If it passes the house it will go into effect July 1st. This would allow a nurse with an Indiana license to work in 27-30 states. (It is in process in some other states as well). In your copious free time you can call 317-232-9600 to register your support! ?

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

This bill should become a law soon. It has passed in both branches of the Indiana State Legislature. Indiana will be the 32nd member of the Nurse Licensure Compact. The state of Illinois also has a NLC bill that is moving through it's state legislature.

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

Indiana just became a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact. ???

[wanderlusthomebody]

Personally, I think it's asinine that each state has its own license to begin with. We all have to take a NATIONAL exam to get the license in the first place - so if it's a national exam that we all have to take, why doesn't it cover a license to work wherever we want?! Dumb, I tell ya!

[NedRN]

Well, NCLEX may be national, but it is state sponsored. And states have there own prerogatives, like preserving funding for their state agencies, including nursing boards and enforcement. Not to mention educational standards that prevents quite a few from qualifying to work in states like California and NY even though they passed the same test. Also, health care regulation is generally in the hands of the states, there is just no mechanism to regulate it at the federal level, in fact it would be against the law. The compact is just a workaround for like minded states to get together on uniform requirements.

I'd like to point out that the compact is anti-worker. Nursing unions are against it, hospitals are for it. Reduces wages by increasing supply. Union busting in the case of strikes in a compact state - easy to get replacement workers. The best paying states are not in the compact (except for MA now).

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

34 states are now members of the compact. Most nurses would like to have a compact license. Almost all of the states that are not in the compact will be soon.

Some nursing unions seem to be fighting compact legislation in a few states. I do, however, think the compact will help improve things for the nursing profession. Those of us who are not satisfied with our wages or our working conditions will find it much easier to get a better job, in an area where good nursing care is valued.

[NedRN]

If you are moving to a new state, you will need that state license anyway per compact rules. Not much saved, although if the new hospital has a quicker hiring process than the the licensure time (rare), you will be able to work sooner.

The major benefits to compact licensure are for travelers (although again, pay is usually less in compact states), telenursing (which was a major legal challenge), and facilities facing a work action. It is the travel ease aspect which generates the most interest among nurses here, and why it is posted in travel nursing.

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

Yes, you do need to get a new nursing license when you change your legal residence from one state to another. You can, however, work using your old license until your new one is issued ( if you move from one compact state to another). Also, it is much easier to interview for an out of state job when you already have a compact license. For nurses who live near state borders, they have the choice of working for several different employers in more than one state with just one license, if all of the states are members of the compact.

Travel nurses benefit immensely from the compact. Many of us who are not travel nurses can also benefit from the flexibility that a compact license awards.