I am a student in NY and I am moving to New Mexico in December because of my husbands job. I will finish school in NY but then take my NCLEX in NM. My instructor told me that it may be better to get licensed in NY then transfer it to NM. Why? Isn't the NCLEX the same no matter where you take it? Is there any advantage to having one state license over another? My husband is military so I expect to transfer my license many times in my career.
PLEASE, I don't want to start a debate over one state being better than another I just want to know if there is any advantage?
I agree rncopper, as I have had my original state licensure laspe and had no problem gettting another state license, as long as I had an active license somewhere.
But on the question of whether to get your NM license or NY, I would get the NM license, as it will be a compact license on Jan. 01, 2004. Then if you went to another state, and still maintained residence in NM, you could work on you NM and not have to pay the fees to another compact state for licensure. My .02:)
Went to school in Washington, sat for the NCLEX and applyed for RN licensure in Hawaii. No problem. The only thing is to make sure that you have the stuff needed for the application. The BON in Washington required different things than Hawaii's did.
Since you are a military spouse, you can work in any military hospital and/or clinic without getting that particular state's license. All the military hospitals require is that you have an ACTIVE nursing license to work in their medical facilities. :)
Since you are a military spouse, you can work in any military hospital and/or clinic without getting that particular state's license. All the military hospitals require is that you have an ACTIVE nursing license to work in their medical facilities. :)
True, but I would still get the NM license as having a compact license offers a lot more opportunities.
States that are compact now;
Arizona
Arkansas
Delaware
Idaho
Iowa
Maine
Maryland
Mississippi
Nebraska
North Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Wisconsin
States that will be compact;
Effective date
Indiana Signed by Governor TBD
New Jersey Signed by Governor TBD
North Dakota Signed by Governor January 1, 2004
New Mexico Signed by Governor January 1, 2004
Virginia Signed by Governor January 1, 2005
That's a lot of money saved, from fees, fingerprinting costs, license verification fees, and licensure and renewal fees! Not to mention the wait times to and the paper work!
Brownms46
2,394 Posts
I agree rncopper, as I have had my original state licensure laspe and had no problem gettting another state license, as long as I had an active license somewhere.
But on the question of whether to get your NM license or NY, I would get the NM license, as it will be a compact license on Jan. 01, 2004. Then if you went to another state, and still maintained residence in NM, you could work on you NM and not have to pay the fees to another compact state for licensure. My .02:)