License by Endorsement

[psycheab]

We are moving to Utah this summer and I have my RN license from Illinois and so I need to apply for my Utah license by endorsement. I'm filling out the paperwork and I've contacted somebody at Utah's Board of Nursing/Department of Professional Licensing, but I was wondering if anybody on here knew....

I know that in Utah you must have 30 CEUs when it comes time to renew if you haven't practiced (and it goes down if you have practiced so many hours, etc.) But, since I'm applying for a Utah license for the first time, do I need to have completed 30 CEUs as well? Or will that only come up when it is time to renew? Has anybody else applied specifically for Utah by endorsement from another state? I know that Utah is one of the states in the Nurse Licensure Compact...but, too bad for me, Illinois is not. Which is why I'm having to go through all this mess. Thanks for your input!

[elkpark]

Just FYI, you would have to "go through all this mess" even if IL was a "compact state" -- there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the NLC. The way the Compact works is that you can use your "compact license" to work in any other compact state for as long as you like as long as you maintain your permanent residence in your home (current) state -- but if you move to another state, even another compact state, you have to apply for licensure in your new state. If you move to another compact state, your current (home) license becomes void (one can only hold one compact license at a time), and, if you move to a non-compact state, your current license loses its "compact privileges" and becomes just a traditional, regular license, good only in that state.

The easiest way to think about it is that it works exactly the same as our driver's licenses -- everyone understands that we can use our home driver's license to drive in other states for as far and as long as we want, but if we move to a new state, we have to apply for a new license in that state -- you can't just drive forever on your license from the "old" state. The only reason we can do that (instead of having to stop and apply for a new driver's license each time we get to a state line) is because, long ago, all 50 states got together and signed a compact (an actual, physical document, like a treaty) agreeing to temporarily recognize each other's licenses. The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is exactly the same thing, except that not all states have chosen to sign (join) the compact.

AFAIK, the CEU requirements only come into play when you go to renew the license -- the "new" state (to which you're applying) has no authority or right to require you to do CEUs before you're licensed in that state. However, I imagine the Utah BON website would have the specific requirements for applying for licensure by endorsement posted on the site.

[psycheab]

Just wanted to reply that I did hear back from someone at Utah's Department of Professional Licensing and that is correct, I do not have to have the 30 CEUs since I am applying and not renewing my license. Should I not have practiced when it comes time to renew, THEN I'll have to have acquired the 30 hours. And thanks for clearing up some of the ???s about the NLC. Good to know.