License renewal

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Good day nurse. I am an Internationally Educated Nurse, and I have received my license from the state of Washington DC by means of examination. It was a great feeling to have passed the state licensure exam, however I still cannot use my license since I am still here in the Philippines. It may take years before I will be able to go to the US and work as a nurse and my license is about to expire soon. I would like to hear from those who know how the Paid inactive status goes in terms of renewing my license. Is this the best possible way or should I continue renewing my license and have all those continuing education as a part of the requirement? Any advise from anyone would be great.Thank you in advance.

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Washington DC isn't a state but it's our countries capital. Technically it isn't a state but it lies in both Maryland and Virginia. You intend to practice in Washington DC? Or do you mean Washington State which is located on the West Coast? You really should contact that BON and see what your options are. You want to make sure you have all your CEU's and make sure that they're accepted by the BON way before it expires. Good Luck

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washington dc isn't a state but it's our countries capital. technically it isn't a state but it lies in both maryland and virginia. you intend to practice in washington dc? or do you mean washington state which is located on the west coast? you really should contact that bon and see what your options are. you want to make sure you have all your ceu's and make sure that they're accepted by the bon way before it expires. good luck

oh sorry about that, didnt know that washington dc is not a us state, but yes thats where i obtained my license and also where i intend to practice. washington dc, the capital, where the white house is and not washington state. honestly, i was hoping that someone here could at least give me some advise regarding the paid inactive status which i have seen in their website before i call, because calling them is a bit expensive since i will be doing international call. calling without having any idea regarding all possible issues may eat a lot of time and not to say a lot of money specially if you will include the wait time before i will be connected to the correct department.

on the other hand, if i will go with renewing my license and still remain active, i do need ceus. it will increase my knowledge and help me in the future but then again, it will be a lot of money out of my pocket. so again, i would like to hear from those who have at least a little idea on the different options that i can take on renewing my license in washington dc.

btw, thanks for your reply nursecubanita and i am sorry if coining washington dc as a state somehow confused you but thats where i intend to work in the future.

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Specializes in CTICU.

If you want to know about DC licenses, try posting in DC forum perhaps. Probably not many international nurses will know about that.

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Actually, I already did before I posted this in the International forum, I just thought that posting on both fora/forums will somehow increase the chance of having someone help me.

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No worries Callen, I didn't mean to make you feel uneasy. I hope I didn't do that because I didn't mean to. I just wasn't sure which Washington you were talking about. It's not the fault of the people who don't know, sometimes they just don't know the difference and they assume Washington State is the samething as Washington DC. Both are on opposite coasts. Anyway good luck with your renewal and hope you get positive answers to your questions.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
good day nurse. i am an internationally educated nurse, and i have received my license from the state of washington dc by means of examination. it was a great feeling to have passed the state licensure exam, however i still cannot use my license since i am still here in the philippines. it may take years before i will be able to go to the us and work as a nurse and my license is about to expire soon. i would like to hear from those who know how the paid inactive status goes in terms of renewing my license. is this the best possible way or should i continue renewing my license and have all those continuing education as a part of the requirement? any advise from anyone would be great.thank you in advance.

the dc website for the bon is quite difficult to get information from. the link to the "paid inactive status" brings up a pdf form you can print, fill out, and send to the bon. however, the heading on the form states "license practical nurse renewal application". i am not clear whether only lpn's can apply for "paid inactive status" and not rn's. this is definitely a question not easily answered just by reading the information on the website. the cost of applying for "paid inactive status" is $135 and it will cost $35 later to reactivate the license.

since you are unable to pay for the cost of a long distance phonecall, you have other options of getting in touch with the board. you can write a letter to ask your questions and request additional information then send it by regular mail to the address below or you can try to send the above via email. try these first and see if you get somewhere.

department of health

health professional licensing administration

board of nursing

717 14th street, nw

suite 600

washington, dc 20005

phone: 1-877-672-2174

fax: (202) 727-8471

email: [email protected]

good luck!

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