Moving to another state after graduation

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Hi All

I currently hold my RN license in NY state and will be graduating from a AGNP in December. I am hoping to get a job as an NP at my current clinical site after graduation. However, I don't plan on staying very long as my husband and I are interested to move to Oregon or Washington state. Before we settle down in a place I was thinking of trying to get travel RN or locum tenens NP work in either/both states. Any recommendations about obtaining RN license prior to graduating from NP school to make it easier (i.e. less paperwork/time to obtain) to obtain my NP license in those states?

Thank you

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Specializes in Psychiatry/Mental Health.

What did you end up doing? I graduated recently this past May as a PMHNP and became board certified in August. I had planned to move as well, but couldn't make the transition quick enough. I am now seeking employment in my current state and giving myself another 6 months for relocation to a different state. So I am curious if you decided on a course of action since making this post...

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Specializes in NICU.

I'll post my experience- I had several RN licenses when I graduated with my MSN. The state that I ended up with initial NP licensure was on the other side of the country and it was no problem getting both licenses (RN & NP). Once I got my initial license, I immediately endorsed to another state that I knew I eventually wanted to practice. The endorsement was super easy.

The only onerous part of the whole process was that I was transferring my RN license from a compact state to another compact state. It made things a lot more difficult (even though it's supposed to make everything easier ironically), in part because of the time limit. The state that I was transferring felt the need to verify every single RN license I ever had (even if it was expired) and unfortunately, two of them included California & Pennsylvania- both of which don't participate in NURSYS and had a long separate process in order to verify. I also have an international RN license in the UK and it was just another headache to call them up and try to explain to them why I needed them to write a letter stating that my license was in good standing.

While the process was annoying (took 6 months start to finish to get my RN license, thank goodness I had the foresight to start extremely early), I really got down to the wire of being able to practice at my new job because of the the compact RN license grace period & the temporary state license dates winding down. I nearly faced being unable to work because while I had an active NP license, my RN license was taking too long. I think I made it with about a week to spare, so I didn't have to temporarily stop working.

...so my advice would be that if you can swing the $$ (most licenses aren't too expensive, like $100-150 each although you need the RN & NP), do everything as soon as possible. The nice thing about getting my NP license endorsed immediately was that I didn't have to prove any clinical hours since I was still considered a new grad and had less paperwork.

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I am a new NP and am looking at jobs outside of where my original licensure was. If you know what state you want to work in already, I would recommend you get the RN license ASAP. Not only will it save you time when you go to apply for the NP in that state, but it also shows potential employers that you are serious about working in their state.

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I would start the process early as not all states are that quick with the process. You can also apply for your NP while still in school and just update as you go. I have worked in some states where it took less than a week for a license and others where it took months. My DEA in my current state took 10 weeks where classmates back in TN had theirs within two weeks.

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