Question - not sure where to post!?

[ahartvigson]

I hope this is the right place to put this!

I am due to begin my pre-reqs for nursing here this summer, and hopefully will be accepted into the program for Fall of 08. If so, I will complete the program here and move within a few months of graduation. My question has to do with a nursing license - and I right to assume they are by state? And if so, how will it work graduating in one state (South Dakota) and job seeking in another (Alaska). Any info would be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance!!

-Anna

[Halinja, BSN, RN]

There are two ways you can do it. You can apply for licensure in the state you are in now, and then apply for license by endorsement in the state you are going to move to.

Or, you can do it like I'm doing right now. I'm going to school in California, but have already submitted my application to another state, where I will be moving immediately after graduation. That way I only pay one set of licensing fees, and it shortens the time until I have a license in the new state.

Both ways have their good and bad points, its kind of up to you. One bad point is that my school is totally puzzled by me, and wary of the other state's paperwork. So I have to explain each bit of paper to them. But, as I mentioned above, its more cost effective this way.

Oh, I almost forgot. You can take the NCLEX anywhere, no matter which state you applied to for your license. So you could take the NCLEX in S. Dakota even if you apply for your license in Alaska.

[ahartvigson]

thank so much!