"Reciprocity"??? Ya, sure

Nurses General Nursing

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Greetings and Happy Holidays to allnurses.comers. Just a FYI on applying to another state for license "reciprocity." I don't know why it's called "reciprocal" because, as I have just discovered, you have to jump through the same hoops all over again - collecting transcripts, paying the fees, all the forms, etc. Silly me, I thought "reciprocity" meant that the fifty states all agreed to honor licenses granted in another state. In fact, the process begins from scratch. If you need to do this, give yourself a lot of time! It took the NY BON three months to give me the ATT number to take the nclex. Fortunately, one thing you don't have to do is take the exam again! Bureaucracy never ceases to amaze me.

Woody,

Tell me about it! My take on all this license bureaucracy stuff is that it gives somebody something to do if they have a job pushing papers for the state. It seems far too complicated and expensive all around, wouldn't ya say? Though I realize we all need a government, I guess, I think the entire system gives itself a reason for existence. If you need to do all this running around to keep your license in good standing, well, somebody's gotta do it. Drives me up the wall. Look at all the people involved in the health insurance. Now, exactly what do they do besides drive the cost of health care up? But I have to stop ranting, it's the holidays! Have a good vacation! I guess the silver lining here is this: doesn't it feel good to do something real for a living? I can't imagine anything more depressing that sitting at a desk all day pushing papers.

Diahni.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

there are no national nursing license for the same reason we do not have a national driving license: licensure is a states right, not federal.

it is up to each state to determine license standards within its boarders.

re compact license: only good if you live in one state and practice in ajoining state that is part of the compact. if you move to a differing state, will need to apply for license in that state.

the multi-state nursing licensure compact: making nurses mobile

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Never, never allow a license to lapse in another state even if you are sure you will never use it again. My friend allowed her Fla. license to lapse and was put through a ringer to get a new one. She laughed and said they took pride in making her life difficult while she was attempting to get her license reinstated. She told me she would sell a kidney rather than allow any of her other licenses to lapse after going through this mess. LOL. Happy Holidays to one and all.

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How easy and uncomplicated it would be if getting a license in a different state required nothing more than filling out an application and paying a fee.

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Never, never allow a license to lapse in another state even if you are sure you will never use it again. My friend allowed her Fla. license to lapse and was put through a ringer to get a new one. She laughed and said they took pride in making her life difficult while she was attempting to get her license reinstated. She told me she would sell a kidney rather than allow any of her other licenses to lapse after going through this mess. LOL. Happy Holidays to one and all.

The thing is, I allowed my Florida license to laspe in 1990 because I could not afford to renew it. And I was still recoverying from injures I had received in a car accident. They didn't make me resubmit my state board scores, in 1996, when I reactivated my license then. I don't see why they are making me submit my state board now, other then they want the more then $200 in fees.

I will never allow my New York license laspe, even though I have to take my CEUs long distance.

Woody:balloons:

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there are no national nursing license for the same reason we do not have a national driving license: licensure is a states right, not federal.

it is up to each state to determine license standards within its boarders.

re compact license: only good if you live in one state and practice in ajoining state that is part of the compact. if you move to a differing state, will need to apply for license in that state.

the multi-state nursing licensure compact: making nurses mobile

thanks for link! though nursing and driving require state licenses, they're hardly comparable. after all, imagine being stopped and arrested in another state because your license is only good in your own state. the comparison is worth looking at, though, isn't it? after all, why can't nurses practice in another state for the same reason we can drive with our state licenses anywhere in the us. why not? because somebody is making money from it.

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To clarify a few things, the NCLEX exams only have reciprocity. Licenses do not, you must meet the requirements of the new state to be able to get a License by Endorsement there.

If you notice, you will not see an application for reciprocity, that no longer exists and stopped existing when each state did away with their own licensing exam and went to using the NCLEX exam. The recprocity meant that the exam passing could be used by certain states, and again it was not all states, it depended on your numerical score.

To endorse to most states, you will still need to have your school of nursing send transcripts to the new state; most still want to see those.

And be aware that not all of these new programs that are out there and are not the norm are accepted in all states.

In most cases to endorse, you just need to submit the application and payment and have your old statre send in verification that you have passed.

In answer to one of the other posters at the top of this thread, even if more states go under the Compact License Pact, that fails to exist when the nurse moves her legal residence, only the actual license for that one state remains valid until you go thru the licensing process for the new state.

Hello suzanne,

I have been reading some of your international forums about reciprocity and you seem really knowledgeable about it. I am not inquiring about internationally however. I am in the US and have a valid SS #and I am registered to NY. I want to be able to keep my NY registration and also have one in NJ. Is that what you call reciprocity? What are the steps I have to take to have my license registered to both states? Does it really take 6-8 weeks for them to say everything is completed? Where do I get the form from? Can I just print it off?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hello suzanne,

I have been reading some of your international forums about reciprocity and you seem really knowledgeable about it. I am not inquiring about internationally however. I am in the US and have a valid SS #and I am registered to NY. I want to be able to keep my NY registration and also have one in NJ. Is that what you call reciprocity? What are the steps I have to take to have my license registered to both states? Does it really take 6-8 weeks for them to say everything is completed? Where do I get the form from? Can I just print it off?

You endorse your license and follow requirements and can take a few weeks. All information will be on BON site. May take a bit longer if an International nurse depending on requirements

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You endorse your license and follow requirements and can take a few weeks. All information will be on BON site. May take a bit longer if an International nurse depending on requirements

What is a BON site? My teacher at Kaplan told me that endorsement and reciprocity are two different things. She told me endorsement meant that I would be giving up my license in NY and giving it over to NJ. She said if I applied for reciprocity however I can keep work in both NY and NJ. Can you confirm that.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
What is a BON site? My teacher at Kaplan told me that endorsement and reciprocity are two different things. She told me endorsement meant that I would be giving up my license in NY and giving it over to NJ. She said if I applied for reciprocity however I can keep work in both NY and NJ. Can you confirm that.

Only NCLEX exam is reciprocity. You need to apply to Board of Nursing (BON) of the state you want to work in and follow requirements for endorsement. As long as you pay fees and renewal fees plus any other requirements like CES you can have as many licenses as you want. Just because you endorse does not mean you loose license.

NY BON http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/nursing/inforequest.htm

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Only NCLEX exam is reciprocity. You need to apply to Board of Nursing (BON) of the state you want to work in and follow requirements for endorsement. As long as you pay fees and renewal fees plus any other requirements like CES you can have as many licenses as you want. Just because you endorse does not mean you loose license.

NY BON http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/nursing/inforequest.htm

Thank you for the help. I will look into it further tomorrow.

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Thanks for link! Though nursing and driving require state licenses, they're hardly comparable. After all, imagine being stopped and arrested in another state because your license is only good in your own state. The comparison is worth looking at, though, isn't it? After all, why can't nurses practice in another state for the same reason we can drive with our state licenses anywhere in the US. Why not? Because somebody is making money from it.

Actually, driver's licenses are the example I use whenever I'm trying to explain the nursing licensure compact to anyone. The only reason we are able to drive cross-country without having to stop and get a new license in each state is because, many years ago, all the states got together and signed a compact agreeing to honor each other's driver's' licenses -- exactly the same legal mechanism as the nursing licensure compact. However, the drivers' license compact works exactly the same way -- you can drive temporarily in another (any other) state with your "home" driver's license, but if you move to another state, you have 30 or 60 (or whatever the law is in that particular state) to get a license from that state. Each state retains the right to regulate driving within its own borders, just as each state retains the right to regulate the practice of nursing (and every other licensed profession/occupation -- medicine, law, architecture, cosmetology, whatever) within its own borders.

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