The Nursing Licensing Cartel

[rickbrown23]

I just need to rant about the absurdity of the nurse licensing system in this country. The amount of money one has to waste in addition to the expense of the education is really criminal.

A happy little tally:

1. $200 for the privilege of taking my NCLEX from Pearson. (third party #1 who administer every test from NCLEX to 3rd grade Common Core) quite a nice little monopoly they've got going. http://www.phillyvoice.com/concerns-rising-over-pearson/ [8 hours of work]

2. $100 and change for a nursing license from Wisconsin (where I graduated) [4 hours of work]

***job offer and acceptance from hospital in Texas (a compact state)***

2. $40.79 for a set of ****** fingerprints in Texas to send to BON. (third party #2 indentogo.com) because the state of Texas surely couldn't use my FBI fingerprints that were already on file for my previous health care work. can't cut out the company working out of a flippin' H&R Block who take about 10 seconds to stick my inked fingers on a piece of white paper. [1.75 hours of work]

3. $30 to nursys.com to "verify" my license. apparently the fact that I have THE ACTUAL LICENSE is not enough. I must have it "verified" by another private company that someone got a contract with the state. (oh wait, this is Texas. of course a private company got a big contract with the state under the auspices of saving taxpayer money while skewering the individuals who actually need the service.) [1.10 hours of work]

4. $186 for Texas to "endorse" my Wisconsin license. [7.29 hours of work]

5. $25 for Texas' licensing test (because the NCLEX just wasn't thorough enough presumably.) [1 hour of work]

And there you have it. $581.79, or 23.4 hours of work for the privilege of working. Good times. Looking forward to that first loan payment.

[RoxyDi]

Unethical and likely illegal? It is called states rights, pure and simple.

[oldandintheway]

Well folks, it's called the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Consider if as the state of California could issue a license for someone in New Hampshire and that state had no say in the matter; or New Hampshire could discipline a nurse in Kansas for an event that happened in Florida. State's rights is one of the founding principles of the U.S.

If nursing is to be taken seriously as a Profession as opposed to an occupation it has to step up to the table with other Professions such as medicine or law. Compacts are another issue all together and concern reciprocation not a national license, a home state license still needs to be held.

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

I simply wish the Maryland BON would answer their phones. I have lost hours of my life over the years on hold.

The Maryland Board of Nursing is a disgrace, always has been, likely always will be.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Sheesh - another thread initiated by someone who seems pretty resentful that the only available nursing jobs are here in Texas. Ungrateful much?

Texas nursing practice is unique in many ways. We have had mandated peer review for a long time. We have Safe Harbor. We have a legally defined "nurse patient duty" that cannot be subsumed by the physician patient duty. Our scopes of practice are very well differentiated. So, is it so unreasonable to expect new nurses to learn a bit about practicing in Texas as part of the licensure process? BTW, we require our own grads to take the state jurisprudence course also.

I can understand if you're working in TX, but when I looked into the BSN program at UTA, one of the required courses was on hx of TX and its govt, something that didn't apply to this Yankee who will never be moving there. I went with another university.

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

I can understand if you're working in TX, but when I looked into the BSN program at UTA, one of the required courses was on hx of TX and its govt, something that didn't apply to this Yankee who will never be moving there. I went with another university.

Love Texans, they truly are a breed unto themselves. My college roommate was from Texas and from her I learned that Texans are Texans first, then US citizens second :) They have the strongest state pride of any other people I've met. Must be one heck of a great place to live.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I can understand if you're working in TX, but when I looked into the BSN program at UTA, one of the required courses was on hx of TX and its govt, something that didn't apply to this Yankee who will never be moving there. I went with another university.

Me, too! A working knowledge of Texas government might very well be useful in...say....Texas. But in New York....not so much

[banterings]

Profesional licensing fees are just a source of revenue for the states. The same with drivers' licenses, auto registration, business licenses, etc.

Do you know what hinders economic growth/recovery more than anything? Business licensing. You need to spend almost $2000 before you can go into business for yourself.

Then you throw in testing centers, continuing education credits, etc., all of which pay a kickback to the states... I mean a reporting fee.

Let me paint a perfect example: cigarettes. It is almost universally accepted that these are bad for your health, they account for a large part of healthcare spending, and so on... So why not just outlaw them?

Answer: Billions of dollars of tax money. Look at how regulated the industry is and how much of the price of a pack is tax; about 50%.

I am not saying that licensing, continuing ed, testing, etc. is bad, I am merely pointing out that it is a major source of revenue for the states.

One does have to ask how effective licensing is. How often do we hear stories in any profession that someone was licensed to do something that a license revocation or conviction should have prevented them from doing? Usually this involves a ponzi scheme, but there are many of both physicians and nurses.

So why do we have to pay a fee? Should licensing not be part of what (state) government is suppose to do?

Anyone who flies regularly knows that TSA screening is only there to make people who do not fly regularly feel safe. Licensing boards pretty much do the same; states can say at least they did do SOMETHING...

[olivia60]

You can sure say that again. When I got my LVN I only paid $25.00 for the Board Exam. It seems that anything that has medical in it is automatically overcharged. Medical Coding is the same. Before you take the certification exam you have to come up with around $1800 to just prepare for it and another $300 to take it. There is no way to even think about affording it. I have become disgusted with all of these organizations. I do not need their license that bad.

[LadybirdRN]

I seriously cannot understand any negative comments and petty attitudes shown towards to OP. A lot of people (corporations) have their hand in our pockets because it's just the way it is. If you add up all the money from each of us as individuals it's ridiculous and way out of proportion in exchange for what their "service" provides.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I seriously cannot understand any negative comments and petty attitudes shown towards to OP. A lot of people (corporations) have their hand in our pockets because it's just the way it is. If you add up all the money from each of us as individuals it's ridiculous and way out of proportion in exchange for what their "service" provides.

Lol, a lot of people say that about the charges for nursing care they see when they get their hospital bill.

[DR KAREN RN]

There is no national nursing license because the US Constitution does not give the federal government that power. Licensing is a power reserved by the states, with few exceptions (e.g., the FAA licenses pilots, but pilots must also "register" their FAA certificates in some states). There is no "national licensing exam" but the 50 state boards of nursing, along with several territories, have agreed to collaborate and contract with a single company to develop and validate the exam. Puerto Rico, for example, does not use the same exam. Although Puerto Rican nurses are US citizens, they must retest in states that will not accept their licensure exam. Imagine if each state gave its own nursing exam. Moving from one state to another would be an even bigger headache than the one presented by the recent graduate. Given her high level of dissatisfaction, I doubt that she stays in nursing very long.

[LadybirdRN]

Ha-ha, true that about itimized hospital charges.