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.

[DR KAREN RN]

Many state universities require some kind of history or "civics" course for graduation. This is not particular to Texas.

[olivia60]

Ditto to that!

[olivia60]

Well I believe in getting paid for what I have accomplished, and that is not a privilege, it is what is due. Those who hire us are privileged to have us work work them.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

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

It is a breeze compared to the FL BON

[banterings]

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" ...

Yes that is true, and I more than anyone else believe in the US Constitution and the rights that it grants. That being said, there is NOTHING in the US Constitution that says states need to charge for areas that they regulate.

This mentality has infected every aspect of society. Look at banks; There was a time that banks paid you to keep your money there. Now, if you don't maintain a certain minimum balance, write too many checks, even if you use a human teller for your account (BOA does this), you are charged a fee. Some banks even charge you a fee (%) if you try to make a deposit in too many coins.

That is why check cashing stores are doing so well. How about employers charging employees to get paid? See the story in the Huffington Post here:

Part of the problems in Ferguson MO stem from municipalities in St. Louis County, profiting from traffic citations of the poor (source: The Washington Post). This came out in the FBI investigation in to the Ferguson police department and has prompted Missouri Lawmakers Limit Revenue From Traffic Fines in St. Louis Area (source: NY Times).

I had an idea 15 years ago that I never pursued. I was going to get a personal 900 number and give that to my bank, utilities, credit cards, etc. Every time that they called me to try and tele market something, $4.99 a minute. Right back at them...

[RoxyDi]

"Well I believe in getting paid for what I have accomplished, and that is not a privilege, it is what is due. Those who hire us are privileged to have us work work them."Wow. Just wow. Ever have to prove yourself before? If not, get ready for it. This is not a professional attitude, in my opinion. Respect goes BOTH ways, but it sure starts with the person looking to be hired.

[Mother Nature]

As a former Dean of a Nursing Program in the wonderful state of Texas, I have worked with the TXBON on multiple occasions. I must say that the originator of this post does seem extremely resentful with "the hoops" that Texas requires all nurses who practice here to jump through. God Bless Texas....I am hoping that all states adopt a system similar to what we do to license nurses. A nurse can lose a license in one state and because there is no central repository that tracks every nurse across the US can go to another state and apply for a license and practice. The BON of the state of Texas is in place for one reason and raising money by cheating nurses out of money for the privilege of working in Texas is not the reason. The BON exist to ensure that the residents of Texas receive safe competent care. Now, I have a question for Mr. Brown.....you quoted all the money you spent to come to Texas...all the wasted hours.....did you consider the hours wasted when you were trying to receive your license in Wisconsin? I certainly hope not....because without successfully completing the NCLEX and obtaining your license, there would be no license period.

[OCNRN63, 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.

It wasn't that long ago when each state did have its own test, thus the reference to "passing the boards" some nurses use. Back then, if you wanted to practice in another state, you just applied for a license, and that was it. Not like lawyers, who have to sit for the bar if they move/practice in another state.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Ditto to that!

Would you please use the "Quote" feature so we know to whom you're responding?

[elkpark]

It wasn't that long ago when each state did have its own test, thus the reference to "passing the boards" some nurses use. Back then, if you wanted to practice in another state, you just applied for a license, and that was it. Not like lawyers, who have to sit for the bar if they move/practice in another state.

I'm not sure which "back then" you're referring to. When states each had their own licensure exam, you did have to write the new state's licensure exam to get licensed in a new state, regardless of how many years you had been successfully practicing in your current state. That's what made the NCLEX such a breakthrough and game-changer.

When I was in nursing school in the early 1980s, it was still an exciting new thing that there was reciprocity of NCLEX results and you could get licensed in any US state without having to write the new state's licensing exam. I remember clearly our instructors repeatedly impressing upon us what a big deal this was.

[txredapple79, BSN]

I had the pleasure of dealing with CA. They proceeded to "misplace" my fingerprints and took roughly 8 months to get me a temp license.

[RoxyDi]

Actually, I was first licensed in Illinois in 1981, before NCLEX, and I did NOT have to retake board exams to get licensed in Texas in 1983. We had reciprocity between states (varying) at that time, too.