When will my PA license officially be compact?

[pamalamadingdong]

Just searching for some advice - I currently have a PA RN license but I need to start applying for jobs around DC as my husband and I are moving to there in a few months!  I really don't know if I should go through the trouble/time/money to get a MD license when I know PA is about to be a compact state but it just seems like it's impossible to know exactly when that will happen.  Would a hospital in MD would hire me with a PA license, knowing it will soon be compact?

thanks so much!

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

Yes, this Pennsylvania NLC situation is quite confusing to me. Washington State passed the Compact about a year ago. Washington also now requires an FBI criminal background check for all NLC applicants. Any Washington State nurse who wants a Compact license can apply for one in about ten days. Yet.........Pennsylvania nurses are still waiting for the FBI to do the same thing for the Pennsylvania Board Of Nursing. It took Washington about nine months to complete this process. Pennsylvania has been working on the same FBI approval for almost three years. For this reason alone, I am quite happy that I don't live in Pennsylvania.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

There needs to be a LEGISLATURE approval to change PA nursing law.

Per 7/18/2024 PSNA 2024 Budget update:

Quote

House Bill 2200, The FBI-Approved Language to Fix PA's Licensing Compact, has passed both the House and the Senate. This bill will fix the issues with Pennsylvania fully entering into the Nursing Compact. It was presented to Governor Shapiro on July 9, and we await his signature.

 

Time for PA NURSES to EMAIL  Governor Shapiro to SIGN Act No. 79 of 2024, July 17, 2024:  FBI-Approved Language to Implement Licensure Compacts.  

Call: 717-787-2500

Mail:

Governor Josh Shapiro

508 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Gotta get his attention from VP campaign chatter.

 

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

This bill just got Governor Shapiro's approval. Thanks for the update. I was wondering what was causing the delay.

[Marsha Chesbro]

Shapiro has drug his feet since 2021 about Pennsylvania being a compact state for nurses. Pennsylvania Board of Nursing are incompetent. I was inactive in 2012. Worked in Raleigh NC and retired. After numerous phone calls, on hold spoke to them They couldn't find my Registered Nurse license on PALS. Through much conversation it was discovered the PBON had my name spelled wrong. After more incompetence came when my RN license was no where to be found . PALS had my LPN and Dental Hygienist licenses only. Idiots. Lucky me I had a copy of my RN license from 2012.Then after being on hold and more calls I gave that men from PBON the license number and all of of sudden my Registered Nurse license appeared on the PALS website along with my other licenses. Now I am more angry than before because now these incompetent idiots want me to pay all these fees and do a refresher course.No this will never happen.They need to be accountable for this mess.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Why did you not get license reinstated in 2018 upon return to PA?   Many states require continuing education ranging from 20-30 hrs per license renewal. Unlike PA without practice hours required, some states require a minimum number of working hours e.g. 400 in order to renew license -- all done to keep nurses CURRENT in nursing practice knowledge.

[dekagirlsRN]

I read that he signed the bill, correct?  Does anyone know what the next step is or how long it'll take now for PA to become a compact state? 

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

2024 PA Act 79 Criminal history background checks for professional licenses

" This act shall take effect in 180 days  APPROVED--The 17th day of July, A.D. 2024."

So expect processes to be written and go into effect in  2025, just in time for my next license renewal.

 

 

[berksgirl33]

Here we are in October of 2024 and PA nurses are still NOT part of the compact license agreement. What could possibly be taking so long? 

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

Hopefully, as Karen stated in an earlier post, the Pennsylvania NLC will be fully implemented in January of 2025 or soon after that. The Pennsylvania State Legislature seems to process bills very slowly.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Whats holding implementation up: FBI concerns. have to review governors recently signed legislation.  State needs to arrange for set-up and safe storage of criminal background info.

Western PA Healthcare News   August 22, 2024

Nurse Licensure Compact Implementation in Pennsylvania – Moving Forward but Not Quite There!

Quote

 

So, now that Act 79 of 2024 is signed into law, what are the next steps? At the July 12, 2024 PA State Board of Nursing (SBN) meeting, attendees learned:

• The FBI provided only conditional language to the legislature to include in HB2200 which became Act 79 of 2024. The FBI wanted the legislation to be approved first, and then the FBI will review the resultant approved language to determine their final approval.
• Once the FBI finally approves the language:
  • The SBN will need time to determine how to collect background checks and store this information. The PA State Police will contract with an outside vendor who will set up fingerprinting, storage, and transfer of information to the FBI for national criminal background checks. 
  • The SBN will write temporary regulations for currently licensed nurses to obtain a multi-state license, and for new nursing school graduates who reside in Pennsylvania to apply for a multi-state license. (The decision was made to prepare "temporary NLC regulations" because they can be approved faster, although they have a shorter lifespan, whereas preparing "full development of NLC regulations" would take about 1 1/2 years due to multiple tiers of review and approval.)
  • The SBN will need time to develop guidance on how nursing licensees can convert from single to multi-state licenses.
• Prior SBN meeting minutes noted that technological changes are being made to the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS) so that it is ready to issue multi-state licenses.