Governor Spencer Cox signed the APRN Compact into law in the state of Utah on March 24, 2022. When implemented, the compact will allow an APRN to hold one multistate license with a privilege to practice in other compact states.
Through the APRN Compact, APRNs will have the ability to travel from state-to-state to deliver care or provide telehealth services across state borders in other compact states. This will increase patient access to high-quality care with the assurance that their practitioner has met rigorous uniform standards no matter where that care is provided.
Bill sponsor Sen. Curtis Bramble, commented, “It was my privilege to support APRNs in Utah and the important role they play in providing excellent care to our community. The passage of SB151 is significant because it will allow nurses from other states to practice in Utah without a lot of unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. We need these highly qualified health care professionals to live and work in Utah in order to address our growing population’s needs. This bill balances the urgent need for more health care workers while upholding high standards for training and safety.”
Utah is the third jurisdiction to have enacted the APRN Compact. North Dakota and Delaware enacted the compact in 2021. The APRN Compact will be implemented when seven states have enacted the legislation.
For more information about the APRN Compact visit aprncompact.com.
CHICAGO – On Nov. 15, 2021, New Jersey completed the process of implementing the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). The NLC allows registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs), whose primary state of residence is in an NLC state, to hold one multistate license, with the authority to practice in person or via telehealth, in both their home state and other NLC states.
In March 2020, the New Jersey Board of Nursing partially implemented the NLC. As a result, nurses who resided in other compact states and held an active multistate license in their state of residence were able to practice in New Jersey.
As of Nov. 15, 2021, the NLC is now fully implemented in New Jersey. Full implementation will allow nurses whose primary state of residence is New Jersey to apply for a multistate (compact) license.
“Through implementation of the NLC, regulatory burdens for RNs and LPN/VNs will be significantly reduced. Having the ability to obtain a multistate license will increase access to care for patients in New Jersey and other states,” comments Sean P. Neafsey, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
Key points for nurses residing in New Jersey:
The NLC became fully operational in New Jersey on Nov. 15, 2021. Nurses who currently hold a New Jersey RN or LPN license may apply to “upgrade” their existing New Jersey single-state license to a multistate license.
It is not necessary for New Jersey license holders to wait until their renewal period in order to apply for the multistate license.
New graduates of nursing programs who are New Jersey residents may apply for licensure by exam from the New Jersey Board of Nursing and can choose to pursue a multistate license.
Once a nurse is issued a multistate license, the nurse may stop renewing any license held in another NLC state.
Licensure requirements are aligned in NLC states, so all nurses applying for a multistate license are required to meet those same standards, including submission to a federal and state fingerprint-based criminal background check.
With the multistate license, nurses are able to provide telehealth nursing services to patients located in NLC states without having to obtain additional licenses. A multistate license facilitates cross-border practice for many types of nurses who routinely practice with patients in other states, including primary care nurses, case managers, transport nurses, school and hospice nurses and many others. Further, military spouses who experience moves every few years also benefit greatly from the multistate license.
About the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators (ICNLCA)
The ICNLCA facilitates cross border nursing practice through the implementation of the nationally recognized, multistate license, the NLC. The ICNLCA enhances nurse mobility and public protection through maintaining uniform licensure standards among party state boards of nursing; promoting cooperation and collaboration between party states, facilitating the exchange of data and information between party states; and educating stakeholders. The ICNLCA is a quasi-governmental and joint public agency of the party states created and established on July 20, 2017. The Executive Committee is the seven-member elected leadership of the ICNLCA.
About the NLC
The NLC allows for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) to have one multistate license, with the ability to practice in person or via telehealth in both their home state and other NLC states. There are 38 jurisdictions that are members of the NLC. Licensing standards are aligned in NLC states, so all nurses applying for a multistate license are required to meet the same standards, which include a federal and state criminal background check that will be conducted for all applicants for multistate licensure.
The NLC also enables nurses to provide telehealth nursing services to patients located across the country without having to obtain additional licenses. In the event of a disaster, nurses from multiple states can easily respond to supply vital services. Additionally, almost every nurse, including primary care nurses, case managers, transport nurses, school and hospice nurses, among many others, needs to routinely cross state boundaries to provide the public with access to nursing services, and a multistate license facilitates this process.
On November 16, the NCBSN and six other top US nursing organizations issued an urgent policy brief to remind members of the most trusted profession to honor that trust and fight misinformation related to Covid-19. “When identifying themselves by their profession, nurses are professionally accountable for the information they provide to the public,” the brief states, and warns nurses that “dissemination of misinformation not only jeopardizes the health and the well-being of the public but may place their license and career in jeopardy as well.”
The full text of the brief, issued by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), the ANA, NSNA, and other major nursing organizations follows.
To address the misinformation being disseminated about COVID-19 by nurses.
For the purposes of this statement, misinformation is defined as distorted facts, inaccurate or misleading information not grounded in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, and counter to information being disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Statement
Nurses are expected to be “prepared to practice from an evidence base; promote safe, quality patient care; use clinical/critical reasoning to address simple to complex situations; assume accountability for one’s own and delegated nursing care” (AACN, 2021).
SARS-CoV-2 is a potentially deadly virus. Providing misinformation to the public regarding masking, vaccines, medications and/or COVID-19 threatens public health. Misinformation, which is not grounded in science and is not supported by the CDC and FDA, can lead to illness, possibly death, and may prolong the pandemic. It is an expectation of the U.S. boards of nursing, the profession, and the public that nurses uphold the truth, the principles of the Code of Ethics for Nurses (ANA, 2015), and highest scientific standards when disseminating information about
COVID-19 or any other health-related condition or situation.
When identifying themselves by their profession, nurses are professionally accountable for the information they provide to the public. Any nurse who violates their state nurse practice act or threatens the health and safety of the public through the dissemination of misleading or incorrect information pertaining to COVID-19, vaccines, and associated treatment through verbal or written methods including social media may be disciplined by their board of nursing. Nurses are urged to recognize that dissemination of misinformation not only jeopardizes the health and
well-being of the public but may place their license and career in jeopardy as well.