Nurses should be able to move freely around the country without unnecessary interruptions to their careers. That ability wouldn’t just be for them, it would help our state’s hospitals get needed care to patients and help the whole nation combat diseases and hotspots.

House Bill 1417 and Senate Bill 5499 propose good policy, allowing qualified, licensed, out-of-state nurses to work in our state without jumping through cumbersome licensing hoops. The bipartisan bills have committee hearings on Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, respectively.

A nursing shortage plagues Washington state. These bills won’t completely solve the problem. We need to grow more nurses and be innovative about ways to take some duties off of nurses to maximize their skills. But until we do all that, joining the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is a tool that can help patients, hospitals and the overworked nurses who are here.

The bipartisan legislation says, “The expanded mobility of nurses and the use of advanced communication technologies as part of our nation's health care delivery system require greater coordination and cooperation among states in the areas of nurse licensure and regulation.” It goes on to say, “New practice modalities and technology make compliance with individual state nurse licensure laws difficult and complex. The current system of duplicative licensure for nurses practicing in multiple states is cumbersome and redundant for both nurses and states.” 

The bills are intended to promote public safety and health benefits, decreasing redundancies in the issuance of nurse licenses, while retaining the ability to hold our state’s standard of care high. That can happen. The compact rightly requires nurses to meet their home state’s nursing qualifications, graduate from a qualifying education program, undergo a background check and follow the laws in any given state they work, just as drivers have to follow the speed limits in every city and state they visit, regardless of the state issuing a driver’s license. Right now, most states belong to the compact. 

COVID-19 demonstrated how important it is to have qualified nurses able to cross state lines and get to work immediately. Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, rightly points out that sometimes the NLC would help nurses already living in our state get to work quickly: The compact is super helpful for military spouses who relocate here. 

Joining the Nurse Licensure Compact sets us up well for the future and offers nurses career mobility that makes sense.

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Read my policy analysis of joining the Nurse Licensure Compact here: https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/joining-37-other-states-in-the-nurse-licensure-compact-is-one-of-the-ways-to-help-washington-patients-nurses-and-hospitals.