So I decided to do something to change my life a bit. Thanks in part to Whole life nurse and The Remote Nurse I decided to look into some remote nursing jobs either part time or full time if the pay is right. When looking around I noticed that there are, for some of the jobs, the necessity to be able to practice in Multiple States. Some States, mine included, are Compact Licensing states where I can apply for a a Multi-state license Upgrade through the nurse licensing compact (NLC).
“The NLC increases access to care while maintaining public protection at the state level. Under the NLC, nurses can practice in other NLC states, without having to obtain additional licenses.”
I made the decision last week to take steps to be able to apply for this Multi- state license. The first step is to get fingerprinted and provide a digital picture for your Department of Law Enforcement for a background check. Now, I did this five years ago when I signed on with an agency for Per diem shifts and contract work with hospitals. But it has to be done again, so I made an appointment with a company called FieldPrint who does it in the 3rd week of may and scheduled the appointment for the first available appointment which was good for me. That appointment was today.
I arrived at my appointment which happened to be at a UPS store and was immediately told that all fingerprinting appointments have been cancelled indefinitely. They stated they sent me an email or a voicemail telling me this. I received no voicemail or email to that effect. Needless to say I wasn’t terribly happy. But I decided that I would try to contact someone to get a refund. I could not get a human on the phone from that company or another company or the BON. (Board of nursing) No answers. I thought it was rather funny that in a time of needing nurses in other parts of the country they would suspend compact licensing.
Ready to give up, my husband, God bless him found and called another local place who did walk ins. And I went down right away and had them done and my photo and they electronically send them to the DLE for the background check. It only cost me $8 more than what i paid before.
I went ahead and collected my evidence of the cancellation and my original appointment and disputed the charge on my credit card. Problem solved. I then electronically submitted my application for my upgraded license. As soon as that clears I will start looking for remote work. I am so happy to have found Kelsey of whole life nurse and Sadie of The remote nurse.
If you are a nurse are interested in applying for a multi-state upgrade. Please check with your state board of nursing to see if your state participates in the NLC program.
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