Question:
Dear Donna,
I am a private duty nurse, and when the patient?s family travels, I travel with them. When traveling out of state, do I need a temporary nursing license to provide care to my patient? If so how, do I apply for one?
Chrissy
Dear Donna replies:
Dear Chrissy,
For this question I consulted Nancy Brent, RN, JD, nurse attorney, who writes the Brent's Law column at Nurse.com. Here what's she had to say:
"Whenever one provides nursing care in his or her professional capacity as a registered nurse, a license to practice in any state in which the nursing care is given must exist. State nurse practice acts vary from state to state, so the initial issue when traveling with a patient to another state is what the state nurse practice act says about a temporary license.
"Many states provide temporary licenses for nurses, but the requirements for obtaining one vary considerably. Also, temporary licenses, like other types of licenses, take time to issue. Procedures often exist to evaluate the applicant for a temporary license and to determine whether any current license in another state or states exists, and if so, whether the license is in good standing. Some states also limit the length of time a temporary license remains in effect."
Based on what Nancy said above, when seeking a temporary license to practice in another state, you would need to go to the website of that state's Board of Nursing and search for the procedure and application for a temporary license. Find a listing of state boards of nursing at www.ncsbn.org/contactbon.htm.
Best wishes,
Donna
