Nursing License Renewal Requirements By State
A nurse’s state license is their golden ticket to traveling wherever they want for an assignment. Particularly for compact states, one license unlocks over half the country as a potential travel destination.
The requirements to get a new license vary greatly by state, so it’s no surprise that the requirements to renew a license also vary by state.
Every state requires that you renew your license every few years to continue practicing. Most also require some aspect of continued education to prove that you’ve kept up your skills and are up to date on all of the latest advances in nursing.
Nursing Continued Education Requirements
Continued Education (CE) is often measured in terms of continuing education units (CEU) which are equal to 10 hours of instruction called “contact hours”. These hours aren’t necessarily always 60 minutes in length — it varies by state mandate.
To help you keep track of your licenses, and make sure you’re prepared for renewal when the time rolls around, we’ve put together a table of the renewal rate of each state and how many contact hours are required for RNs. Some states also require specific CE courses for specific subjects.
Requirements To Renew RN Nursing License By State
Tips for Completing Your Continued Education Requirements
The required number of hours can seem a bit daunting, but don’t forget that you often have a few years to fit all of those hours in. We recommend spreading them out and looking for opportunities to have fun while also earning credits.
Ask the facility you are working at. In some cases, facilities or hospitals will offer some CEU courses to help nurses keep up their licenses. Ask your nurse manager if there are any available for you to attend.
Check your state’s nursing board website. Often they will list a number of recommended CEU sources that are approved by the board.
Attend a conference! Conferences like TravCon will often be approved for CE’s. For example, the ANCC approves 10–12 contact hours for nurses that attend TravCon. Network and have fun while also gaining credits!
We hope this was helpful in helping you plan our your next assignments to ensure your license is kept up to date! Please keep in mind that these requirements change over time so please visit your state’s board of nursing website if you have questions. We recommend applying for renewal as soon as it’s available so that you don’t end up with an expired license while practicing.
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Happy job hunting!
The Nomad Team
nomadhealth.com
Originally published at blog.nomadhealth.com on March 12, 2019.
