The Multi-State Nursing Licensure Compact: Making Nurses Mobile

Licensure compacts are not new, but they are new to nursing licensure and even newer to the regulation of advanced practice nurses (APRN). State laws govern professional practice. Boards of Nursing represent the public and are responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of patients in their states. The Multi-state Nursing Licensure Compact is a coordinated effort by the regulatory boards and their state legislatures to protect the public and simultaneously minimize unnecessary barriers to access to care for their citizens. Nurses also benefit when legislators and regulators remove barriers to enhancing delivery of care through evolving technologies and to reaching patients who are remotely located and in the most need. Concerns about licensure discipline and the lack of uniformity have been addressed for the basic nursing licensure compact, but they continue to be examined for APRNs.