Over the past year I have obtained 3 new state licenses. Now that I am a seasoned travel nurse practitioner, I just ask various agencies to acquire new licenses for me upfront. This way they can help with the application process and cover the costs 100%.
I had one agency work with me to apply for a Colorado license. The process was fairly quick and painless. Since Colorado is a nurse compact state, I was able to use my Florida RN license to apply for the nurse practitioner license. This cut the application time in half, and it only took 1 month to become licensed.
The second license I wanted was between Wisconsin or Minnesota. I wanted to spend some warm months in the upper mid-west. Since Minnesota is not part of the nursing compact, I decided to move forward with the Wisconsin application instead. This license took a whopping 3 months to be issued. I also had to take a legal exam pertaining to the laws of the state. If you are interested in working in Wisconsin, give yourself ample amount of time to obtain a license.
The last license is the one I am currently using, which is Illinois. I had been offered a job here since January, with an April start date. Fortunately, with the agencies help I was able to get my license within 2 months, just in time for my start date. One thing I wasn’t a fan of during the application process was needing to have a supervising physician sign a separate controlled substance agreement. The form was titled “Application for Advanced Practice Nurse Mid-Level Practitioner Illinois Controlled Substance License.” Illinois is a reduced practice state but I feel like they could leave out the ‘mid-level’ part.
If you are new to locum tenens, I always recommend obtaining 2-3 state licenses on your own. Agencies are reluctant to license you without previous locums experience and you are more likely to get your first assignment if you are already licensed. Agencies will reimburse you for the cost of the license once you start working with them, so be sure to keep all receipts. Once you have worked your first 2-3 assignments, you can have agencies apply for licenses proactively.
Minnesota didn’t take long however the process was tedious and has held me up big time. I agree to have licenses ready to go.
Thanks for the advice. I currently have licenses in 3 states. I have not yet used my Montana license. Most of the assignments I have seen want Trauma certification. I can’t justify the expense of time and money for initial and renewals for a position maybe once a year.