It’s That Time: Nursing License Renewal & Nursing CEUs
By Aaron Moore, MSN, RN-BC, travel nurse expert
So it’s October again in the great state of Nebraska. Every two years I have to renew my initial nursing license. Thankfully Nebraska is a nurse compact state and it allows me to travel to so many amazing destinations in travel nursing without having to apply for a new license.
But whether you live in a compact state or not, you will have to deal with getting the continuing education units or CEUs you need to keep up your RN license--or RN licenses, if you work as a travel nurse in multiple states.
Nursing continuing education is a vital aspect of our career choice. Medical science and patient care are always evolving and changing, and we need to stay on top of it to be successful professionals. As Albert Einstein and other writers have pointed out, “When you stop growing you start dying.” This simple law of nature can easily be applied to many aspects of our lives. Especially our work lives as nurses.
Each state will have a different renewal process and most boards of nursing will reach out to you via email or snail mail to let you know it’s time to give them some money. The average RN license renewal time frame is two years, but some states are longer. Remember, this is your nursing license and your lifeline to work, so don’t overlook the reminders; in fact, keep track for yourself.
Besides writing a check to your state nursing board, you’ll also have to prove that you’ve keeping up on those continuing education units. This is usually done by sending in copies of your CEU paperwork with your renewal or through a random audit process through you state. Either way, be sure to safeguard your records. I have a folder in my lock box with all my certificates in it. Every five years I go through and toss the old so it doesn’t get overdone.
The good news? Getting those nursing continuing education units is so much easier now than even a few years ago, with all of the online choices, and many travel nursing companies offer free nursing CEUs to their nurses. You’ll find everything from case management courses to dealing with dealing with active shooters to specific state-required courses. When it comes to accredited vs non-accredited courses, again, check with your state board of nursing to know what is required.
Don’t be “that guy” or gal who misses out on your RN license renewal and then misses out on a travel nursing job due to a lapse. Your agency’s recruiter and licensing specialist can help review your paperwork so that won’t happen, but the responsibility is ultimately yours. If you have multiple state licenses then it may be a little harder, but it is totally doable. At one point I had five active RN licenses and the CEUs I got applied to all of them!
[LEARN MORE about the Nurse Licensure Compact and what it means for travel nurses, and find more than 180 nursing continuing education courses at RN.com.]
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