What nurse case managers need to know about the Nurse Licensure Compact

In the late 1990s, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) began exploring several nurse-licensing models that would simplify government processes and remove regulatory barriers, while increasing access to safe nursing care. The NCSBN decided on the mutual-recognition model (similar to that used for state driver's licenses), which allows a nurse to practice in states other than the one in which the license was issued, usually the state of residency, as long as that individual acknowledges that he or she is subject to each state's practice laws and discipline. Like the driver's license model, nursing practice across state lines is allowed, whether physical or electronic, unless the nurse is under discipline or a monitoring agreement that restricts practice across state lines.