ALLENTOWN (TNS) — More than two years since it was signed into law, Pennsylvania will take its first step to implement the Nurse License Compact early next month.
Starting Sept. 5, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who already have been approved to practice in multiple participating states will be permitted to practice in the commonwealth, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
The compact is a multistate agreement that allows registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and vocational nurses licensed in one compact state to practice in any other compact state without acquiring an additional license. Currently, 41 U.S. states and territories are participants.
Pennsylvania has been in the process of joining the compact since July 2021, when former Gov. Tom Wolf signed it into law. However, the measure lacked the language that the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI needed to have for the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing to get background checks done, submitted and processed, which has stalled putting the compact into place.
These hold-ups have led to headaches for nurses from other states who have moved here and tried to practice, with delays of weeks and sometimes months common when they have tried to have Pennsylvania licenses issued.
For now, nurses who are only licensed in Pennsylvania cannot practice in other compact states without acquiring an additional license, the release states. The state did not provide a timeline for when this part of the compact would be implemented.
Pennsylvania is in the midst of a shortage of health care workers, as is the rest of the U.S. and most of the world. A November report from the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania states Pennsylvania is the worst in the nation in this respect, with a dearth of 20,345 registered nurses. It also states there is a 32% vacancy rate for nursing support staff and a 31% vacancy rate for registered nurses.
Nicole Stallings, president and CEO of HAP, praised Tuesday’s announcement, saying it supports broader efforts to grow the state’s health care workforce and that it would bring more nurses to the bedsides of Pennsylvanians.
Wayne Reich, CEO of the Pennsylvania State Nurse Association, said they are pleased the state is one step closer to being a full member of the Nursing Licensure Compact, but urged the state Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and the State Board of Nursing to work toward full implementation.
Gov. Josh Shapiro made it clear shortly after he was sworn in that addressing workforce shortages in health care was a priority for him. In January, he signed an executive action calling for comprehensive reviews to catalog all permits, certificates and licenses the state issues and set timelines for each.
The Pennsylvania Department of State is still working with the DOJ and FBI to meet the conditions needed for full participation in the Nurse Licensure Compact, the release states.
Partial implementation is not an available option for the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, though the news release states the Shapiro Administration is committed to fully implementing both. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which applies to physicians, was signed into law in 2016. The Physical Therapy Licensure Compact was signed into law in 2020.
