Upon graduating from nursing school at the University of New England, I plan on obtaining my licensure through examination in the State of Maine. After todays presentation with Dr. Kim Esquibel from the Maine State Board of Nursing, I learned that Maine is a Nurse Licensure Compact State. This means that upon completion of my NCLEX examination and obtaining certification, I can have one nursing license that will allow me to practice in multiple states. There are currently 34 states that allow this, and Maine is included.

The application to apply is completed online (web-based) on the Maine State Board of Nursing website on maine.gov. Official transcripts are not needed, however, the director of the UNE nursing program will need to sign and seal my completion of program. A self-photo must be uploaded as well. The Board of Nursing completes a full background check and requires that fingerprinting is done as well. It’s important for me to remember that the background check is only valid for 90 days, so I will need to plan accordingly with my examination schedule.

The Maine State of Nursing will be notified of any reports and or complaints from employers, family members, co-workers, or other health care providers about a licensed nurse. The nurse will be notified of the complaint within 60 days of when the Board of Nursing received the report. It’s required that the licensed nurse under investigation respond to the complaint within 30 days of receiving the notification. During the investigation, the nurse may be interviewed along with other witnesses, medical records, and policies of the facility to help gather an understanding of the situation. The outcome of the investigation depends on the severity of the situation. For instance, it can be dismissed or a letter of concern could be sent to the nurse involved. In both cases, the nurse is still able to practice. The investigation can also lead to sanctions with no restrictions, like a warning, reprimand, or civil penalty or sanctions with restriction such as probation with set conditions. If the nurse who was under investigation meets those conditions, the probation may be terminated. However, the discipline will always be attached to the nurses license. Nurses can also lose their license through voluntary surrender, revocation, suspension, or immediate suspension.

As a new graduate nurse, it’s important to understand the laws and policies surrounding nursing practice in order to protect my license and ensure the safety of the patients that I care for. I have recently accepted a position at Maine Medical Center, so it’s important for me to review the polices and procedures of this facility before I orient. While practicing, I must ensure to never do tasks outside of my scope of practice, and to never delegate tasks that are outside of CNA’s or LPN’s scope of practice. The university has provided me with the education to be a safe and effective nurse. I am going to build upon the education that I have learned in my practice while ensuring patient safety. We have had many opportunities to learn with outside resources such as Green Dot where we learned more about mandatory reporting. All these things combined will help me ensure that I protect my license while providing the highest quality of care.