Traveling Nurses

Certification or Licensing

Voluntary certification is available from professional associations such as the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing, Pediatric Nursing Certification Board, and the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates. To become certified, you’ll typically need to meet experience and education requirements and pass an examination. Nurses who are certified typically earn higher salaries and enjoy better job prospects than nurses who are not certified.

For some registered nursing positions, you may need to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, basic life support, or advanced cardiac life support certification.

All states and the District of Columbia require a license to practice nursing. To obtain a license, graduates of approved nursing schools must pass a national examination (https://www.nclex.com). Visit the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Web site at https://www.ncsbn.org/nursing-regulation/licensure/nurse-licensure-guidance.page for more information about licensing.

More than 40 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam participate in the Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC), which allows nurses who are licensed in a NLC state to practice in other states that are part of the agreement. Visit https://nurse.org/articles/enhanced-compact-multi-state-license-enlc for more information and a list participating states.