McKee, RIDOH announce Rhode Island’s multi-state licensing for RNs, LPNs

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Health announced that Rhode Island has officially joined the national Nurse Licensure Compact.

Due to staffing shortages, healthcare workers across RI have been picketing.

In November, RI Woman and Infants healthcare workers picketed due to staffing shortages, and the workers of Greenville Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation picketed in August of last year.

McKee expressed, “Nurses are the backbone of our state’s healthcare facilities.” He added,  “Amid the current national healthcare worker shortage, we are doing everything we can to make it convenient and attractive for them to work in Rhode Island.”

Rhode Island Executive Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest expressed, “We are focused on implementing changes that strengthen our healthcare workforce through education, recruitment, licensure, and retention. The national Nurse Licensure Compact lessens the administrative burden on nurses and gives our state access to more licensed professionals.”

The multi-state licensing will allow for nurses in 41 participating states to practice in Rhode Island and the state’s nurses with a multi-state license will be able to work in any other participating state.

These three groups of people are impacted by this change:

• Anyone who is currently licensed in Rhode Island and who has Rhode Island as their primary state of residency will be applying for a Multi-State License when renewing between March 1, 2024, or March 1, 2025
• Anyone who is currently licensed in Rhode Island and whose primary state of residency is a compact state will receive a Multi-State License when renewing, and have their single-state Rhode Island license status changed to inactive
• Anyone who is currently licensed in Rhode Island and whose primary state of residency is not a compact state will continue to work in Rhode Island with a single-state license — their license status will not change, and they will renew their license by their scheduled renewal date

Interim Director Utpala Bandy, MD, MPH commented, “Any nurse who practices in Rhode Island under a Multi-State License will be held to the same professional standards as a nurse with a single-state license. Our standards for quality will remain as high as ever.”

She added, “Our goal in joining this compact is reducing the time that qualified nurses spend filling out multiple licensing applications and making these workers available to patients for care as soon as possible in Rhode Island.”