Minnesota is unfortunately not among the forty or so states joining the national Nurse Licensure Compact. Minnesota's holdout means that your attempt to obtain a Minnesota nursing license based on a nursing license you hold from another state or your effort to obtain a license in another state based on your current Minnesota nursing license will create more challenges than would otherwise be the case. Don't let those challenges frustrate your ability to move your nursing practice. You doubtless have good and perhaps compelling reasons to do so. Let the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team help you resolve your Minnesota nurse licensure by endorsement issues. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for the strategic attorney representation you need.
Nurse Licensure Compact Benefits
The Nurse Licensure Compact has helped thousands of nurses move their nursing practice across state lines and into another jurisdiction without delay or undue expense, effort, or frustration. The Compact enables nurses to avoid repeating the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX) or another qualifying exam and repeating training, experience, or other education requirements. The benefit of mobility can be huge to the involved nurse, meaning the difference between employment or no employment, the ability or inability to increase one's income and benefits, and the ability or inability to advance one's career or support the career and interests of close family members. The Nurse Licensure Compact also benefits patients, the public, families, employers, and communities in which patients live by increasing the supply of skilled, compassionate, and experienced nurses. Minnesota does not offer those advantages of the Nurse Licensure Compact, but we can help you through your licensure by endorsement issues.
Minnesota Nurse Licensure Compact Bills
The good news is that both houses of Minnesota's state legislature have introduced bills for Minnesota to join the Nurse Licensure Compact. Minnesota House Bill HF 1005, having two authors and referred to the Health Finance & Policy Committee, would amend the state's nursing laws to comply with Compact requirements. Minnesota Senate Bill SF 3287, having five authors and accomplishing the same nursing law amendments, has already moved out of committee and passed the Minnesota Senate but stalled in the Minnesota House. The bad news is that even if the Minnesota legislature were to pass one of the bills for the governor's signature, which is not given, the legislation's implementation could take several more months or years. For you, time is wasting. Waiting for legislation to pass makes little sense, given the uncertainty of any action and the delays attendant on any action. Let us help you resolve your Minnesota licensure by endorsement issues so that you can move on with your professional and personal life with appropriate mobility.
Minnesota Nurse Licensure Laws
Minnesota has enacted its Nurse Practice Act to govern the practice of nursing in the state. The Act's Section 148.181 creates the state's Board of Nursing to implement the Act, including by promulgating and enforcing administrative rules and regulations for licensing. The Act's Section 148.283 declares the unlicensed and unauthorized practice of nursing within the state to be a public nuisance that the Board of Nursing may enjoin by court order. The Act's Section 148.281 defines unauthorized and unlicensed practice as a gross misdemeanor, punishable by fine and incarceration. You must not practice nursing in Minnesota without a license, just as you must not try to take your Minnesota license to another state to practice there without that state's license. Let us help you resolve your multistate licensing issues.
Minnesota Nurse Licensure Requirements
Minnesota's Nurse Practice Act also states the requirements for licensure in the state. The Act's Section 148.211 requires both licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RNs) to apply to the Minnesota Board of Nursing, prove good character complying with all disciplinary requirements, and show graduation from an approved nursing program and passage of an approved nursing license examination. Minnesota Board of Nursing Administrative Rule 6305.0400 further details those requirements. Let us help you show the Board of Nursing that you can and do meet those requirements. You may have already been licensed in another state, meaning that you have the required education and examination. However, you must still meet these Minnesota licensing requirements.
Licensure in Other States
The Minnesota Nurse Practice Act typifies other state nursing practice acts, which have similar education, examination, and good character requirements. Thus, if you intend to take your Minnesota nursing license and practice to another state, you'll face similar licensing requirements that you must meet. But your Minnesota license is no guarantee that you'll qualify for a license in another state. State licensing requirements can vary in small but important respects. Whether you meet the other state's requirements or not, your license application must be complete, accurate, and properly documented and verified, or your application may not survive scrutiny and may create credential fraud issues. Let us help you resolve any such issues.
Licensure in Minnesota Based on Endorsement
The above sections detail Minnesota requirements for licensure by examination. Minnesota's Nurse Practice Act states separate requirements for licensure by endorsement. Licensure by examination generally means a first license, while licensure by endorsement generally means a second or subsequent license, relying in part on a prior license. But you'll see that licensure by endorsement still requires meeting the Minnesota Board of Nursing's education, examination, and good character requirements for any licensee, including licensees by examination. License by endorsement isn't exactly a shortcut, not in the sense that a Nurse Licensure Compact approval by both states would generally be. Still, you'll need and want to pursue Minnesota licensure by endorsement if you already hold a nursing license in another state.
Minnesota LPN and RN Licensure by Endorsement
The Minnesota Nurse Practice Act's Section 148.211 sets forth the state's requirements for LPN and RN licensure by endorsement. Minnesota Board of Nursing Administrative Rule 6305.0400, by implication, details those LPN and RN licensure by endorsement requirements, stating the general examination and education requirements. Many states separate their LPN and RN licensure requirements into different statutes and board of nursing rules. Minnesota does not. Minnesota instead requires both LPNs and RNs to graduate from a nursing education program that the Board of Nursing has approved and to pass the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX) with a score NCLEX establishes as the passing score for all jurisdictions. The approved education program list is the same for licensure by examination as it is for licensure by endorsement, just as the NCLEX examination is the same for both forms of licensure, endorsement, or examination. Proof of your prior nursing license may speed your licensure by endorsement application process, but the Minnesota Board of Nursing will still be checking to see if the state in which you obtained your prior nursing license has education and examination requirements equivalent to Minnesota's requirements. If not, and if you haven't met Minnesota's requirements, you won't get a Minnesota nursing license. Let us help you resolve your Minnesota licensure by endorsement issues.
Minnesota Temporary Permit by Endorsement
If you apply for a Minnesota nursing license by endorsement based on a verified nursing license in another state, the Minnesota Board of Nursing indicates that you may request a temporary permit to practice in Minnesota while the Board of Nursing reviews and approves your full license by endorsement. Your ability to gain a temporary practice permit may ease the impact of delays in the Board of Nursing's review and approval of your full license by endorsement. But beware of a refusal to issue you a temporary permit if the Board doubts that you can qualify for the full license. Let us help you seek and obtain a temporary permit while we help you resolve your Minnesota Board of Nursing issues.
Minnesota License Recognition from Border States
Section 148.211 of Minnesota's Nurse Practice Act provides for special recognition of Minnesota nursing licensure by endorsement applications made by nurses who hold a nursing license in a border state. If you practice in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin, the Minnesota Board of Nursing must recognize your nursing license in those states as sufficient to practice in Minnesota if you make the appropriate application and as long as those border states maintain qualification requirements equivalent to Minnesota's requirements. You must show your Minnesota employment, and you must not have disqualifying discipline, impairment, or substance addiction. However, the ability to practice in Minnesota under a border state license could be your best option. Minnesota's special recognition of border state licenses is unusual among state nursing practice acts. Let us help you clarify and meet the requirements.
Minnesota APRN Licensure by Endorsement
Minnesota Nurse Practice Act Section 148.211 also states the requirements for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) licensure. Those requirements do not offer APRN licensure by endorsement. You must instead gain your Minnesota registered nurse licensure and your national nurse specialist board certification before applying and qualifying for Minnesota APRN licensure. Let us help you overcome any issues you face in your licensure as a Minnesota nurse specialist.
Issues Obtaining a Second or Subsequent License
You can see from the above discussion some of the major and minor issues you may face in trying to obtain a second or subsequent license by endorsement in Minnesota or in another state based on your Minnesota license. Even a seemingly minor issue can delay and frustrate your license application. Below is further discussion of the common issues and how they arise. The following sections show how we can help you address these and other issues.
Minnesota Nursing Education Issues Delaying Licensure
You may have graduated from a nursing program that had Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) accreditation. If so, then you are less likely to face education issues in your Minnesota licensure by endorsement application. ACEN accreditation is pretty much the gold standard for a U.S. nursing program. If instead, you graduated from a non-accredited nursing program, then you may not readily qualify for Minnesota licensure by endorsement, even if you qualified for a nursing license in another state. We can help you make the special application and show that may be necessary to qualify. Even if you graduated from an ACEN accredited program, you may have had school discipline, academic progress, or other curriculum issues that the Minnesota Board of Nursing may question. Let us help you address and favorably resolve your education program issues.
Minnesota Nursing Examination Issues Delaying Licensure
You may have passed the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX), which for most state nursing boards, including the Minnesota Board of Nursing, is the gold standard for examination. However, some state nursing boards accept examinations that are beyond the NCLEX. You may have qualified for your current license under one of those other state-specific, international, or Canadian exams. We can help you advocate with the Minnesota Board of Nursing to accept your prior examination. Alternatively, some candidates for licensure by endorsement who have passed the NCLEX have done so with questionable credentials or conduct that can raise red flags with the Minnesota Board of Nursing or other board to which the candidate applies based on a Minnesota license. We can help address exam qualifications, credentials, and conduct issues.
Minnesota License Discipline Issues Delaying Licensure
State nursing boards also routinely reserve the right to discipline licenses that they issue. The Minnesota Nurse Practice Act's Section 248.261 is an example. Section 248.261 states the many grounds on which the Board of Nursing may suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline a Minnesota nursing license. If you suffer license discipline, even as little as license probation or reprimand, then that discipline may well hold up your application for licensure by endorsement in Minnesota or another state based on your Minnesota license. State boards of nursing readily discover license discipline information from the Nursys database and other online databases state boards maintain. License discipline may mean to state board officials that your application presents serious questions of fitness, depending on the nature and seriousness of the disciplinary charges, how long ago they occurred, how the state board resolved the charges, and what rehabilitation or recovery you have shown since then, among other factors. Let us help you address and favorably resolve pending disciplinary charges or prove your compliance and rehabilitation under any discipline terms.
Minnesota Background Issues Delaying Licensure
As shown above, you must also meet criminal history and other background check requirements when applying to the Minnesota Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement. The Board of Nursing indicates that it will send you a fingerprint kit for that purpose when you apply for licensure by endorsement. Section 248.261 of Minnesota's Nurse Practice Act includes criminal felony conviction or conviction of a gross misdemeanor related to nursing practice among disqualifying grounds. You may have suffered a criminal conviction since obtaining your initial nursing license, or you may have had a conviction then that the issuing state did not consider disqualifying, but the current board to which you are applying for licensure by endorsement does consider disqualifying. You may alternatively have issues with inaccurate or out-of-date records. We can help you resolve your criminal history issues, including advocating that any conviction does not relate to nursing practice. We can also help you address other background issues involving malpractice liability or other potentially disqualifying events.
Minnesota Nurse Licensing Protective Procedures
State nursing practice acts and related nursing laws must generally provide protective procedures against arbitrary and capricious license denials and other actions interfering with a nurse's liberty and property interests in nursing practice. You and other nurses have constitutional rights to due process, ensuring that you have reasonable notice of the alleged deficiency in your license application and a reasonable hearing before an impartial decision maker at which to respond. To fulfill that due process obligation, the Minnesota Nurse Practice Act's Section 148.262 and other sections expressly refer to and incorporate Minnesota's administrative procedure act, providing for notice, a hearing, and an appeal. The Act's Section 148.266 further provides for judicial review of a final agency decision involving nurse licensure. These protective procedures, though, are not generally self-executing. You must invoke these procedures strategically and effectively to obtain the relief you are due. We can help you do so.
Our Help With Your Multistate Licensing Issues
Invoking the above protective procedures effectively requires the skill and experience of a highly qualified administrative license defense attorney. Do not retain unqualified local criminal defense counsel to represent you in a Minnesota Board of Nursing administrative proceeding. Unqualified attorney representation can be worse than no representation at all when no representation is generally foolhardy. Our attorneys know how to invoke the above protective procedures for their very best effect, resolving your licensure by endorsement issue as swiftly and surely as possible. We can engage in one or more of the following strategic actions:
- notify Board of Nursing officials that we have appeared on your behalf in the matter, requiring those officials to respond to us, opening lines of informal communication and negotiation toward early voluntary resolution;
- draw on our national reputation and relationships to advocate remedial resolutions that Board of Nursing officials are likely to accept, that answer their concerns, and that you can readily perform;
- get Board of Nursing officials to specify the alleged deficiencies in your licensure by endorsement application so that we can identify, gather, and present the evidence and information to close those gaps;
- invoke formal hearing procedures, appear at the formal hearing, and present your testimony and other evidence that you meet licensure by endorsement requirements while challenging adverse evidence;
- if you have already lost your formal hearing, then appeal the adverse results to the full Board of Nursing or other appellate panel or official to reverse legal or factual error and correct bias and conflicts of interest and
- if you have already lost your appeal, then seek available judicial review for further correction of errors toward gaining licensure by endorsement.
What's at Stake in Minnesota Nursing License Issues
Fighting Minnesota Board of Nursing officials, or officials in another state, over licensure by endorsement may seem like a formidable task. Yet, doing so may be your only option or your best option. You know the reason you are seeking licensure by endorsement in Minnesota or trying to gain licensure by endorsement in another state based on your Minnesota license. Those are doubtless good reasons, perhaps having to do with a necessary move for a spouse or other close family member or a beneficial move for your mental or physical health, employment, income, benefits, and advancement. When you add it all up, licensure by endorsement is likely worth pursuing. If, instead, you give up and fail, then the state board's denial of your licensure by endorsement could affect your future license renewal or new licenses. You could put your nursing practice, employment, and career in jeopardy if you leave loose ends unresolved and lingering, only to reappear at the worst time in the future. Keep your licensing house in order. Let us help you gain licensure by endorsement while clearing up your licensing record.
Premier Minnesota Nursing License Attorneys
Delays in obtaining your nursing licensure by endorsement can wreak havoc on your personal and professional lives, and your nursing practice and career. Preserve and protect your ability to move your nursing practice from state to state so that you preserve and protect your nursing practice, employment, and career. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team now to help you resolve your nurse licensure issues. We are available in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Bloomington, Duluth, Brooklyn Park, Plymouth, Woodbury, Lakeville, Blaine, Maple Grove, St. Cloud, and across the rest of Minnesota, as well as nationwide. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now.
