Lessons · Nursing · why passing the examination is not the licence
Passing the examination is not the licence
The examination is one piece of evidence. The licence is issued by a state board, after it is satisfied that you meet everything that state requires: the education, the background check, and whatever else its own practice act sets out. A pass with the rest outstanding authorises nothing.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a licensed nurse. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
People say I passed my boards and mean I am a nurse, and the two are not the same sentence. A graduate who has passed and has an unresolved background check is not licensed and may not practise, and the employer who put her on a rota finds out at the worst possible moment. It is the same shape as every other credential on this site: the examination is evidence, the licence is the authorisation.
How to think about it
Keep two lists, because the board does. One is the examination. The other is everything else the board asked for, each with a date it was sent and a date it was confirmed received. When somebody asks whether you can start, the honest answer comes from the second list, not the first. What is still outstanding, and who is waiting on whom? Boards publish their own requirements and change them, so the figure you plan around has to come from your board's own page rather than from here or from anybody who did this a few years ago.
Worked example
Examination passedEvidence of knowledge. Not permission.
Education verified by the boardSent by the programme, at the programme's pace.
Background check clearedA queue you cannot hurry, which is why it goes first.
The board issues the licenceThis, and only this, is what lets you practise.
Your turn
Name the body that issues the licence, as distinct from the body that gives you a pass.
Only the state of nursing can issue the licence
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Telling an employer a start date off the back of a pass. The pass is the part you control and the licence is the part you do not, and only one of them makes the rota lawful. Boards publish their own requirements and change them, so the figure you plan around has to come from your board's own page rather than from here or from anybody who did this a few years ago.