Other states reject Indiana's nursing rules, lack of nurses to be expected

EVANSVILLE -- Other states have rejected rules that Indiana set up around a multistate nursing agreement, delaying a program that would allow nurses registered in other states to practice here without going through the licensing process twice.\nThe rejection sets back efforts to attract more nurses to Indiana by making it easier for them to practice here, said state Sen. Patricia Miller, who had sponsored the 2002 legislation to enable Indiana's participation in the compact.\n"We wanted to encourage nursing personnel to come to Indiana," said Miller, a Republican from Indianapolis who's also a nurse. "We wanted to be on board, to be a part of that."\nThe legislation allows Indiana to join with Iowa, Tennessee, Wisconsin and 14 other states in enabling nurses to practice without needing a license in each state. Nurses with valid licenses in other compact states could register in Indiana without going through the licensing process.\nIndiana's entry into the compact had been scheduled for April 1, but other states objected to an Indiana rule that requires nurses to notify the state nursing board of their intent to practice in Indiana and pay a fee, said Lisa Hayes, director of the Health Professions Bureau.\n"Other members felt that was an impediment," Hayes said.\nKristin Hellquist of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, which helps the states administer the compact, confirmed that Indiana's statute was "deemed materially different by the compact administrators."\n"We're looking at this as more of a technical glitch," Hellquist said.\nOf Indiana's 99,556 nurses, including registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, 12,168 hold an Indiana license but have a home address outside state borders.\nMiller said she'll have to review the exact stumbling points for Indiana's entry into the compact. She said she's not willing to give up a lot of ground just to get into the compact.\n"We may have to revisit that, but I think it's pretty basic information that we want to know," she said. "If that keeps us out of the compact, I guess we can revisit, but that's not unrealistic to ask.\n"While the compact is something that might be helpful, our first responsibility is to take care of Hoosiers," Miller said.\nThe compact also includes Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.\nLegislation to join the compact is pending in Illinois and three other states, Hellquist said.