14 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 8
Danger
in
Disguise
Why the nurse licensure compact
seems like a good idea, but actually
decimates nursing standards
and jeopardizes patient care
B Y L U C I A H W A N G
E
arly in her career, registered nurse Jean Ross used
to take casual jobs at other nearby hospitals in addition
to her regular position at Fairview Southdale Hospital, a
suburb just southwest of Minneapolis, Minn. But she
soon realized that she couldn't keep up with the policies
and procedures at the various facilities. "They all differed
slightly," said Ross, one of the National Nurses United
copresidents. "It was difficult to keep it all straight. I
enjoyed it very much, but I just couldn't keep up with it." The worry
of making an error or violating hospital policy prompted Ross to
stop working at these other places.
"If I had a hard time keeping up with just hospitals in my home
state, I'd hate to think what it's like across states," said Ross. "Trying
to keep the rules and regulations and nursing practice acts of differ-
ent states clear in your mind is not a simple thing to do."
But that's exactly what the National Council of the State Boards of
Nursing would have all nurses do if it got its way. Based in Chicago,
the organization, known as the NCSBN, is a not-for-profit, but private
organization composed of representatives from boards of nursing
from all the 50 states, the District of Columbia, four U.S. territories,
and from others around the world. Most nurses know the NCSBN as
the entity that administers and collects fees for the NCLEX exam,
which is how it derives the vast majority of its approximately $83.6
million annual revenue, according to its 2016 federal income tax
returns. But the group also lobbies for other nursing regulatory ini-
tiatives and programs that advance the interests of its corporate
