Maintaining Your Nursing License (RN)

00:01 Did you know that you have to maintain your nursing license, otherwise it will expire? Yeah, me neither. Until Michigan sent me a letter, and it said, "Hey, you won't have your license unless you pay us a lot of money and do all of this".

00:11 You actually have to maintain your license after taking the NCLEX by doing CEUs, paying more money and sometimes filling out more paperwork.

00:20 Or they take it away, and you have to take the NCLEX again.

00:22 And that's... That's a punishment you want to avoid.

00:24 So what do you have to do in order to maintain your nursing license? This will usually - shocker - depend on the state that you were licensed in.

00:32 Pretty much every single state will take your money in order for you to renew your license. Many will also require that you have a certain number of continuing education credits done during your renewal period.

00:43 This will, not shockingly, vary state by state.

00:46 And some will require none at all, while some also have regular CEUs and then special requirements that you need to take a certain number of in order to be done. So like one CEU in pain management or something like that.

01:00 You can do these CEUs using a ton of different tools, including online resources, things you find in the mail, going to conferences or attending educational events at your job.

01:11 Or if you are in school for something related to nursing or you are trying to...

01:15 You're taking a class to get certified in your specialty, all of those hours can also count toward C EUs.

01:22 So how often do you need to renew your whole license and deal with this whole shenanigans? This answer will shock you, I'm sure, but it depends on your state.

01:31 Your State Board of Nursing is going to say what they want and how often you have to do this. Usually you don't have to do anything in terms of CEUs if you need those in your state the very first time you renew your license after you graduate.

01:44 But after that, they will let you know what you need, how often, how much money that you can pay them.

01:50 And, as always, when in doubt, just call them.

01:54 Nursing boards can be incredibly confusing.

01:56 And maybe now that now you're understanding why Linda and I had such a close relationship.

02:02 Thank you, Linda at Michigan State Board of Nursing.

02:04 You're the best. But really, just call yours.

02:06 They're usually really helpful in getting you, navigating you through the process to figure it out.