Nurse Licensure Compact puts Washington state patients in safer position

Nearly 1,300 nurses with a multistate license, instead of a Washington-specific one, are working in Washington state right now. That’s according to the Washington State Board of Nursing and thanks to lawmaker passage of Senate Bill 5499, which allowed Washington state to join the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). The bill was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in April.

State regulations used to prohibit qualified, licensed, out-of-state nurses from working in the state until they acquired a Washington state license. That was time-consuming and added another cost for these workers. Having an unne...