I write in strong support for the Nurse Licensure Compact bills currently being considered by the Legislature. I am a registered nurse who has practiced in Alaska for nine years. I used to hold separate licenses in Oregon and Washington, but I have let them lapse because of the expense and tedious bureaucracy involved with license maintenance. I also currently hold a New Zealand license and can attest that the more we encourage nurses from other practice environments to come to Alaska, the better our nursing workforce will be.
Currently, there is no difference between the standard of nursing licensure that Alaska holds me to compared to other states. The current opposition claims it will dilute our nursing talent pool but in actuality, it’s about lost revenue. If anything, it will benefit our patients and health care system, as we will be better able to attract talented nurses from other health care systems who could introduce better, evidence-based practice or efficiencies in nursing care. With one of the most expensive health care systems in the country, anything we can do to lower costs should be applauded.
Please urge legislators to vote yes for these important bills and support us, your nurses who pay the largest licensure fee in the country, to become part of the nurse license compact agreement.
— Susan Goodwin, BSN-RN, MPH
Anchorage
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