Washington takes a step towards growing the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (ENLC), as the state has officially set a date that they will start allowing nurses with multistate licenses to start practicing. On July 24th, 2023 nurses who have a compact license based on their tax home will be able to use their privileges in Washington.

The process to practice in Washington is a bit different for nurses who have used a multistate license in the past. In order to practice with a multistate license in Washington, nurses must first complete a few simple steps:

1. Verify their license and let their employer know they will be practicing under a multistate license.
2. Complete a Suicide Prevention Training. Link to this course can be found here. 
3. Verify that personal data is updated on Nursys E-Notify. 

The suicide course is listed as approximately six hours of continuing education and can be completed online. Once the course is completed, nurses must notify their employer that all requirements have been completed, and at that time their multistate license should be ready to use.

Unfortunately, Washington based nurses are not able to work in compact states with their license just yet. Currently, the board of nursing is working on an implementation plan to allow their nurses to work in other states, but no dates have been announced for when this will take effect. 

If you are looking for a travel nurse assignment in Washington and you have your compact license, now is the perfect time to head to the Pacific Northwest.