I am from the state of New Hampshire and intend to physically take my exam in New Hampshire, however, I intend to work in the state of Colorado, both of which are Nurse Licensure Compact states. It appears that the application in the state of New Hampshire is all done online and does in fact require an official transcript to be sent by the university. I do believe that New Hampshire additionally requires a verification sign offs from my program director. I have heard from peers and also seen online that this state requires not only a background check but also fingerprinting. One site I’ve been reading on was showing that it costs approximately $48.25 for Livescan or Inked processing with regards to the fingerprinting. The main processing location is in Concord. After 2016, they made it a rule that you only have 30 days from the time you submit the notarized authorization form with the fee and the tracking number to the completion of your finger printing. After that, the file is erased and you’d have to redo it all. Therefore, there is a very tight window and punctuality is everything with this system.

There are many ways that I need to protect myself, my patients and my license.The NH Board of Nursing says that if a nurse were to come in impaired, it is their responsibility as someone with a license to report to their supervision when they are impaired by any substance. One important notice I saw bolded on the NH Board of Nursing’s website was that starting last month, specifically on the 22nd of February, 2023, “licenses issued will expire two years from the date of issuance, on the last day of the month in the month the license was issued.” I believe that this is different from what we had spoken about with the state of Maine with regards to it expiring the night of someone’s birthday. 

According to NUR 502. Ethical conduct standards within 10 business days, you must promptly  inform the board of any type of civil action, insurance claims, etc. that alleges malpractice and inform the board of any decisions that were made about insurance claims and civil actions within this matter. I think what these really boil down to is being truthful with the board and maintaining ethical practice for the benefit of patient’s safety and furthermore, patient’s lives. One of the key things that the speakers from the District Attorney’s Office and the Medical Professionals Health Program had mentioned was to stay organized. A huge red flag I noted during this presentation was signing off on medication wastes when you did not see it. I feel that as a new nurse some others may be more likely to ask to use my name. At the end of the day if I forget to have another nurse sign off on something, I would rather be truthful and realize it could have led to poor patient safety than try to falsely document that someone else watched me waste. Accidents happen, but it is so important to be methodical and stay true to what is right and wrong and know who to reach out to if you’re not sure.