A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

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A

• Advanced Practice License
  Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, (APRN) is an umbrella classification (not an intended title) for the purpose of regulation. Individuals are licensed as APRNs in the categories of Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Nurse Midwife and Clinical Nurse Specialist.
• Application for License
  The form(s) an individual submits to a board of nursing to request a license to practice nursing in that state or jurisdiction.

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B

• Board of Nursing
  Governmental agency that is responsible for the regulation of nursing practice in each respective jurisdiction.

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C

• Compact
  The mutual recognition model of nurse licensure allows a nurse to have one license (in his or her primary state of residency) and to practice in other compact states (both physical and electronic), subject to each state's practice law and regulation. Under mutual recognition, a nurse may practice across state lines (in compact states) unless otherwise restricted.

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D

• Disciplinary Action Information
  Information pertaining to disciplinary actions taken against and reported for a nursing license.

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E

• Education Information
  Information pertaining to an individual's education relative to nursing and licensure.
• Endorsement
  Licensure by Endorsement - the granting of authority to practice is based on an individual's licensure (having met comparable requirements) in another jurisdiction.

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J

• Jurisdiction
  With regard to boards of nursing, jurisdiction refers to the state or territory that a board of nursing regulates. Most boards of nursing regulate all types of nurses within their states or territories. California, Louisiana and West Virginia have separate boards of nursing to regulate Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses.

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L

• License Information
  Information about an individual's nursing license(s), which includes license number, license type, jurisdiction and expiration date.
• License Verification
  Proof of an existing nurse license.
• Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse (LPN/VN)
  A nurse who has completed a practical nursing program and is licensed by a state to provide patient care as defined by the board of nursing.
• Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
  A nurse who has completed a practical nursing program and is licensed by a state to provide patient care as defined by the board of nursing.
• Licensing Board
  The board of nursing for the jurisdiction for which an individual has applied for a license.
• Licensure
  The act or instance of granting a license.
• Licensure Participating Board of Nursing
  A board of nursing that is supplying personal, education, license and discipline information to Nursys on a regular basis.

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M

• Missing Record
  A nursing license that is not in the Nursys system.

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N

• N/A
  N/A typically means “not applicable” and is used to indicate that a specific value, or status, does not apply to a field on the license record. This is usually triggered by another value or conflicting values on the license record. Examples include, but are not limited to:
  • Active Status Field
  • Expiration Date Field
  • Certain Discipline Actions on the license
  • Compact Status Field
• NCSBN ID
  NCSBN ID is the public, globally unique identifier for all nurses from participating boards of nursing.
• Non-Licensure Participating Board of Nursing
  A board of nursing that is not supplying license information to Nursys. However, non-licensure participating boards of nursing do supply information to Nursys for disciplined nurse licenses and have access to all Nursys information.
• Nursys
  Nursys (Nurse System) is a computer system that contains nurse license and license discipline information that is provided by boards of nursing in the U.S. and its territories. Nursys receives regular updates of nurse personal (name, address, etc.) and license information from licensure participating boards of nursing. All boards of nursing, including non-licensure participating boards, have access to information within Nursys and are able to enter and edit discipline information.

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P

• Practical Nurse (PN)
  A nurse who has completed a practical nursing program and is licensed by a state to provide patient care as defined by the board of nursing.

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R

• Registered Nurse (RN)
  A nurse who has completed a registered nurse educational program and is licensed by the state to provide patient care within a scope of practice defined by that state's board of nursing.

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S

• Single State License
  A license issued by a state board of nursing that authorizes practice only in the state of issuance.
• State Board of Nursing
  Governmental agency that is responsible for the regulation of nursing practice in each respective jurisdiction.

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T

• Temporary License
  Temporary authorization to practice nursing.
• The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN)
  A not-for-profit organization whose membership comprises boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories - American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands.

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U

• Unencumbered
  As noted at the bottom of each Nurse Report: "Unencumbered" means that the nurse has a full and unrestricted license to practice by the state board of nursing.

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V

• Verification for Endorsement Fee
  The monetary payment required when requesting a license verification for endorsement to another US board of nursing via Nursys.

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