A California nurse highlights how much it takes for her to stay employed as a Nurse Practitioner (NP). She lists the cost of renewing various licenses, which she is required to do every two years. The video has over 468,000 views, over 63,000 likes, and over 1,000 comments.
First, the California nurse has to renew her NP license, which expires in a month. However, when she went to renew it, she was told she had to renew her Registered Nurse license. This is how she learned these were not considered the same thing. So she renewed this for $190. Then she was able to renew her NP license for $150. Additionally, she says, “In my state you also have to renew your furnishing number every single two years” if she wants to be able to prescribe medication. This costs $180.
It doesn’t end there. To even qualify to renew her RN license, she has to take 30 education units, “which [she] also paid for.” Additionally, her Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications expire at the same time as her RN. She believed these would be covered in one course. However, this was not the case. Her BLS was $90, and her ACLS was $250. She explains these are “at-home, self-paced computer classes that I basically teach myself.” This is after paying to receive two degrees and passing multiple state licensure exams. Additionally, the California nurse says, “I need to do all of this every two years for the rest of my life, in my birthday month, just to be able to continue working.”
Many Sound Off On California Nurse’s Comments
The video has several commenters pointing out the rising costs just to work. One says, “Literally everything feels like a scam these days.” Another adds, “THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. You’re not the only one.” Meanwhile, others argue nurses shouldn’t be responsible for the cost, and it should fall on the employers. One person points out, “Keep in mind there’s no professional licensing board for hospital CEOs.”
Meanwhile, the California nurse’s comments have her fellow healthcare workers sounding off. One adds, “Then they charge you to use your debit card to pay.” Others bring up that they also have to pay for parking, while one person says, “You forgot about NP certification renewal every five years and DEA every 3 years.” A third states, “Same for speech pathology! $250 yearly to ASHA to maintain certification! It’s a scammmm!”
The California nurse continues to practice medicine and has not responded to the comments on the video.
