[Magdalen] To renew or not to renew....

[Sal]

I see a lot of nurses and their family members, both as colleagues and as patients. 

So based on that, I say you don't need a license to make you a professional nurse, though it may be a requirement for a paid job in nursing. 

Once nursing has become part of who you are, you are basically stuck with it. I'm sure others have noticed something similar and that it's not just South African nurses who end up - for better or worse - with nursing hearts and minds!! 

Sally D 

Sent from my iPhone

On 27 May 2015, at 16:50, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> My nursing license is up for renewal this year and I need to do it by the
> 15th of next month. I am of two minds whether to do it or not. I haven't
> worked as a nurse since 2010 and I doubt that I will again, at least in a
> paid capacity. There's always a slim possibility that I might be called on
> to volunteer, but I haven't really made any efforts in that direction
> either. Virginia now requires working nurses to complete a certain number
> of hours of continuing education, and I haven't done that either, nor have
> I kept my CPR/ACLS certifications up to date. I consider myself officially
> retired. Still, the license is proof of something I worked very hard for,
> even if I'm not using it now, and something that's part of my identity. On
> the other hand, it's an expense I don't really need. It used to be possible
> to file for an "Inactive" license, but that no longer seems to be the case.
> I can't decide what to do......... Any thoughts, pubmates?