Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced House Bill 131 and Senate Bill 124 to integrate Alaska into the multi-state Nurse Licensure Compact, as a way of strengthening healthcare and expanding nursing opportunities statewide.
The national compact is the longest-standing professional licensure compact in the country and includes 43 U.S. jurisdictions, with another seven considering similar legislation.
By joining the compact Dunleavy seeks to bring into the state new nursing graduates, provide more flexibility for practicing nurses, and remove barriers that discourage experienced nurses from relocating to Alaska.
“The Nurse Licensure Compact is an essential part of the state’s priority to ensure we have the most competitive licensing process that attracts professional talent and allows them to get to work quickly,” Dunleavy said. “It will increase access to healthcare for all Alaskans and reduce redundant bureaucracy, while still ensuring our state retains full jurisdictional authority over nursing practice within our borders.”
According to the 2024 Alaska Healthcare Workforce Analysis, hospitals in Alaska have a 22% vacancy rate in registered nurse positions, requiring the recruitment of more than 1,400 new nurses annually. Alaska’s nursing school at UAA produces around 325 graduates per year, many of whom leave for NLC member states to gain flexibility as travel nurses. Many nurses end up in Alaska due to their spouses being stationed in the military, and getting licensed to work as a nurse in the state is a barrier.
Alaska has about 22,752 registered nurses in Alaska. According to RegisteredNursing.org, Alaska is projected to be the state with the worse nursing shortage (percentage wise) by 2030.
“As the state projected to have the worst nursing shortage in the nation in the next five years, we need to do all we can to address this crisis now,” said Commissioner Julie Sande of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. “That is why the Nurse Licensure Compact legislation is my department’s top priority this year.”
The proposal also aligns with the state Senate’s workforce priorities. In a Jan. 28, press release, Senate President Gary Stevens emphasized the need for strategic workforce recruitment and retention policies.
The Alaska Board of Nursing unanimously supports joining the NLC. Surveys conducted with Alaska-licensed nurses in 2019 and 2023 indicated overwhelming support for the initiative.
Last year, Dunleavy signed HB 237, which addressed the state’s nursing shortage by allowing more quickly attainable temporary permits for nurses who retired but then decided to return to the profession and seek license reinstatement.
The nurses union is going to nuts! 🍿
Does this shortage have anything to do with forcing healthcare to get the jab???