National Nursing License

Why can't we have one national nursing license and still give states the authority to have their own nurse practice act? Isn't that what the compact state license is doing? We already have the NCLEX, so who is keeping this from happening?
It's like this for most professions that require licensure - attorneys and physicians cannot work in just any state they want, either. I'm pretty sure even aestheticians/cosmetologists must obtain licensure in the state where they want to work, also.

Quote from docomoWhy can't we have one national nursing license and still give states the authority to have their own nurse practice act? Isn't that what the compact state license is doing? We already have the NCLEX, so who is keeping this from happening?

Quote from docomoWhy can't we have one national nursing license and still give states the authority to have their own nurse practice act? Isn't that what the compact state license is doing? We already have the NCLEX, so who is keeping this from happening?

Nurses already have more flexibility than (AFAIK) any other licensed profession. Other professions typically have to be tested again to become licensed in another state; we can apply for licensure by endorsement. Shoot, my sister was a real estate agent (on the side, not her full-time career) and found, when she moved to another state, that, in order to be able to function legally in the new state as a real estate agent, she'd have to start from scratch and go through a whole new real estate education program; her prior education and credentials meant nothing in the new state.And the compact is nothing like a national license -- it is simply a matter of the states which have chosen to participate (and less than half have) agreeing to temporarily recognize the other member states' licenses for work purposes.I am one of the many who thinks a national nursing license would be a really bad idea, and hope it never comes to pass (I also consider that possibility highly unlikely). Just look at all the people on this site who post complaints about difficulty getting in touch with their state BON, getting info from their BON, power-hungry members of the BON, etc. You think that's bad now?? What it there were only one BON for the entire country???