States are struggling to assure an adequate number of registered nurses are active in the clinical workforce to serve patients and communities. Nurse compact legislation-enacted in 39 states-facilitates interstate recognition of nurse licensure. We used a cross-sectional email survey of registered nurses in Michigan to measure their opinions on compact licensure legislation and examined differences in compact licensure opinions by nurses' personal characteristics. Primary analyses reported herein are from 7,098 Michigan nurses with complete data. Most respondents felt that the compact would make it easier to redeploy nurses in an emergency (76.6%), improve access to nursing care (66.6%), and boost their personal career options (55.1%). Most nurses disagreed that compact legislation would weaken patient protections (60.7%). The majority expressed neutral feelings on whether compact licensure would make disciplinary actions more difficult to enforce (50.9%) and a plurality that current licensure policies were satisfactory (44.0%). The majority were supportive of Michigan joining the compact (72.3%). In multivariable analysis, stronger support for joining the compact was associated with advanced degrees, male sex, and younger age. Less support was associated with membership in a collective bargaining unit. Policymakers who wish to ease acute nurse vacancies should consider enacting nurse licensure compact legislation. Careful attention to patient protections and disciplinary review would address potential safety concerns.
Keywords: legislation; licensure; registered nurses; surveys.