Occupational and environmental health nurses (OHNs) and other nursing professionals, find it necessary to practice across state borders, i.e., company with various interstate occupational health worksites, employees working out side their state of residence, etc. Advances in technology have increased the use of telephonic management of health care through frequent, regular communication between practitioner and client via telephone, e-mail, fax and teleconference, contributing to the nursing profession’s ever-widening boundaries.

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is a mutual recognition model where the nurse's state of residence issues the nursing license, and it is then recognized by other states that have entered into the interstate compact.  Nurses residing in compact states would be able to practice in other compact states without applying for a separate license. AAOHN supports the NLC because it clarifies the authority to practice for many nurses currently engaged in telenursing or interstate practice; provides greater mobility for nurses; improves access to licensed nurses during a disaster or other time of great need for qualified nursing service; more importantly improves access to nursing care; and enhances discipline and information sharing among participating NLC states.

Related to multistate practice, AAOHN has provided the following resources and association responses: