Sponsored School(s)
West Virginia Job Statistics
|
The West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses qualifies RNs as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) through a process referred to as Announcement of Advanced Practice, and issues licenses to Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM).
The West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses (phone: 1-304-558-3596, [email protected]) was established by the West Virginia legislature to oversee the regulation of registered professional nurses in the state.
Before you can hold Announcement of Advanced Practice as an APRN or a CNM license in West Virginia, you must hold a valid, unencumbered West Virginia RN license.
- If you have never been licensed as an RN in West Virginia or any other state, you must complete the West Virginia RN Examination application packet
- If you currently hold an RN license in another state, you must complete the West Virginia RN Endorsement application packet found here
- If you have ever been licensed as an RN in West Virginia, you must complete the Reinstatement Application
With an active West Virginia RN license, you can proceed with pursuing your Announcement of Advanced Practice for APRN or CNM license.
Step 1. Get Your Graduate Degree
In order to hold an Announcement of Advanced Practice as an APRN in West Virginia, you must hold at least a master’s degree corresponding to the area and specialty in which you plan to practice. The graduate-level program from which you graduate must be recognized by the West Virginia Board of Examiners and accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
If you graduated before December 31, 1998, you may announce advance practice as an APRN without a master’s degree, provided you hold a current license as a registered nurse in West Virginia.
If you plan to practice as a CNM in West Virginia, you must complete a midwifery program resulting in a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an institution accredited through the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
You can view a list of state-approved West Virginia nursing programs for registered professional nurses (scroll down to graduate and doctoral programs).
Course Requirements
The West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses’ requires the following core courses from advanced practice nursing programs:
- Pathophysiology (all general principles applicable across the human lifespan)
- Advanced pharmacology (includes pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics of broad categories of agents)
- Physical evaluation/assessment (includes assessment of all systems of the body, advanced assessment methods, techniques, and concepts)
Limited Prescriptive Writing Privileges
To apply for limited prescriptive writing privileges in West Virginia, you must hold, at minimum, an active registered professional nursing license and a current APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice or active Certified Midwife license.
As a CNM, you must show evidence of the successful completion of a pharmacology course of instruction at some point during your undergraduate education and evidence of supervised experience in administering pharmacotherapy in clinical practice.
As an APRN, you must show evidence of the completion of an accredited course of instruction in pharmacology at the graduate level that results in a minimum of 45 contact hours, and evidence of supervised experience in administering pharmacotherapy in clinical practice.
Step 2. Earn Your National Certification
Before you can hold Announcement of Advanced Practice as an APRN or CNM licensure in West Virginia, you must become nationally certified in a specialty area recognized by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses.
Certification Programs
The following national certification boards are recognized by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for APRNs:
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)
- Clinical nurse specialists
- Acute care nurse practitioner
- American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
- Acute care nurse practitioner
- Adult nurse practitioner
- Family nurse practitioner
- Gerontological nurse practitioner
- Pediatric nurse practitioner
- School nurse practitioner
- Adult psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner
- Family psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner
- Adult health clinical nurse specialist (formerly clinical specialist in medical-surgical nursing)
- Clinical specialist in community health nursing
- Clinical specialist in gerontological nursing
- Clinical specialist in adult psychiatric and mental health nursing
- Clinical specialist in child and adolescent psychiatric and mental health nursing
- Nurse executive, advanced
- American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP
- Adult Nurse Practitioner
- Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB)
- Certified pediatric nurse practitioner associate
- National Board on Certification/Re-Certification of Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA)
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Note: Announcement of Advanced Practice is not a requirement for CRNAs in West Virginia unless the CRNA wants to obtain limited prescriptive authority.)
The following national certification board is recognized by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for CNMs:
Step 3. Apply for Your Announcement of Advanced Practice
APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice
To apply for your APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice in West Virginia, you must complete the Application for Announcement of Advanced Practice and assemble all required documentation. Your APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice application should include:
- A photocopy of your certificate card or other verification of your certification from the appropriate national certifying body
- An official transcript from the accredited nursing program through which you earned your master’s degree program (Note: The transcript should be sent directly from the registrar’s office in a sealed envelope)
- 35 check or money order payable to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses
Mail your application, additional documents, and fees to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, 101 Dee Drive, Suite 102, Charleston, WV, 25311-1620.
CNM License
To apply for your CNM license in West Virginia, you must complete the Application for Certified Nurse-Midwife License and assemble all required documentation. Your CNM license application should include:
- A passport-size, 2”x2” color photo of your head with your signature across the bottom
- An official transcript showing the completion of a midwifery program resulting in at least a bachelor’s degree (Note: The transcript should be sent directly from the registrar’s office in a sealed envelope)
- Official verification of your ACNM certification, sent directly by the ACNM to the Board (ACNM phone: 240-485-1800, www.midwife.org)
- $20.00 check or money order payable to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses.
Mail your application, additional documents, and fees to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, 101 Dee Drive, Suite 102, Charleston, WV, 25311-1620.
Prescriptive Authority
To apply for prescriptive authority in West Virginia as either an ARPN or CNM, you must complete the Initial Application for Limited Prescriptive Writing Privileges and assemble all required documentation. The application must be signed and notarized. Your prescriptive authority application should include:
- An official transcript from the school where you received your degree
- Evidence of the successful completion of an accredited course of instruction in advanced pharmacotherapy at the graduate level that totals a minimum of 45 contact hours (at least 15 of the 45 contact hours in advanced pharmacology must be within the two years prior to the submission of the prescriptive authority application)
- A notarized copy of your collaborative agreement with your collaborative physician(s)
- An actual voided sample of the prescription you will be using under prescriptive authority (your prescriber number, expiration date, and your credentials should be listed on the form)
- $125 check or money order payable to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses
If you plan to prescribe controlled substances, you must also apply for a West Virginia Drug Enforcement Agency certificate. You can contact the DEA for more information at 410-244-3500.
Mail application, check, and additional documents to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, 101 Dee Drive, Suite 102, Charleston, WV, 25311-1620.
Step 4. Renewing Your Announcement of Advanced Practice
Biannual Certification Renewal
Registered nurse licenses with APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice and CNM licenses expire annually on October 31. You can renew your APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice or CNM license online through the West Virginia Board of Examiners Registered Professional Nurses system. Have your license number, social security number and, credit card handy. There is a small service fee of $0.79 charged by the Treasurer’s Office for renewing online. If you have any questions about online renewal, you can contact the Board at 304-558-3596.
Prescriptive Authority Renewal
Prescriptive authority privileges are granted on a two-year cycle (the current cycle runs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013). The West Virginia RN Board recommends that all applicants apply for renewal at least 30 days before the end of the two-year cycle.
You can renew your prescriptive authority privileges through the Renewal Application for Prescriptive Writing Privileges. In addition to a completed, signed and notarized application, you should include the following documentation:
- Verification of collaborative agreements with all collaborating physicians, signed and notarized by both the collaborating physicians and you
- Certification showing evidence of the completion of eight hours of advanced pharmacology completed within the last two years
- A copy of your DEA certificate, if not already provided to the Board (as applicable)
- A copy of your current RN license with APRN announcement
- $125, check or money order payable to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses
Mail all of the above noted documentation, payment, and the completed application to West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, 101 Dee Drive, Suite 102, Charleston, WV, 25311-1620.
APRN Reinstatement
RN licenses with APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice will expire annually on October 31. To apply for APRN reinstatement after your Announcement of Advanced Practice has lapsed, you must complete the Application for Reinstatement of Announcement of Advanced Practice. Your APRN Announcement of Advanced Practice reinstatement should include:
- A photocopy of your certificate card or other verification of your certification from the appropriate national certifying body
- An official transcript from the accredited nursing program through which you earned your master’s degree program (Note: The transcript should be sent directly from the registrar’s office in a sealed envelope)
- $35 check or money order payable to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses
Mail all of the above noted documentation, payment, and the completed application to West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, 101 Dee Drive, Suite 102, Charleston, WV, 25311-1620.
CNM Reinstatement
CNM licenses expire annually on October 31. To apply for CNM reinstatement if your license has lapsed, you must complete the Certified Nurse-Midwife License Reinstatement Application.
Include a copy of your re-certification renewal through your national certification agency or proof of completing a continued competency assessment program.
Include a $10 fee check or money order payable to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses.
Mail all documents, application, and payment to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, 101 Dee Drive, Suite 102, Charleston, WV, 25311-1620.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Associations in West Virginia
Consider joining one of the professional associations that support the profession in your state:
- West Virginia Nurses Association
- West Virginia Emergency Nurses Association
- West Virginia Center for Nursing
- West Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists
West Virginia Nurse Practitioner Salary
Become a nurse practitioner, and you’ll likely make six figures. In West Virginia, NPs earn an average of$105,220 per year. The top earners report bringing in $142,170 annually – a fantastic living in this state.
Registered Nurse Salary
RNs make a very comfortable living in Virginia. The average annual salary for this role is $65,130 – 39 percent higher than the state’s median household income. Those in the top 10 percent gross at least $87,180 per year.
Nursing Instructors and Teachers Salary
Considering a role in education? Nursing instructors in West Virginia earn a respectable $61,140 per year, on average.
Nurse Administrator Salary
(Includes Nurse Managers, Directors, and Chief Nursing Officers)
Getting into management will set you up well, financially speaking. In WV, nurse administrators make an average of$111,120 per year. The top earners in this role report making $166,400 a year or better.
Nurse Anesthetists Salary
For West Virginia, anesthetists make an outstanding income: $187,430 per year, on average. As to what the top 10 percent are making, we can guess they’re grossing above the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reporting threshold of $208,000.
Nurse Midwives Salary
Midwives in WV earn a strong income: $123,450 per year, on average. What’s more, the top midwives in the state make at least $180,820 annually. So, making $200,000 isn’t out of reach if you’re ambitious.
2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics job market trends and salary figures for 1) Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Midwives; 2) Medical and Health Services Managers (Nurse Administrators); 3) Registered Nurses; and 4) Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. 2019 US Census Bureau figures for state median household income provided for comparison. Data Accessed December 2021.