By Julie Cullen, Managing Editor of American Nurse Today

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) just released a free booklet—NCSBN Welcomes You to the Nursing Profession—for newly licensed nurses. The goal of the booklet, which is being offered in celebration of NCSBN’s 40th anniversary, is to help new nurses understand nursing regulation and the work of their Board of Nursing. And the plan is to get the booklet in the hands of every new nurse in the United States!

If you’re a new nurse, you’ll find information about the licensure process and the responsibilities that go along with that license you worked so hard for. Other bits of information you’ll find helpful include insights into substance use disorder, appropriate use of social media (speaking of social media, you might want to check out the American Nurse Today article, Social media missteps could put your nursing license at risk), and how to develop professional boundaries. And, last but not least, you’ll find links to videos, brochures, posters, magazines, and newsletters.

You can download a PDF of the booklet or order a hard copy from the NCSBN Communications Library.

Julie Cullen, managing editor of American Nurse Today and a curator of online content for the American Nurse Today website, is most definitely not a nurse, but she admires what all of you do everyday. In her Off the Charts blog she shares some of her experiences as a patient and family member of patients, thoughts and ideas that occur to her during her work editing nursing content, and information she thinks you might find interesting. Julie welcomes your feedback. You can submit a comment on the website or email her at jcullen@healthcommedia.com.