Whether you're thinking of taking a sabbatical, moving into management or changing careers, keep your nursing license current, even if you think you may never need it again.

Alyssa J. Worrell became a registered nurse in 1989. But when her son was born five years ago, Worrell decided to stay at home to take care of her family and become more involved in volunteer work.

She kept her nursing license current until 2006, when her mother became ill. Worrell traveled to New York for several months to care for her during the last stages of breast cancer.

"I have always kept my license current, but this past year I simply neglected to renew my license, because so much was going on," she said. "Now I'm in lapsed status and was told that I would have to return to school to renew."

The office of Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel oversees professional licensing in the state. According to Whitney Halterman, communications specialist with the office, there are specific requirements to renew a lapsed license.

"If a nurse allows his or her license to lapse (or allows the deadline to renew to pass without renewing), then the applicant must submit a completed application, photograph and the required fee to the Georgia Board of Nursing," she said. "The application must also include documentation of one of the following:

• Three months or 500 hours of licensed practice as a registered nurse during the prior four years;

• Graduation from a nursing education program within the prior four years;

• Completion of a board-approved re-entry program or refresher course within the four years immediately preceding the date of application."

The guidelines state that license-

reinstatement applicants who can't meet these requirements must complete 40 hours of relevant study and 160 hours of relevant nursing practice outlined in the rules of the Georgia Board of Nursing.

Keeping a nursing license current is much easier than reapplying for one. To renew online, go to http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/ and click on Renewal Your License.

For information, call the Professional Licensing Board at 478-207-2440.