I have not had a great experience with contacting ...

I have not had a great experience with contacting the VA Board of Nursing. If I do not get a busy signal, the wait time is over an hour without anyone picking up. My desk phone one day stopped counting at 99 minutes. I think here should be an expedited process for those applying who already have jobs, especially in rural underserved areas of the state with significant provider shortages. The license is only one step in the process of being able to practice in Virginia. This 30-45 business day wait time could result in missing the monthly credentialing meeting thus extending wait times even further before entering practice. If fees need to be increased to have more staff, then it should be considered. Maybe the process could even be started prior to graduation where the application has been reviewed and the only steps remaining would be sending a final transcript and certification from the various certification organizations.