BILL NUMBER:S628

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the education law, in relation to the educational preparation
for practice of professional nursing

PURPOSE:
To expand the educational preparation of registered
professional nurses to require that a baccalaureate degree be
obtained within ten years after initial licensure while maintaining
the multiple entry points into the profession.

SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION:
Section 1. Delineates the requirement and
rationale for obtaining a baccalaureate degree within ten years of
original licensure

Section 2. Subdivision 2 of section 6905 of the education law, as
amended by chapter 994 of the laws of 1971 and such section as
renumbered by chapter 50 of the laws of 1972, is amended.

1) make provision for SED to issue a conditional registration to a
licensee who fails to complete the baccalaureate degree but who
agrees to meet the additional requirement within a year;

              

2) outline the additional fee for such conditional registration;

3) provide for a one year conditional registration which may be
extended, with the payment of a fee, for no more than one additional
year;

4) call for disciplinary proceedings to be taken against any licensee
who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to complete
the additional educational requirements and who practices as a
registered professional nurse without such registration under section
sixty-five hundred ten of this title.

Section 3, Outlines that the provisions of this act shall not apply to:

a) any student entering a generic baccalaureate program preparing
registered professional nurses after the effective date of this act
b) any student currently enrolled in, or having an application
pending in, a program preparing registered nurses as of the effective
date of this act; and

c) any person already licensed as a registered professional nurse or
any unlicensed graduate professional nurse who is eligible to take
the National Council Licensure Examination as of the effective date
of this act.

Section 4. Effective Date

JUSTIFICATION:
The National Advisory Council on Nursing Education and
Practice, policy advisors to Congress and the U.S. Secretary of


Health and Education recommended that by 2010, two-thirds of nurses
should hold a baccalaureate or higher degree, This position was based
on their analysis of evolving needs associated with patient care and
public protection.

Shorter lengths of stays, higher patient acuity, and more
sophisticated technologies and procedures are increasing the
complexity of patient care which, in turn, places great demands on
nursing competencies Other countries are responding to these changes
by requiring the baccalaureate degree as an entry requirement for
nursing licensure while other professions are demanding master and
doctoral degrees as their entry point" Several recent research
studies clearly demonstrate the added value of additional education
in relation to improved patient outcomes. One study demonstrates that
each ten percent increase in the number of baccalaureate prepared
nurses results in a five percent decrease in surgical patient deaths.

The New York State Board for Nursing, recognizing the evolving needs
associated with patient care, unanimously passed a motion in December
2003, recommending that statutory change be sought requiring future
licensed registered professional nurses to attain a baccalaureate
degree in nursing ten years after initial licensure in order to
continue to practice in New York.

The bill is designed to mirror the educational requirements of
teachers in NYS. There is a provision for an extension for cases with
extenuating circumstances that would delay completion of the
additional requirement based on criteria to be established in
commissioner's regulations. This requirement would apply only to
nursing students who enter diploma or associate degree programs after
the bill's implementation date. All current students, or those on
waiting lists to begin the nursing program, will be exempt from the
requirement. All current RN's would be "grandfathered" and their
licenses forever protected from this mandatory additional educational
requirement.

It is not anticipated that this bill would reduce the supply of nurses
in New York,. The grandfathering of those currently licensed would
prevent intensification of the current shortage of nurses. Moreover,
this bill is designed to allow continuation of entry at the associate
degree level-nursing programs that produce a significant percentage
of new graduates and licensees. Indeed it is anticipated that the
increased educational requirement would attract additional recruits
as nursing might be seen as a more viable professional career option
In 2004, data from the Center for Health Workforce Studies at SUNY
Albany showed that over 2,000 qualified students were denied
admission to nursing programs.

Strategies for recruiting future nurses are dependent upon having
adequate numbers of faculty to provide instruction and leadership.
Lack of faculty prevents significant numbers of potential students
from being admitted to nursing programs The average age of NYS
nursing faculty is 53 - many are expected to retire within the next
five years. Advanced education and experience are required for
nurses to serve as faculty in nursing education settings. This bill,
which requires additional education for the continued registration


of RN's, would expand the pool of nurses who could pursue graduate
studies to fill these nursing faculty roles.

In an effort to facilitate the implementation of additional education
for registered professional nurses, the NYS Associate Degree Nursing
Council and the Council of Deans of Nursing, Senior Colleges and
Universities of NYS have actively collaborated to standardize
requirements between the two levels. In December 2004, the Council of
Deans of Nursing, Senior Colleges and Universities adopted the
position that RN's prepared in NYS, associate degree nursing programs
applying to baccalaureate degree programs would be granted
30 nursing credits in addition to liberal arts and sciences credits
that could be applied to the 120 credits for the baccalaureate
degree for prior completion of course work at the associate degree
level.

There are also ever increasing opportunities in New York for distance
learning and other innovative teaching strategies that support the
registered professional nurses in achieving the additional education
required by this bill. Given the enhancements to the compatibility
between associate and baccalaureate nursing programs and the ever
increasing options for advanced placement and distance learning, this
bill can be implemented without disadvantaging future new graduates.

By requiring the baccalaureate degree for continued registration as a
registered professional nurse, this bill seeks to be responsive to
meet the increasingly complex health care needs of the residents of
New York State.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Similar legislation was previously introduced.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and the
commissioner is authorized to promulgate any rule or regulation
necessary to implement the provisions of this act.