S01223 Summary:

BILL NOS01223
 
SAME ASNo same as
 
SPONSORSTAVISKY
 
COSPNSRADAMS, ADDABBO, AVELLA, BONACIC, CARLUCCI, GRISANTI, HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER, LANZA, MAZIARZ, RITCHIE, STEWART-COUSINS
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd S6905, Ed L
 
Requires registered professional nurses to attain a baccalaureate degree in nursing within ten years of their initial licensure; provides exemptions for those currently licensed or enrolled in nursing programs.
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S01223 Actions:

BILL NOS01223
 
01/06/2011REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
01/04/2012REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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S01223 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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S01223 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1223
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     January 6, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the educational prepa-
          ration for practice of professional nursing
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-

        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The  legislature  hereby finds and declares that with the
     2  increasing complexity of the  American  healthcare  system  and  rapidly
     3  expanding  technology,  the  educational  preparation  of the registered
     4  professional nurse must be expanded. The nurse of  the  future  must  be
     5  prepared  to  partner  with  multiple  disciplines as a collaborator and
     6  manager of the complex patient care journey. Shorter lengths  of  stays,
     7  higher  patient  acuity,  and more sophisticated technologies and proce-
     8  dures are increasing the complexity of patient  care  -  which  in  turn
     9  places  great  demands  on  nursing  competencies.  Other  countries are
    10  responding to these changes by requiring the baccalaureate degree as  an
    11  entry  requirement  for  nursing  licensure  while other professions are

    12  demanding master and doctoral degrees  as  their  entry  point.  Several
    13  recent  research  studies  clearly  demonstrate the added value of addi-
    14  tional education in relation to improved  patient  outcomes;  one  study
    15  demonstrates  that  each ten percent increase in the number of baccalau-
    16  reate prepared nurses results in a five  percent  decrease  in  surgical
    17  patient  deaths.  Therefore,  the  legislature  finds that expanding the
    18  educational requirements for the profession of nursing, while  maintain-
    19  ing the multiple entry points into the profession, is needed.  This bill
    20  affects  future nurses graduating from associate degree or diploma nurs-
    21  ing programs who would be required to obtain a baccalaureate in  nursing
    22  within  ten  years  of initial licensure. All current nurses licensed in
    23  New York and students in programs preparing for registered  professional

    24  nursing  are  to be exempt from the new requirement. This legislation is
    25  mirrored after the progressive education requirement for teachers in New
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05299-01-1

        S. 1223                             2
 
     1  York state. Numerous regulatory and accrediting bodies have  recommended
     2  this  change  as  a  means  to  address sophisticated patient care needs
     3  resulting from shorter lengths of stay, higher acuity and more sophisti-
     4  cated  interventions.  This  proposal is the result of a growing body of
     5  research evidence that additional education results  in  better  patient
     6  outcomes.  Therefore by requiring the baccalaureate degree for continued

     7  registration as a registered professional nurse this bill  seeks  to  be
     8  responsive  to  meet  the  increasingly complex health care needs of the
     9  residents of New York state.
    10    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 6905 of the education law, as amended by
    11  chapter 994 of the laws of 1971 and such section as renumbered by  chap-
    12  ter 50 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
    13    (2)  Education: have received an education, and a diploma or degree in
    14  professional nursing, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations,
    15  and in order to  continue  to  maintain  registration  as  a  registered
    16  professional  nurse  in  New  York  state, have attained a baccalaureate
    17  degree in nursing within ten years of initial  licensure  in  accordance
    18  with  the  commissioner's regulations. In its discretion, the department

    19  may issue a conditional registration to a licensee who fails to complete
    20  the baccalaureate degree but who agrees to meet the additional  require-
    21  ment  within one year. The fee for such a conditional registration shall
    22  be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the triennial  registra-
    23  tion.  The  duration  of  such conditional registration shall be for one
    24  year and may be extended, with the payment of a fee, for  no  more  than
    25  one  additional  year.  Any  licensee who is notified of the denial of a
    26  registration for failure to complete the additional educational require-
    27  ments and who practices as a registered professional nurse without  such
    28  registration  may  be  subject  to  disciplinary proceedings pursuant to

    29  section sixty-five hundred ten of this title;
    30    § 3. The provisions of this act shall not apply to:
    31    a. any student entering  a  generic  baccalaureate  program  preparing
    32  registered professional nurses after the effective date of this act;
    33    b. any student currently enrolled in, or having an application pending
    34  in,  a  program  preparing registered nurses as of the effective date of
    35  this act;
    36    c. any person already licensed as a registered professional  nurse  or
    37  any  unlicensed  graduate professional nurse who is eligible to take the
    38  National Council Licensure Examination as of the effective date of  this
    39  act.
    40    §  4.  This  act shall take effect immediately and the commissioner of
    41  education is authorized to promulgate any rule or  regulation  necessary
    42  to implement the provisions of this act.
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