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A03103 Summary:

A03103 Actions:

A03103 Floor Votes:

A03103 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          3103
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 23, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. MORELLE, JAFFEE, PERRY, MAGNARELLI, ROSENTHAL,
          CUSICK, GUNTHER,  CAMARA,  ORTIZ,  GIBSON,  PAULIN,  KELLNER,  CASTRO,
          LAVINE,  TITONE, DINOWITZ, GOTTFRIED, MAISEL, MILLER, STEVENSON, BENE-
          DETTO, BRONSON, BROOK-KRASNY, GALEF, COLTON, BRINDISI  --  Multi-Spon-
          sored  by  --  M.  of  A. ABINANTI, BARCLAY, BRAUNSTEIN, CAHILL, COOK,

          CURRAN, CYMBROWITZ, DenDEKKER, ENGLEBRIGHT, FINCH, FITZPATRICK, HEAST-
          IE, HEVESI, HOOPER, JOHNS, KOLB, LIFTON,  LOSQUADRO,  LUPARDO,  MAGEE,
          MALLIOTAKIS,  McDONOUGH,  MILLMAN,  MONTESANO,  NOLAN,  PRETLOW, RAIA,
          RAMOS, RIVERA, ROBINSON, RUSSELL, SCHIMEL, SWEENEY,  TEDISCO,  TENNEY,
          WEISENBERG,  ZEBROWSKI  --  read once and referred 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
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02884-01-3
        A. 3103                             2
 
     1  patient  deaths.  Therefore,  the  legislature  finds that expanding the
     2  educational requirements for the profession of nursing, while  maintain-
     3  ing  the  multiple  entry  points  into the profession, is needed.  This
     4  legislation  affects  future  nurses graduating from associate degree or
     5  diploma nursing programs who would be required to obtain a baccalaureate
     6  in nursing within ten years of initial  licensure.  All  current  nurses
     7  licensed  in  New York and students in programs preparing for registered

     8  professional nursing are to be exempt from  the  new  requirement.  This
     9  legislation  is mirrored after the progressive education requirement for
    10  teachers in New York state. Numerous regulatory and  accrediting  bodies
    11  have recommended this change as a means to address sophisticated patient
    12  care  needs  resulting  from  shorter lengths of stay, higher acuity and
    13  more sophisticated interventions. This proposal is the result of a grow-
    14  ing body of research  evidence  that  additional  education  results  in
    15  better patient outcomes. Therefore by requiring the baccalaureate degree
    16  for  continued  registration  as  a  registered  professional nurse this
    17  legislation seeks to be responsive  to  meet  the  increasingly  complex
    18  health care needs of the residents of New York state.
    19    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 6905 of the education law, as amended by

    20  chapter  994 of the laws of 1971 and such section as renumbered by chap-
    21  ter 50 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
    22    (2) Education: have received an education, and a diploma or degree  in
    23  professional nursing, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations,
    24  and  in  order  to  continue  to  maintain  registration as a registered
    25  professional nurse in New York  state,  have  attained  a  baccalaureate
    26  degree  in  nursing  within ten years of initial licensure in accordance
    27  with the commissioner's regulations. The department, in its  discretion,
    28  may issue a conditional registration to a licensee who fails to complete
    29  the  baccalaureate degree but who agrees to meet the additional require-
    30  ment within one year. The fee for such a conditional registration  shall

    31  be  the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the triennial registra-
    32  tion. The duration of such conditional registration  shall  be  for  one
    33  year  and  may  be extended, with the payment of a fee, for no more than
    34  one additional year. Any licensee who is notified of  the  denial  of  a
    35  registration for failure to complete the additional educational require-
    36  ments  and who practices as a registered professional nurse without such
    37  registration may be subject  to  disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant  to
    38  section sixty-five hundred ten of this title;
    39    § 3. The provisions of this act shall not apply to:
    40    a.  any  student  entering  a  generic baccalaureate program preparing
    41  registered professional nurses after the effective date of this act;

    42    b. any student currently enrolled in, or having an application pending
    43  in, a program preparing registered nurses as of the  effective  date  of
    44  this act;
    45    c.  any  person already licensed as a registered professional nurse or
    46  any unlicensed graduate professional nurse who is eligible to  take  the
    47  National  Council Licensure Examination as of the effective date of this
    48  act.
    49    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and  the  commissioner  of
    50  education  is  authorized to promulgate any rule or regulation necessary
    51  to implement the provisions of this act.