Bill Text: NJ A965 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes three-year Nurse Educator Pilot Program in Division of Consumer Affairs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A965 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A965-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes three-year Nurse Educator Pilot Program in Division of Consumer Affairs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing a Nurse Educator Pilot Program.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established a three-year Nurse Educator Pilot Program in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The purpose of the program is to alleviate the shortage of nurses in this State that is due in part to the shortage of nurse educators.
b. Notwithstanding the faculty qualification requirement set forth in N.J.A.C.13:37-1.7(b)(3) to the contrary, a program in nursing education may hire faculty who are graduates from masters degree programs with majors other than nursing, who have at least 20 years of clinical nursing experience, at least half of which was gained in New Jersey, and who otherwise meet the faculty requirements prescribed by the New Jersey Board of Nursing.
c. No later than six months before the expiration of this act, the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, in consultation with the New Jersey Board of Nursing, shall report to the Governor, and pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program in reducing the shortage of nurse educators in the State. The report shall include the number of nurses who were hired under the pilot program, recommendations as to whether the program should be renewed, and such other information as the director deems appropriate.
2. This act shall take effect on the 30th day following the date of enactment and shall expire three years following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a three-year Nurse Educator Pilot Program in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to address the current and future nurse workforce shortage in this State by temporarily broadening the criteria for nurse educators.
The demand for well-educated nurses is rising, but a shortage of nursing school faculty is restricting nursing program enrollments. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, more than 11,000 qualified students were turned away from baccalaureate nursing programs in the fall of 2003 due to limited numbers of faculty, clinical sites and classroom space. Of the schools that responded to its survey on enrollment in nursing programs, 38% pointed to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into entry-level baccalaureate programs.
Current State Board of Nursing regulations require that nursing program faculty hold a current license in New Jersey as a registered professional nurse, and have taken courses or have professional or clinical experience in the specific area of teaching responsibility. In addition, faculty hired after September 1, 1981 to teach in baccalaureate degree programs, associate degree programs and diploma programs must be graduates from masters degree programs with a major in nursing, and faculty hired after September 1, 1981 to teach in licensed practical nursing programs must hold a bachelors degree with a major in nursing. The pilot program would give nursing programs the option of hiring faculty who otherwise meet all current requirements, but who have masters degrees with majors other than nursing and have at least 20 years of clinical nursing experience, at least half of which was gained New Jersey.
The bill requires the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, in consultation with the New Jersey Board of Nursing, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program in reducing the shortage of nurse educators the State.
