HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

160

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE CENTER FOR NURSING TO EVALUATE THE NEED AND RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NURSES.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, section 457-9(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides that a nurse who has not actively practiced in this State or any other state in the United States or any territory or possession under the jurisdiction of the United States for more than five years may be required to submit proof of continued competency by retaking and passing the licensing examination or successfully completing a refresher course approved by the State Board of Nursing; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 16-89C-20(a)(2), Hawaii Administrative Rules, requires advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority to submit proof of successfully completing thirty contact hours of continuing education including eight hours of advanced pharmacology to renew prescriptive authority; and

 

     WHEREAS, advanced practice registered nurses without prescriptive authority, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses are not required to submit proof of having completed continuing education to renew their licenses; and

 

     WHEREAS, nursing careers take widely divergent paths, varying by professional role, setting, clients, disease conditions, and therapeutic modalities as well as level of health care delivery; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is an inherent evolution of practice from the new graduate-entry-generalist level to the experienced-focused practice level of competence; and

 

     WHEREAS, the need and the costs involved in implementing an effective mandatory continuing education program for twenty-four thousand nurses licensed in the State need to be assessed; and

 

     WHEREAS, the costs as they relate to anticipated financial resources need to be assessed; and

 

     WHEREAS, the cost for an effective, mandatory continuing education program which may result in increased fees to the nurses and possible increased costs to consumers need to be assessed to determine whether the benefits to the nurses, the employers, and the public outweigh the costs; and

 

     WHEREAS, continuing education requirements must be administratively feasible, cost-effective, and equitably applied and enforced; and

 

     WHEREAS, the continuing education program should include the descriptions of proposed offerings, the objectives, the intended audience, faculty credentials, the administrative structure, sources of financial support, the recordkeeping mechanism, and a valid method of evaluation; and

 

     WHEREAS, an adequate phase-in period proposed to allow educational institutions, employers, and professionals sufficient time to meet the mandatory continuing education requirements needs to be determined; and

 

     WHEREAS, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing explored the characteristics of registered and licensed practical or vocational nursing from entry through five years of practice; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Center for Nursing is requested to:

 

     (1)  Evaluate whether there is a demonstrated need for mandatory continuing education and whether there is documented evidence that problems exist because of actual performance deficiencies, rather than inadequacies in supervision, facilities, financial resources, or equipment, are responsible for unacceptable professional performance;

 

     (2)  Identify the resources required to ensure proper delivery, monitoring, and compliance of the program, including funds for additional program operation such as qualified staff, space, materials, and equipment, and the identification and weighing of the cost impacts on the professional, the employer, and the educational institution;

 

     (3)  Identify the availability of the needed resources to establish a continuing education program for twenty-four thousand nurses licensed in Hawaii;

 

     (4)  Perform a comprehensive examination of the characteristics of post-entry nursing practice and how the characteristics change over time;

 

     (5)  Identify the chronologic evolution of nursing practice;

 

     (6)  Evaluate how factors specific to the individual nurse (e.g., age, gender, type of basic nursing educational program, propensity for self-study, specialty area, work setting, etc.) influence the evolution of practice;

 

     (7)  Identify the determinants of safe post-entry practice, including the characteristics of safe versus unsafe practice;

 

     (8)  Identify a professional program suitable for analyzing the training and educational needs of nurses and for evaluating competence on the basis of current practice criteria; and

 

     (9)  Identify the fiscal impacts on the State, the public, the nurse, the employer, and the educational system of establishing and maintaining a mandatory continuing education system; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Nursing is requested to establish a joint advisory committee that includes the following persons as members:

 

     (1)  A representative from each of the following Hawaii schools of nursing:

 

(A)  University of Hawaii at Manoa;

 

(B)  Hawaii Pacific University;

 

(C)  University of Hawaii at Hilo;

 

(D)  Kapiolani Community College;

 

(E)  Maui Community College;

 

(F)  Kauai Community College;

 

(G)  Hawaii Community College; and

 

(H)  University of Phoenix; and

 

     (2)  A representative from each of the following organizations or associations:

 

(A)  Hawaii Association of Nurse Anesthetists;

 

(B)  Hawaii Association of Nurse Executives;

 

(C)  Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses;

 

(D)  Hawaii Long Term Care Association;

 

(E)  Hawaii Nurses Association;

 

(F)  Healthcare Association of Hawaii;

 

(G)  National Council of State Boards of Nursing;

 

(H)  Philippine Nurses Association; and

 

     (3)  A representative from each of the following governmental agencies:

 

(A)  Department of Health;

 

(B)  Department of Human Services;

 

(C)  Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs; and

 

(D)  Office of the State Auditor;

 

     (4)  Representatives of employers, including but not limited to, Hawaii Pacific Health; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the joint advisory committee are requested to serve without compensation and without reimbursement for expenses; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Nursing is requested to take the recommendations of the joint advisory committee under advisement; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Nursing is further requested to review all reports prepared by the State Auditor and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing relating to continuing education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Nursing is requested to report its findings and recommendations (based on research and statistical analyses), including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the joint advisory committee is requested to dissolve on June 30, 2012, unless otherwise provided by the Legislature; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing, the Director of the Center for Nursing, the President of Hawaii Pacific University, the Chancellors of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Kapiolani Community College, Maui Community College, Kauai Community College, and Hawaii Community College, the President of the University of Phoenix; the Executive Director of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing; the Executive Directors of Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, Hawaii Nurses Association, Philippine Nurses Association, Hawaii Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Hawaii Association of Nurse Executives, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and Hawaii Long Term Care Association; the Directors of Health, Human Services, and Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the State Auditor.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Nurses; Study