SCR167 SD2.DOC

WHEREAS, under section 457-9(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, a nurse who has not actively practiced for more than five years in this State or any other state, territory, or possession under the jurisdiction of the United States 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 Hawaii Board of Nursing to restore a license; and

WHEREAS, title 16, chapter 89C, 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 pharmacology, to renew prescriptive authority; and

WHEREAS, advanced practice registered nurses without prescriptive authority, registered nurses, and practical nurses are not now 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, nursing practice inherently evolves from entry level generalist to an experienced, focused practice; and

WHEREAS, according to the American Nurses Association, a provider of continuing nursing education accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, nursing professional development is a career-long process of active participation in learning activities that assist in developing and maintaining nurses' continuing competence, enhancing their professional practice, and supporting achievement of their career goals; and

WHEREAS, the American Nurses Association also found that nursing professional development builds on nurses' basic education and experience and significantly contributes towards the goal of ensuring the delivery of quality health care to the public; and

WHEREAS, continuing education plays a significant role in nursing professionals' ongoing development for the betterment of the profession and the patients they serve; and

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

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

WHEREAS, any continuing education requirement applicable to all nursing license renewals needs an adequate phase-in period to allow educational institutions, employers, and professionals sufficient time to meet the mandatory continuing education requirements; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing is in a position to play a pivotal role in the development and administration of a continuing education program for nurses that will more fully engage its constituents; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing is requested to examine the establishment of a continuing education requirement for all nursing license renewals and a Hawaii nursing continuing education program in terms of feasibility, benefits, costs, obstacles, and a potential timeframe; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing is requested to identify:

(1) The resources required to ensure proper delivery, monitoring, and compliance of a Hawaii nursing continuing education program, including funds needed for qualified staff, space, materials, and equipment, and the fiscal impact on nurses, employers, the State, and educational institutions providing the continuing education credits;

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

(3) The chronologic evolution of nursing practice; how factors specific to individual nurses such as age, gender, type of basic nursing education, propensity for self-study, specialty area, and work setting influence the evolution of the practice; and types of continuing education courses that would best respond to these factors;

(4) The determinants of safe post-entry practice and what characterizes safe versus unsafe nursing practice; and

(5) A professional program or programs suitable for analyzing the training and educational needs of nurses and for providing continuing education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing is requested to establish a joint advisory committee to conduct the study, plan the establishment of a continuing education program for nurses, and report its findings and recommendations to the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the joint advisory committee consist of the following members:

(1) One representative from the School of Nursing established within each of the following institutions: the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Pacific University, the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Kapiolani Community College, Maui Community College, Kauai Community College, Hawaii Community College, and the University of Phoenix;

(2) One representative from each of the following: the Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses, the Hawaii Nurses Association, the Philippine Nurses Association, the Hawaii Association of Nurse Anesthetists, the Hawaii Association of Nurse Executives, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Long Term Care Association;

(3) One representative from Hawaii Pacific Health, The Queen's Medical Center, and any other Hawaii hospital specified by the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing;

(4) The Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs or the Director's designee; and

(5) One representative from the state Board of Nursing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the joint advisory committee select a chairperson from among themselves, and the chairperson is requested to convene meetings of the joint advisory committee; and

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

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing take the recommendations of the joint advisory committee under advisement; and

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

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing is requested to submit to the Legislature:

(1) A status report that includes:

(A) A timeline for the convening of the joint advisory committee, the study, and submission of the reports requested under this measure;

(B) Identification of other parties that should be involved in the study;

no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011;

(2) An interim report on the status of the study and the joint advisory committee's work, including any additional time that may be required to complete the study and submit the final report, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and

(3) A final report of the Center's findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, pertaining to the establishment of a Hawaii Nursing Continuing Education Program, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013, unless the deadline for submittal of the final report is revised by concurrent resolution adopted in the Regular Session of 2012; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the joint advisory committee is to dissolve no later than six months after the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing submits its final report to the Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Hawaii System; Dean of the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene of the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Presidents of Hawaii Pacific University and the University of Phoenix; Chancellors of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Kapiolani Community College, Maui Community College, Kauai Community College, and Hawaii Community College; Executive Directors of the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 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; Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of Hawaii Pacific Health and The Queen's Medical Center; Directors of Health, Human Services, and Commerce and Consumer Affairs; State Auditor; and state Board of Nursing.

Report Title:

Hawaii State Center for Nursing; Establishing a Joint Task Force

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	167
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII