Bill Text: HI SB280 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Registered Nurses; Foreign Graduates; Licensure Requirements
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [SB280 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-SB280-Introduced.html
Report Title:
Registered Nurses; Foreign Graduates; Licensure Requirements
Description:
Removes, for an unlicensed foreign nursing school graduate applying for a registered nurse license in Hawaii, the requirement for a school transcript to be evaluated. Requires board of nursing to adopt rules requiring submission of the breakdown of educational program for international nursing programs form.
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
280 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to registered nurses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that a foreign nursing school graduate may obtain a license to practice as a registered nurse in Hawaii either by examination or by endorsement. A foreign nursing school graduate may obtain a license by endorsement if the applicant already possesses an unencumbered license as a registered nurse in another country and, in the opinion of the board of nursing, meets the qualifications required of registered nurses in Hawaii at the time of graduation. If a foreign nursing school graduate does not already possess a registered nurse license in another country, the applicant may obtain a Hawaii license by examination by passing the National Council Licensure Examination and by complying with applicable requirements of state law and board of nursing rules that regulate nursing. Section 16‑89‑8(c), Hawaii Administrative Rules, requires that a school transcript of a foreign nursing school graduate applying for a license by examination be evaluated by a professional educational credential evaluator recognized by the board and the applicant must arrange to have the evaluator send a report directly to the board. The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools fulfills this credential evaluation function by either issuing a certification through its international certification program or by issuing a full education course-by-course report.
The international certification program is comprised of three parts: a credentials review, the international qualifying examination, and an English proficiency examination. The current fee for the certification program is $418. The current fee for the full education course-by-course report is $378.
The legislature further finds that not all states require foreign nursing school graduates to undergo these additional procedures to be licensed to practice as registered nurses. For example, California does not require a credential evaluation, applying for and taking the international qualifying examination, and applying for and taking an English proficiency examination. Instead, California requires a foreign nursing school graduate to send a document known as the breakdown of educational program for international nursing programs form to the applicant's school with a request for transcript. Hawaii's rules already require a foreign nursing school graduate to provide a student final record or official transcript sent directly from the applicant's school to the board of nursing.
The purpose of this Act is to require the board of nursing to adopt rules to remove the requirement for a foreign nursing school graduate to furnish either a written certification or a full education course-by-course report as a condition to take the licensing examination to obtain a license to practice as a registered nurse in Hawaii.
SECTION 2. Section 457-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:
"(f) Applicants applying for a license to practice as a registered nurse by examination shall submit to the board proof of eligibility. Applicants shall be eligible to apply for a license by examination if they have:
(1) Graduated from a registered nursing program at an educational institution in the United States or any territory or possession under the jurisdiction of the United States and are qualified as determined by the board through rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91;
(2) Graduated from a registered nursing program at an
educational institution in a foreign jurisdiction [and have had their
transcripts evaluated by professional evaluators designated by the board] and
are considered qualified as determined by the board through rules adopted
pursuant to chapter 91; or
(3) Graduated with a bachelor's degree and satisfactorily completed the pre-licensure portion of a master's entry program in nursing at an accredited school of nursing in the United States or any territory or possession under the jurisdiction of the United States that is recognized by the board or other state boards of nursing and are qualified as determined by the board."
SECTION 3. The board of nursing shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to require a graduate of a foreign nursing school applying for a license to practice as a registered nurse in Hawaii to arrange for the applicant's school to send to the board of nursing the breakdown of educational program for international nursing programs form along with a certified school transcript; provided that if the transcript is not in English, a certified English translation shall also be submitted.
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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