PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF NURSING
[49 PA. CODE CH. 21]
Endorsement of Foreign Trained Nurses
[26 Pa.B. 4652] The State Board of Nursing (Board) proposes to amend §§ 21.28 and 21.155 (relating to licensure by endorsement) to read as set forth in Annex A. The amendments would add new provisions to permit nurses who have been educated in foreign nursing programs to obtain licensure by endorsement. Also, the amendments would delete § 21.28(c) which requires the Board to issue letters of permission for applicants for endorsement to practice for 1 year from the date of application.
Registered Nurses
The Board wishes to delete language under § 21.28(c) which requires the Board to issue letters permitting applicants for endorsement to practice for 1 year from the date of application. Since section 4.1 of the Professional Nursing Law (63 P. S. § 214.1), now authorizes the issuance of a temporary practice permit, a letter of permission is unnecessary.
In addition, the Board is adding new language to subsection (c) pertaining to licensure by endorsement. Licensure by endorsement (without examination) is authorized under section 7 of the Professional Nursing Law (63 P. S. § 217). A person may be licensed without examination who: (1) is registered or licensed by examination in a jurisdiction of the United States or Canada; and (2) has completed a nursing program which the Board finds equivalent to the approved Board programs in this Commonwealth at the time the program was completed. Currently, § 21.28 pertains only to endorsement applicants who have graduated from an approved nursing program in the United States or Canada and qualified in the other state by passing the National Council Licensure Examination, the examination which the Board has adopted for graduates of Commonwealth nursing programs. Existing regulation pertaining to licensure of a graduate of a foreign nursing program is found only at § 21.23 (relating to qualifications of applicant for examination) pertaining to applicants for admission to the Board examination. That section requires that a nurse who has completed a nursing program in a foreign country (other than the United States or Canada) successfully complete a proficiency examination given by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). Read together, the two sections create an apparent anomaly: nurses educated in another country may be admitted to the National Council Licensure Examination and qualify for a license by passing the examination, but nurses educated in another country who have already passed the National Council Examination to qualify for a license in another state may not qualify for license by endorsement.
To obviate the necessity of the foreign educated nurse to pass the examination again to obtain a license to practice in this Commonwealth, the Board proposes to amend § 21.28(c). This subsection would authorize license without examination to a nurse who was educated in another country, but who otherwise qualified for license in another state by examination and who seeks licensure by endorsement from that state. To further assist the foreign educated nurse in establishing the educational credentials, the new subsection would recognize the evaluation of foreign nurse programs done by the CGFNS as the means by which the Board would determine whether the CGFNS education is equivalent to the Board's approved program.
Practical Nurses
Although section 6 of the Practical Nurse Law (63 P. S. § 656) authorizes the Board to license without examination a practical nurse licensed in another jurisdiction who graduated from a foreign program if the program is considered equivalent to a program approved in this Commonwealth, the Board's regulations do not provide guidance on methods of determining equivalency. Section 21.155(a) permits the Board to compare examinations rather than programs. Accordingly, new subsection (d) would permit the Board to base equivalency of programs on an evaluation performed by the CGFNS.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed amendments will have no fiscal impact and will not impose additional paperwork on the private sector, the general public or the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.
Statutory Authority
The Board has authority to promulgate these proposed amendments under section 2.1(k) of the Professional Nursing Law (63 P. S. § 212.1(k)) and section 17.6 of the Practical Nurse Law (63 P. S. § 667.6). These provisions authorize the Board to establish rules and regulations for the administration of the Law.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), the Board submitted a copy of these proposed amendments on September 13, 1996, to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and to the Chairpersons of the House Committee on Professional Licensure and the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. In addition to submitting the proposed amendments, the Board has provided the Committees and IRRC with a copy of a detailed regulatory analysis form prepared by the Board in compliance with Executive Order 1982-2, ''Improving Government Regulations.'' A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
If IRRC has objections to any portion of the proposed amendments, it will notify the Board within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The notification shall specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met by that portion. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the regulations, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions or objections regarding the proposed amendments to Beth Sender Michlovitz, Counsel, State Board of Nursing, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649, within 30 days following publication of the proposed amendments in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
SISTER RITA MORIARTY, RN, MPA,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-512. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 21. STATE BOARD OF NURSING
Subchapter A. REGISTERED NURSES LICENSES § 21.28. Licensure by endorsement.
* * * * * (c) [An applicant for licensure in this Commonwealth by endorsement who holds a current license to practice nursing in another state or territory of the United States or Canada may practice nursing in this Commonwealth during the period that an application filed for licensure in this Commonwealth is pending before the Board, but not for more than 1 year. When the application is filed with the Board, a letter of permission for employment will be issued.] A registered nurse who has graduated from a nursing program in a country or territory outside of the United States or Canada and who is licensed by completing the National Council Licensure Examination in another jurisdiction of the United States or Canada may be granted licensure in this Commonwealth without examination if the applicant's program of study is deemed equivalent to the program of study required in this Commonwealth at the time the program was completed. The Board will base equivalency upon an evaluation performed by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) as to the foreign nursing program.
* * * * *
Subchapter B. PRACTICAL NURSES LICENSES § 21.155. Licensure by endorsement.
* * * * * (d) A practical nurse who has graduated from a practical nursing program in a country or territory outside of the United States or Canada and who is licensed by completing the National Council Licensure Examination in another jurisdiction of the United States or Canada may be granted licensure in this Commonwealth without examination if the applicant's program of study is deemed equivalent to the program of study required in this Commonwealth at the time the program was completed. The Board will base equivalency upon an evaluation performed by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) as to the foreign nursing program.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-1632. Filed for public inspection September 27, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]
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