Bill Text: NJ A2722 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Permits veteran to receive credit toward licensure as licensed practical nurse upon completing certain military medical training programs.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-10 - Approved P.L.2023, c.18. [A2722 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A2722-Chaptered.html
An Act concerning licensure as a licensed practical nurse and amending and supplementing P.L.1947, c.262
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.1947, c. 262 (C.45:11-27) is amended to read as follows:
C.45:11-27 Practical nursing.
5. a. Qualifications of applicants. An applicant for a license to practice practical nursing shall submit to the board evidence in such form as the board may prescribe that the applicant (1) has attained his or her eighteenth birthday; (2) is of good moral character, is not an habitual user of drugs and has never been convicted or has not pleaded nolo contendere, non vult contendere or non vult to an indictment, information or complaint alleging a violation of any federal or State law relating to narcotic drugs; (3) has completed 2 years of high school or the equivalent thereof, as determined by the New Jersey State Department of Education; (4) (a) has completed a course of study in a school of practical nursing approved by the board and holds a diploma therefrom, (b) holds a diploma from a school of practical nursing operated by a board of education in this State and is certified by the Department of Education as having completed the number of hours of instruction in the subjects in the curriculum prescribed by the board and an approved course of affiliation, (c) has completed the Army Practical Nurse Program (68WM6) or the Air Force Basic Medical Technician Corpsman Program 4N051 (5 Skill Level), or their equivalents, and was honorably discharged from military service, or (d) has equivalent qualifications as determined by the board including those determined pursuant to section 1 of P.L. 2013, c.49 (C.45:1-15.3) and section 2 of P.L.2023, c.18 (C.45:11-27a).
b. License.
(1) By examination. The applicant shall be required to pass a written examination in such subjects as the board may determine, which examination may be supplemented by an oral or practical examination or both. Upon successfully passing such examinations, the applicant shall be licensed by the board to practice practical nursing.
(2) By indorsement without examination. The board shall issue a license to practice practical nursing without examination to any applicant who has been duly licensed as a practical nurse or a person entitled to perform similar services under a different title by practical nurse examination or by original waiver under the laws of another State, territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia, if in the opinion of the board the applicant has the qualifications required by this act for licensing of practical nurses or equivalent qualifications.
(3) Waiver. If application therefor is made, upon a form prescribed by the board, on or before September 1, 1958, the board shall issue without examination a license to practice practical nursing to an applicant who submits to the board evidence in such form as the board may prescribe that the applicant has qualifications (1) and (2) provided in subsection "a" of this section and had within 5 years prior to application at least 2 years of satisfactory experience in practical nursing, at least 1 year of which shall have been performed in this State except in cases of such nursing performed in an agency or service of the Federal Government; provided, that except in cases of such nursing performed in an agency or service of the Federal Government, such applicant is indorsed under oath by 2 physicians duly licensed to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey who have personal knowledge of the applicant's qualifications and satisfactory performance of practical nursing and by 2 persons who have employed the applicant.
c. Fees. An applicant for license by examination shall pay to the board at the time of application a fee of $20.00 and at the time of each application for re-examination a fee of $10.00. At the time of application an applicant for license without examination shall pay to the board a fee of $10.00, and an applicant for license by waiver shall pay to the board a fee of $10.00.
d. Title used by licensee. Any person who holds a license to practice practical nursing under this act shall during the effective period of such license be entitled to practice practical nursing and to use the title "Licensed Practical Nurse" and the abbreviation "L.P.N." The effective period of a license or a renewal thereof shall commence on the date of issuance and shall terminate at the end of the calendar year in which it is issued, and shall not include any period of suspension ordered by the board as hereinafter provided.
C.45:11-27a Rules, regulations.
2. The board shall promulgate rules and regulations, in consultation with the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, that determine:
a. for which training, education, and experience it shall give credit toward its requirements for licensure as a licensed practical nurse under section 1 of P.L.2013, c.49 (C.45:1-15.3), which shall include, but not be limited to, credit for successful completion of the following courses or programs or their equivalents: (1) Army Practical Nursing Specialist (68C); (2) Army Health Care or Medic Specialist (68W); (3) Navy Basic Medical Technician Corpsman Program (HM0000); (4) Air Force Basic Medical Technician Corpsman Program or Aerospace Medical Service (4N0X1); (5) Air Force Basic Medical Technician Corpsman Program (4N031) (3 Skill Level); (6) Air Force Independent Duty Medical Technician (IDMT 4N0X1C); or (7) any other program as determined by the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs; and
b. the board shall review each course or program and each applicant's training, education, and experience to determine the appropriate amount of credit to be given to an applicant and provide notice of the remaining requirements or courses that an applicant must fulfill or complete in order to take the examination required pursuant to subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.1947, c. 262 (C.45:11-27) after such credit is given. An applicant shall not be permitted to take the examination until proof of satisfactory completion of the appropriate requirements or courses is provided and approved by the board.
c. The rules adopted pursuant to this section shall be effective immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law and shall be effective for a period not to exceed 18 months, and may, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
3. This act shall take effect on the 181st day next following enactment, but such administrative action may be taken as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this act.
Approved March 10, 2023.
