Bill Text: NJ S3278 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Permits veteran to receive credit toward licensure as licensed practical nurse upon completing certain military medical training programs.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-12-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee [S3278 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2020-S3278-Introduced.html

SENATE, No. 3278

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 14, 2020

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  VIN GOPAL

District 11 (Monmouth)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Permits veteran to receive credit toward licensure as licensed practical nurse upon completing certain military medical training programs.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


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:

     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, [or] (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.    , c.    (C.    ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     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.

(cf: P.L.1966, c.186, s.3)

 

     2.    (New section) 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 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. 

     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 61st day next following enactment, but such administrative action may be taken as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill permits a veteran to receive credit toward licensure as a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) upon completing certain military medical training programs.

     Specifically, the bill permits an honorably discharged veteran to complete the Army Practical Nurse Program (68WM6) or the Air Force BMTCP 4N051 (5 Skill Level), or their equivalents, in lieu of obtaining a diploma from a school of practical nursing approved by the New Jersey Board of Nursing to qualify as an applicant for licensure. 

     The bill also directs the New Jersey Board of Nursing to issue rules describing the training, education, and experience for which it will give credit toward its requirements for licensure as a licensed practical nurse under the laws governing the issuance of certain professional and occupational licenses to veterans with equivalent training. The bill also directs the board to specify the remaining requirements or courses that an applicant must fulfill or complete in order to take the National Council Licensure Examination-Practical Nurse (NCLEX-PN) after equivalent credit is given for that training, education, or experience. The bill requires that, at a minimum, equivalent credit be given for successful completion of the following courses or programs:

     (1)   Army Practical Nursing Specialist (68C);

     (2)   Army Healthcare 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.

feedback