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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Hall

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/01/2006

HB 793

SHORT TITLE

Nursing Education System Improvements

SB

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$250,000

Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Board of Nursing (BN)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 793 appropriates $250 thousand from General Fund to the Board of Nursing for con-

tracting with a consultant with expertise in nursing education to analyze existing nursing pro-

grams in order to develop standardized admission and general education requirements; develop

plans to implement career advancement, expand nursing education to rural and tribal areas and

recommend improvements in the nursing education system in New Mexico.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $250 thousand contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the Gen-

eral Fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2007

shall revert to the General Fund.

House Bill 793 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Board of Nursing indicates that it has been working diligently on Strategic Planning initia-

tives for nursing in New Mexico in order to address issues of nursing shortage and competent

practice. One of the statutory charges of the Board of Nursing is to regulate programs of nursing

and to facilitate continued improvement of established nursing education programs (16.2.3

NMAC).

The board points out that pre-nursing and current nursing students find it difficult, if not impos-

sible, to transfer between New Mexico nursing programs due to the differences in pre-requisite

course requirements, admission criteria, and general education requirements.

The Board of Nursing recognizes the need to overhaul the nursing education system in New

Mexico in order to address these issues, and recommends the following for ALL pre-licensure

nursing programs regulated by the Board of Nursing:

•

Initiate a comprehensive analysis of all current nursing programs in the state

•

Develop standardized admission and general education requirements

•

Develop plan to implement baccalaureate education in all associate degree level nursing

programs

•

Integrate plans to include rural and tribal areas

In the Board’s strategic analysis of current and future issues related to nursing education sys-

tems, it has been determined that a nationally/internationally recognized consultant in the field of

nursing education would best be utilized in order to independently review the current state of op-

erations for nursing education in New Mexico and bring back concrete recommendations ad-

dressing issues specific to nursing education in New Mexico.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The board of nursing indicates that there continues to be significant numbers of qualified appli-

cants that are waiting for admission in to nursing programs or have been denied admission upon

transfer to another nursing program because they have not met the criteria for that particular pro-

gram. Developing standardized critiera for admission and general education courses can allow

programs to admit applicants who otherwise may not meet the specific requirements that a par-

ticular nursing education program currently requires. The board feels that there may be other is-

sues that an independent consultant can identify that would be difficult for those already in-

volved in current NM nursing education processes to assess.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The board indicates that without a thorough, professional analysis of the current nursing educa-

tion system in NM, there will continue to be longer waiting lists for admissions and there will

continue to be a system that continues to have vast differences in admission and general educa-

tion requirements that does not allow applicants to enter programs that do not recognize each

other’s requirements.

GM/mt