HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 14

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Eleanor Chavez

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO TRACK FUNDING FOR NURSING EDUCATION THROUGH THE NURSING PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT ENHANCEMENT FUND, THE HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA AND OTHER FUNDING FOR NURSING EDUCATION AND REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE USES AND DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE FUNDS.

     WHEREAS, out of fifty states, New Mexico ranks forty-eighth for the number of nurses per one hundred thousand population; and

     WHEREAS, programs to educate nurses in New Mexico have almost doubled their capacity in the last eight years; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico schools offering nursing degree programs were unable to admit four hundred seventy-nine qualified applicants between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010; and

     WHEREAS, the institute of medicine recommends that nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression; and

     WHEREAS, sixty-four percent of nurses in New Mexico enter practice with an associate degree; and

     WHEREAS, according to a 2009 survey and study conducted by the New Mexico center for nursing excellence, between forty-eight and one hundred seventy-one additional full-time-equivalent nursing faculty members are needed to be able to admit all qualified candidates for a nursing degree; and

     WHEREAS, many barriers exist to the recruitment and retention of nursing faculty members, including faculty compensation that does not compete with practice settings, a weak educational pipeline to develop new faculty, models of education that prohibit collaboration among institutions and a challenging and difficult work environment; and

     WHEREAS, in January 2009, the higher education department issued the New Mexico Nursing Program Development Enhancement Fund Study, a report of a study evaluating the effectiveness of the nursing program enhancement fund in meeting the demand for nurses practicing in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the report contained recommendations to increase the capacity of New Mexico educational institutions to educate nurses and to increase the number of nurse faculty members, including encouraging career pathways for master's- and doctoral-level educators to teach in nursing programs and increasing faculty salaries through multilevel strategies; and

     WHEREAS, the report did not address other sources of revenue for nursing education, including the higher education funding formula; and

     WHEREAS, regular reports regarding the distribution of funding to nursing schools to support the development of qualified faculty and the effectiveness of the distribution of such funding would be of value to the legislature in determining the full extent of the need for funding for these purposes;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the higher education department be requested to track funding for nursing education through the nursing program enhancement fund, the higher education funding formula and other funding for nursing education and report to the legislature on the uses and distribution of those funds; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department be requested to cooperate with nurse educators and institutions that educate nurses in the development of a statewide plan for nursing education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department be requested to report to the interim legislative health and human services committee by November 2011 on its progress toward developing regular reporting mechanisms of the distribution and uses of nursing funds, make recommendations for changes to the current formulas for funding nursing education and report on the development of a statewide plan for nursing education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of higher education, the director of the New Mexico center for nursing excellence and the director of the board of nursing.

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