Proposed Amendments: N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.8 and 5.3

Maintaining Accreditation: Curriculum Organization and Content; Continuing Education

Authorized By: State Board of Nursing, George Hebert, Executive Director.

Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:11-24 and P.L. 2008, c. 48.

Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.

Proposal Number: PRN 2010-098

Submit written comments by August 20, 2010 to:

George Hebert, Executive Director
State Board of Nursing
PO Box 45010
Newark , New Jersey 07101

The agency proposal follows:

Summary

P.L. 2008, c. 48 requires that registered professional nursing education programs in New Jersey include in their curricula, instruction in organ and tissue donation and recovery. Programs are required to offer a continuing education course in this topic as well. The law requires registered professional nurses licensed prior to the effective date of the law, July 22, 2008, to complete a continuing education course in organ and tissue donation and recovery. A registered professional nurse who took such a course during his or her initial education is not required to complete the continuing education course. The Board of Nursing (Board) proposes to amend N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.8 and 5.3 to effectuate the requirements of P.L. 2008, c. 48.

The Board has determined that the comment period for this notice of proposal will be 60 days; therefore, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement.

Social Impact

By educating registered professional nurses about organ and tissue donation and recovery, the proposed amendments will ensure that registered professional nurses are sufficiently aware of issues involved with donation and recovery. This should help to encourage more efficient donation and recovery of organs and tissue.

Economic Impact

The Board does not anticipate that the proposed amendments will have any economic impact on currently licensed registered professional nurses. Nurses are required to complete continuing education as a prerequisite of license renewal. As nurses are already required to complete continuing education, the requirement in the proposed amendments that nurses complete a specific continuing education course will not impose new costs on nurses. The proposed amendments may have an economic impact on nursing education programs in that they will incur the cost of revising their curricula to incorporate the required topics. Nursing education programs will also incur the cost of offering a continuing education course in the required topics. This cost will be covered by the fees programs will charge to take the course.

Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards analysis is not required because there are no Federal laws or standards applicable to the proposed amendments.

Jobs Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed amendments will result in an increase or decrease in the number of jobs in New Jersey .

Agriculture Industry Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed amendments will have any impact on the agriculture industry of this State.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Since registered professional nurses are individually licensed by the Board under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq., they may be considered "small businesses" for the purposes of the Act. Since registered professional nursing education programs are individually accredited by the Board, they also may be considered "small businesses" under the Act.

The costs imposed by the proposed amendments are the same for all affected licensees and nurse education programs as outlined above in the Economic Impact statement. The Board does not believe that licensees or nursing education programs will need to employ any professional services to comply with the requirements of the proposed amendments. The proposed amendments impose no reporting or recordkeeping requirements, but impose compliance requirements upon licensees and nursing education programs as detailed in the Summary above.

The proposed amendments promote the health, safety and welfare of the public by educating registered professional nurses as to organ and tissue donation and recovery. Therefore, no differing compliance requirements are imposed upon any licensee or nursing education program based upon the size of the business.

Smart Growth Impact

The Board does not anticipate that the proposed amendments will have any impact on the achievement of smart growth and implementation of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, otherwise known as the State Plan.

Housing Affordability Impact

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on affordable housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the rules would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed amendments concern curriculum in nursing education programs and continuing education requirements for registered professional nurses.

Smart Growth Development Impact

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the rules would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2 or within designated centers under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the proposed amendments concern curriculum in nursing education programs and continuing education requirements for registered professional nurses.

Full text of the proposal follows (additions indicated in boldface thus ; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):

13:37-1.8 Maintaining accreditation: curriculum organization and content

(a)-(e) (No change.)

(f) The nursing curriculum of all professional nursing education programs shall include:

1. (No change.)

2. Nursing courses and clinical experiences in a variety of settings that include:

i.-ix. (No change.)

x. Pain management and end of life issues; [and]

xi. Socialization to the role of the professional nurse[.] ; and

xii. Organ and tissue donation and recovery designed to address clinical aspects of the donation and recovery process.

(g)-(h) (No change.)

(i) From (the effective date of the proposed amendment) until (three years from the effective date of the proposed amendment), every professional nursing education program shall offer a continuing education course open to licensed registered professional nurses that covers the information required by (f)2xii above.

[page=1133] 13:37-5.3 Continuing eduation

(a)-(j) (No change.)

(k) By (three years from the effective date of the proposed amendment), every registered professional nurse shall have completed a one hour continuing education course that covers organ and tissue donation and recovery designed to address clinical aspects of the donation and recovery process.

(l) A registered professional nurse who completed a course that included a section on organ and tissue donation and recovery during his or her initial nursing education need not complete the continuing education course required by (k) above