Shapiro Administration Takes Action, Allowing Additional Licensed Nurses to Practice in PA

RNs, LPNs Licensed Through Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact Will Be Able To Practice In PA, Help Ease Commonwealth’s Nursing Shortage

🗞️ UPDATED: 08/28/2023 | View Original Post here

​Harrisburg, PA – In keeping with Governor Josh Shapiro's commitment to expanding Pennsylvania's workforce and serving Pennsylvanians more efficiently, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced today Pennsylvania is taking the first step to implement the Nurse Licensure Compact by allowing nurses with multistate licenses issued by 40 other states and territories to practice in Pennsylvania. This key step will help address Pennsylvania's severe nursing shortage and increase health care access for patients across the Commonwealth. 📆 Starting Sept. 5, registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who hold a multistate license through the interstate Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) will be permitted to practice in the Commonwealth. Administered by the National Council for State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), the NLC is an agreement among 41 states and territories to recognize nurses licensed by compact members. Act 68 of 2021 authorized Pennsylvania to join the NLC, which increases patients' access to in-person and telehealth care.

Addressing the nursing shortage and ensuring nurses get on the job faster is a top priority of the Shapiro Administration. In his first month in office, Governor Shapiro signed an executive order that catalogued each of the 2,400 permits, certificates, and licenses the Commonwealth issues and set timelines for each of them. At a time when we need every qualified nurse on the job as quickly as possible, Governor Shapiro knows that we cannot have trained nurses kept off the job by paperwork delays. Under the Shapiro Administration, Pennsylvanians have certainty that state government will move more quickly and efficiently. Today's announcement continues this commitment.

"The Shapiro Administration is committed to ensuring that Pennsylvanians can receive top-notch care from licensed, qualified health care professionals," Schmidt said. "By implementing this first phase of Pennsylvania's engagement in the NLC, we are expanding opportunities for patients and providing hospitals and health systems with access to an approved, vetted group of licensed RNs and LPNs."

🗒️ A November 2022 industry survey by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) showed vacancy rates of 30% for RNs providing direct care, which is a 10 percentage point increase since 2019. A separate HAP report from January 2023 showed that Pennsylvania could have a shortfall of more than 20,000 RNs by 2026.

"This is a critical first step in the full implementation of the Nurse Licensure Compact. The Department of State continues to work diligently with its state and federal partners to satisfy the preconditions necessary to fully implement the NLC," Schmidt said. "Once that occurs, Pennsylvania's State Board of Nursing will be able to issue NLC multistate licenses to Pennsylvania nurses, allowing them to practice in compact member states and territories."

Among the preconditions for fully implementing the NLC is being able to certify to other compact states that Pennsylvania's State Board of Nursing has performed an FBI criminal background check on Pennsylvania applicants, a process that requires FBI authorization. The Department of State has sought this authorization and is awaiting a response.

"We are also ensuring that other technical and regulatory requirements are able to be met so that the commonwealth can fully implement the NLC as quickly as possible once we receive FBI approval," Schmidt added.

Sen. Lisa Boscola, who was the prime sponsor of the legislation that became Act 68 of 2021, thanked Governor Shapiro and the Department of State for prioritizing taking steps to implement the NLC. "Our hospitals and health care systems need nurses now," Boscola said. "Allowing nurses who have a compact license from another state to start work without unnecessary bureaucratic hoops to jump through is a great first step. I will continue to work to ensure this compact is fully implemented in Pennsylvania because our nurses deserve the full benefits of being a compact state."

Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, a registered nurse who sponsored the House bill that led to Act 68 of 2021, echoed Boscola's sentiments: "While there is still work to do to get to full implementation of the compact, as a nearly 30-year registered nurse, I am very clear about the critical need for increasing the number of nurses in our Commonwealth. I am grateful and excited that the Department of State has taken this positive action that hopefully will not only increase the availability of nurses but will also help to lessen the incredible burden of paperwork the Department has to process."

"Today's announcement is an important step to bringing more nurses to the bedside to care for Pennsylvanians. HAP thanks the Shapiro Administration for its action on this initiative and its ongoing efforts to finalize Pennsylvania's implementation of this compact," said Nicole Stallings, president and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP).

"It's critically important that we do everything we can to alleviate the hospital staffing crisis that is driving RNs from the bedside and imperiling patient care in every corner of our state," said Maureen May, R.N., president of PASNAP, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. "By drawing more nurses to PA, the Nurse Licensure Compact will help ensure that, at this very critical time, our hospitals are amply staffed and that our nurses are able to give the care they want and have been trained to give." Resources Facilities licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) that wish to employ nurses with MSLs through the compact can find guidance on how to do so on DOH's website.

"Nurses play vital roles in all health care organizations and facilities, so anything we can do to attract nursing talent to the state is a win for patients and the Commonwealth. Participating in the nursing compact overcomes a barrier to attracting that talent and building our state's health care workforce," said Dr. Debra Bogen, Acting Secretary of Health. "I deeply appreciate the interagency collaboration that it has taken to make this happen." For answers to frequently asked questions about how today's announcement affects in-state and out-of-state nurses, as well as Pennsylvania patients, visit dos.pa.gov.

Health care employers can verify the status of an RN or LPN applicant's multistate license status at nursys.com, which is the NCSBN's central repository for licensing information.

To learn more about the NLC, visit nursecompact.com or email nursecompact@ncsbn.org.

Other medical licensure compacts In 2020, Pennsylvania fully implemented the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT), which allows psychologists licensed through the compact to practice telepsychology in participating states. More than 900 Pennsylvania psychologists are licensed by PSYPACT to practice across state lines.

Pennsylvania is also legislatively authorized to enter the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) and the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact (PT Compact), and the Shapiro Administration is committed to fully implementing both of those as well. Partial implementation is not an available option for these compacts at this time.

Related News:

• Pennsylvania to allow out-of-state nurses to practice in effort to address hospital staffing shortages | PhillyVoice

• Pennsylvania taking action to address state’s nursing shortage | Times Leader

• Nurses with multi-state licenses will soon be able to practice in Pennsylvania (abc27.com)

• Out-of-state nurses can work in Pennsylvania starting Sept. 5 | 90.5 WESA

• Pennsylvania will allow some out-of-state nurses to practice (mcall.com)

• Help may be on the way to alleviate Pa. nursing crisis - Central Penn Business Journal (cpbj.com)

• Shapiro administration to allow additional licensed nurses to practice in Pennsylvania (wtaj.com)

• Pennsylvania to recognize Nurse Licensure Compact multistate licenses (inquirer.com)

• Pa. joins multistate compact to fill nursing void | Local News | bedfordgazette.com

Joint State Government Commission Study Suggests Ways to Improve Nurse Licensing

By Robert Swift Capitolwire.com Staff Reporter

HARRISBURG (May 11) – The pathway to licensing nurses could be made smoother by hiring more employees at the state Board of Nursing, better processing of licensing applications and changing the criminal background check process, a new legislative study has concluded.

The study by the Joint State Government Commission concerns delays with issuing nursing licenses by the board.

The House adopted Resolution 142 authorizing this study last year.

The study is part of an overall focus in recent years by the Wolf administration and lawmakers of both parties to remove barriers and streamline the state licensing process for a number of occupations.

As of June 2021, there were more than 300,000 active licenses for five nursing-related occupations in Pennsylvania with registered nurses being the largest category.

The resolution sponsor, Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said recent nursing school graduates have contacted him about delays with the issuance of an Authorization to Test for nursing license applicants.

The state can’t afford lengthy delays in getting health care providers when they have increased demands due to the COVID-19 pandemic and employee burnout, said Heffley in a memo.

The study found that licensing delays were aggravated by the pandemic and retirements of two key board staffers in early 2020. The board said it has restored processing back to pre-pandemic timelines with the rehiring of one of the retirees.

But the commission study said its recommendations can lead to further improvements in licensing.

One recommendation is to provide funds to increase the nursing board complement to 43 employees from 32 employees. This would include two administrative officers and three education certification evaluators.

Another is to enable applicants to make changes in their applications and correct errors that have slowed processing. The board is replacing the current licensing system.

Nursing license applicants are currently required to submit an official state criminal history record check from every state in which they have lived, worked or been educated within the past ten years or five years depending upon the license category.

This has proven a stumbling block for some applicants, the report said. To fix that, the study recommends that an applicant supply the state criminal records check only from their state of residence as well as making an FBI background check mandatory.

The study suggests creating a State Board of Nursing Task Force to review processing issues and prepare Pennsylvania for new quality standards for nursing education published by the American College of Nursing.

The study suggests some changes with the nursing board membership, including potentially having some seats filled by nurses who are elected by nurses holding valid state nursing licenses as North Carolina does.

It recommends the board issue more frequent reports on the nursing workforce.

Pennsylvania enacted a law last year paving the way to enter a multi-state Nursing Licensure Compact.

"The nursing compact is important because it allows a nurse to practice in their home state and all participating states with one license issued by the home state, eliminating the burdensome, costly, and time-consuming process of obtaining single state licenses in each state of practice,” the report said.

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Additional Info from the Jt. State Government Commission

In this episode, the JSGC podcast crew interview Frank Lill, project manager of the report "License Processing Times of the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing," released in April of 2022. We discuss how long it takes to get a nursing license in Pennsylvania, factors contributing to delays in processing time, and recommendations for how to improve these conditions. A one-page summary and access to the full report are available here.

LISTEN TO JSGC PODCAST

Pa. Joins 36 Other States in Nurse Licensure Compact

Pennsylvania is following the lead of 36 other states by joining the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), which allows registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to have one multistate license in their primary state of residence and practice in other compact states under that one license

Gov. Tom Wolf enacted Senate Bill 115, now Act 68 of 2021, on June 30. The measure was sponsored by state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh/Northampton).

Once fully implemented, the NLC will reduce bureaucracy by enabling nurses to practice across the country without having to obtain additional licenses. Under the NLC, there is no need to wait for a state disaster declaration or an executive order to address health-care licensing issues as compact nurses are able to cross state lines and assist immediately.

While licensure by endorsement is currently available in every state, it is costly, time-consuming, and inefficient. The NLC streamlines the licensure process so that nurses, and the nursing workforce, can be as mobile as possible, creating better access to care for patients.

The NLC has been operational and successful for more than 18 years and continues to grow each year with the addition of new states.

More than 2 million nurses live in NLC states. In Pennsylvania, this new law benefits 229,000 RNs and 51,000 LPNs.

Implementation of the NLC could take between six months to one year.

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