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Natinal Licensure Debate

Pro national licensure debate

by Zhaojun Huang

Introduction

Suppose there is a Labor/Delivery nurse with many years of experience; a national healthcare organization employs him or her to be a teletriage nurse, a role which he or she enjoys and contributes more to the public. He or she can be located in Calofornia, giving advice to a patient in North Carolina. Software programs are used to guide patient through a series of questions. Depending on this nurse¡¯s judgment of the severity of the patient¡¯s problem, he or she gives patient advice to rest at home, go to see a health practitioner without delay or give patient the name and phone number of the nearest community hospitals.

The above-mentioned scenario is a typical case of telenursing in action. According to Greenberg, telenursing can increase access to care for those in remote or underserved areas, improve the accuracy of assessments, and increase the availability of patient education. Very often it can help the consumer reduce the healthcare costs involved. (Greenberg 2000)

The advancement in telecommunication induced telehealth, technology explosion and consumer-focused healthcare are some of the driving forces for the multistate nursing licensure a rapid emergence in the nursing profession. It is clear that licensure has been a costly and time-consuming barrier for telehealth. National Council for State Boards of Nursing has proposed a new model for nursing licensure. This new model is called multistate licensure or mutual recognition. An RN or LPN can practice nursing in any other compact state by applying for a license from the board in the newly adopted state. In order to achieve mutual recognition, each state must enact legislation authorizing the Nurse Licensure Compact. States entering the compact must also adopt administrative rules and regulations for implementation of the compact. Currently there are 20 states that signed the nursing licensure...