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Bill would let Board of Nursing allow up to 10 students per faculty for clinical instruction; educators and nurses split on safety
Summary
House Bill 3220 (dash 2 amendment) would give the Oregon State Board of Nursing authority to allow, but not require, up to 10 students per faculty member in clinical nursing experiences. Community colleges, hospital clinical educators and the Board of Nursing discussed tradeoffs between increased capacity and patient/student safety.
Representative Nancy Nathanson opened a public hearing on House Bill 3220, which would change the maximum faculty-to-student ratio for certain clinical nursing experiences. The bill’s dash 2 amendment would give the Oregon State Board of Nursing rulemaking authority to allow — not require — up to 10 students per faculty member in selected clinical settings.
Proponents said the change could ease capacity constraints. John Wyckoff of the Oregon Community College Association and Brett Roulette of Lane Community College described applicant backlogs and capacity shortfalls: Wyckoff said Oregon programs enroll only about one in four qualified RN applicants and that flexibility would help accommodate students who miss a clinical, while Roulette noted the college turns away many qualified applicants each year.
Maureen McGee of Concord Career College and other educator witnesses supported the dash 2 amendment but urged caution about higher ratios; McGee recommended removing language that would allow up to a 15:1 ratio in special circumstances. Clinical educators from PeaceHealth described experience with 10:1 models in other states and said the change could be implemented if adequate preparation and faculty development are provided.
Several nursing faculty and instructors opposed setting a statutory ceiling that could remove local clinical judgment. Jeremy Kaufman (Lane Community College) testified in opposition, arguing that faculty need explicit authority to set lower ratios when necessary for patient or student safety and that a fixed statutory ceiling could disempower instructors. The Oregon State Board of Nursing’s executive director, Rachel Pruzak, told the committee the existing rule sets an 8:1 limit and that the Board was already reviewing ratios in the Nurse Practice Act update; she supported flexibility in rulemaking but said any statutory change would require rule updates and careful consideration of local clinical conditions.
The testimony reflected a tension between expanding program capacity and preserving clinical judgment to protect patient safety. No final action on HB 3220 was recorded in the transcript; the committee heard many stakeholders and signaled further amendment discussions.
