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Committee advances bill to award continuing education credits to clinical preceptors
Summary
House Bill 242 would provide continuing medical education (CME) credit to health professionals who serve as preceptors for clinical rotations to help expand the pipeline of health care providers serving rural and underserved communities; the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
The House Health & Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 242 to the House floor with a due‑pass recommendation. Representative Josh Wheeler, sponsor, said the bill is designed to encourage more clinicians to act as preceptors for students in medical and allied‑health training programs by awarding continuing medical education credits for precepting time.
Wheeler said Idaho ranks low on clinician‑to‑population ratios and that a shortage of preceptors is a bottleneck for clinical training rotations. The bill would allow physicians, physician assistants, nurses and other eligible professionals who precept students to receive CE/CME credit for that work, thereby reducing the need to spend time and money on external coursework to obtain credits.
Committee reaction: Representative Haley spoke in favor of the measure and called it a "phenomenal bill," saying precepting is an excellent educational experience and awarding credits is an appropriate incentive. The committee discussed no fiscal impact and no changes to licensing standards were proposed in testimony.
Committee action: On voice vote the chair recorded aye; the bill was sent to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
Why it matters: Sponsors view the bill as a workforce‑development tool intended to increase the number of clinicians available to train students, particularly in rural parts of the state where access is limited.
Next steps: Bill proceeds to the House floor for further consideration. Implementation would be coordinated through professional licensing boards that oversee continuing education requirements.
