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Committee approves two-year moratorium on out-of-state online nursing programs to protect clinical placements
Summary
Senate Bill 2013 would pause approvals for out-of-state online nursing programs that rely on Tennessee clinical preceptors for two years while the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement and Board of Nursing develop standards; witnesses said out-of-state programs are straining clinical placements and some students falsified clinical attendance.
Chairman Crow and the committee approved a two-year moratorium on acceptance of applications from out-of-state nursing education programs that seek to enroll students or place students in Tennessee clinical settings while the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement and Board of Nursing develop uniform standards.
Jennifer Head, executive director of the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement, testified that there are currently "47 graduate programs approved, and only 20 of those are programs that are housed in the state of Tennessee," and that out-of-state programs are squeezing in-state deans and directors out of clinical preceptor slots. Her colleague Belinda Fleming described instances where students from out-of-state online programs submitted paperwork but had not been observed in clinical placements; Fleming said she had encountered students who had "been faking their clinical the entire time."
Supporters said the moratorium targets primarily APRN (advanced practice registered nurse) graduate programs and is not intended to shut down or limit existing Tennessee-based RN programs. The committee adopted the amendments and voted to send the bill to calendar.
