Read the full stored bill text
Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Rep. Minor-Brown & Sen. Huxtable
Reps. Berry, Gorman, Gray, Heffernan, Snyder-Hall, Jones Giltner, Burns, K. Johnson, Neal, Ross Levin, Michael Smith, Kamela Smith; Sens. Hoffner, Cruce, Pinkney, Sturgeon
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 385
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO GRANTS FOR NURSE PRECEPTORS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Chapter 1, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Subchapter X. Grants for Healthcare Providers
§ 198. Appropriation for nursing residency programs and preceptors.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Preceptor” means an individual who has the following qualifications:
a. The individual is 1 of the following:
1. A registered nurse who holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or higher degree in Nursing, and a valid license to practice.
2. An advanced practice registered nurse.
3. A physician’s assistant or physician’s associate.
4. A physician.
b. The individual has a valid, unencumbered license, practices in a comparable practice focus, and has demonstrated competencies in the area of practice to which the student is assigned.
(2) “Preceptorship” means an uncompensated learning experience in which a preceptor is used to accomplish faculty-directed clinical experiences for a student enrolled in an in-state pre-licensure training program approved by the Board of Nursing. A qualifying preceptorship for an candidate pursuing an advanced practice nursing degree is a minimum of 100 clinical hours per semester. A qualifying preceptorship for a candidate pursuing a nursing degree is a minimum of 80 hours per semester.
(3) “Program administrator” means the Delaware Nurses Workforce Institute or a nonprofit organization with a similar mission and capacity to administer the program under this subchapter as determined by the Department of Health and Social Services.
(b) The program administrator shall establish a program through which hospitals and clinical facilities for acute care, long-term care, public health, ambulatory care, home care, and hospice may apply to receive financial, material, and technical support from the program administrator to implement or continue preceptorship programs for individuals licensed or pursuing education that would enable an individual to become licensed under Chapter 19 of Title 24 as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or advanced practice registered nurse.
(c) The program administrator must establish and update, as necessary, eligibility and participation requirements for a preceptorship program under this section. At a minimum, participation requirements for hospitals and clinical facilities must include a guarantee by the hospital or clinical facility that the hospital or clinical facility will provide nursing students with a consistent preceptor assignment and provide structured preceptorship planning.
(d) To participate in the program under this section, a hospital or clinical facility must submit an application to the program administrator, in a form as prescribed by the program administrator. Participation in the program may be limited as funding permits.
(e) Funding in an amount annually appropriated by the General Assembly shall be made to the program administrator for the purpose of administering the program under this section. The majority of this must be disbursed to the hospitals and clinical facilities approved for participation in the program, but the program administrator may use a reasonable portion to cover the administrative and overhead costs of administering the program.
(f) Preceptorship programs granted funding under this section by the program administrator must complete an annual survey provided by the program administrator to collect data on utilization, nursing placements, and outcomes of the preceptorship programs.
(g) The program administrator must provide to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Director of the Division of Legislative Services, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, and the Executive Director of the Delaware Board of Nursing an annual report that contains, at a minimum, the following:
(1) The amount, by facility, of funding provided to hospitals and clinical facilities and the amount, if any, used to cover administrative or operational accounts of the program administrator.
(2) A discussion of the results of the survey required under subsection (f) of this section.
Section 2. This Act takes effect 6 months after enactment.
SYNOPSIS
While the exact number of nurse vacancies in Delaware fluctuates, healthcare providers agree that the current shortage is unsustainable. Nursing shortages lead to missed nursing care, higher morbidity, and mortality rates.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) outlines a number of contributing factors impacting the current national nursing shortage. One is a lack of nursing school faculty - including the preceptors that provide supervision and instruction for clinical practice. Since Delaware’s nursing education programs must require clinical learning experiences provided by these preceptors, nursing students have difficulty completing the required coursework necessary for degree and licensure.
Section 1 of this Act provides for an annual appropriation in an amount determined by the General Assembly to the Delaware Nursing Workforce Initiative or similar nonprofit to administer a program to provide funding to hospitals and clinical facilities to implement or continue offering preceptorship programs.
Section 2 provides that this Act is effective 6 months after enactment.