Home Health Care How a national nursing license could improve patient care during a crisis

How a national nursing license could improve patient care during a crisis

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The nursing shortage has been prevalent for many decades and only continues to escalate. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that by 2035 there will be a 12.9 million healthcare worker deficit—largely comprised of nurses.

During crisis moments like we experienced when Covid-19 hit in March 2020, there are various hurdles that obstruct the ability of appropriately skilled and licensed healthcare professionals to respond to the care that is required, such as being trapped at home in a natural disaster or falling ill to disease—as we witnessed in the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, there could be a shortage of nurses with the required specialty skill set.

According to the National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations (NATHO), which collects and monitors job activity in the healthcare staffing sector, registered nurse job volume in March of 2020 increased by 12.5% over the first two months of the year, compared to an increase of 5% for the previous year’s respective period. The need for rapid nurse deployment to hot zones across the country taught us that each state can abruptly face a lack of appropriately specialized nursing staff during or after, a global pandemic.

One solution to this problem is to implement a standardized national license model versus an independent state license. This national license could deploy staff without the need for emergency legislation, empower key stakeholders and frontline healthcare workers to positively impact access to care, and progressively improve both patient and staff satisfaction while also improving quality care outcomes. Additionally, this would save valuable time and produce higher quality healthcare workers.

The lack of nationwide licensure standardized entry-to-practice requirements creates barriers and limits physical and professional mobility. Supporting standardization promotes confidence that every nurse utilizing this license model has already met the minimum compliance requirements.

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is an applicable solution to overcome the challenges of streamlining licensure without sacrificing safety and quality standards. It is widely supported by organizations such as the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is also supported by hospital associations such as the Hospital Corporation of America Healthcare and military personnel and their families, who are frequently displaced to new locations and are noticeably impacted by access to the cross-state licensing privileges that are provided by the NLC.

Currently, 34 states are participating in the NLC. Contrary to states lowering their standards of practice to accommodate nurses with an out-of- state license, the NLC standardization has created ways to ensure that each nurse practicing within the NLC has met the minimum predetermined requirements. All states that participate in the NLC conduct criminal background checks to determine eligibility for a multistate license.

Various natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic have emphasized the pressing need for a proactive national license approach. The successful deployment of nurses across the nation should inspire the national licensure movement to push implementation forward at a more rapid pace. The efforts for a national license are not a new phenomenon.

While the Covid-19 pandemic is diminished with the introduction of vaccines, the need for a national license model is still prevalent as we face other serious health challenges like natural disasters and social conflict.

Photo: SDI Productions, Getty Images

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