TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Florida needs about 60,000 new nurses over the next decade to keep up with demand, and state lawmakers are targeting schools failing to get them ready.
About 85% of people coming out of Florida nursing schools are passing their licensing boards the first time, a number state lawmakers are trying to improve.
“That’s just not acceptable,” said Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City.
The Florida Hospital Association projects a shortage of nearly 60,000 nurses in the next decade. State lawmakers want to change that by making sure nurses are ready when they graduate.
National data shows Florida is dead last when it comes to nurses passing the licensing boards the first time, with the national average above 88%.
“We need to be getting educated nurses. We need to be getting them through the process, and this bill addresses that,” Overdorf said.
Overdorf’s bill is ready to pass the House when lawmakers begin session next week. It adds more oversight to nursing programs in Florida.
The bill requires health department inspections, shortens probation periods, holds program directors accountable, and mandates tuition refunds if 30% of students fail board exams.
“We have students that are going through these processes, they become entrenched in debt and they have no job because the school didn’t prepare them to pass the final test,” Overdorf said.
The Florida Nurses Association says the bill will ensure more nurses are ready to care for Florida’s growing and aging population.
“A school in nursing is like passing a law school and not passing the Florida Bar. You cannot practice. You cannot succeed,” said Jack Cory of the Florida Nurses Association.
The Florida Association of Independent Nursing Schools says lawmakers already addressed the nursing shortage with the Live Healthy Act, a comprehensive health care workforce package.
“I think it was a good step two years ago when the legislature passed. It has made the schools that come into this much better when they start the program,” said Bob Harris of the Florida Association of Independent Nursing Schools.
The governor vetoed a similar bill last year, but Overdorf says this year’s version addresses some of his concerns.
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