House approves nursing scholarship bill

The House of Representatives passed Wednesday the proposed scholarship for nurses in efforts to address the nursing shortage in the CNMI.

The lower chamber approved House Bill 14-221, which proposes to make available $12,000 every year to be awarded to 15 nursing students.

The measure now goes to the Senate for similar passage.

The House Committee on Education, chaired by Rep. Justo Quitugua, said there is a need to encourage students in the CNMI to pursue a career in nursing in view of the current shortage and to ensure safe patient care.

“A number of studies have indicated that there is a connection between adequate levels of registered nurses and safe patient care,” said the committee.

Further, the committee said it is not enough to just hire nurses from off-island “but to foster the growth of a local nursing workforce in order to stave off the nurse shortages that are plaguing many U.S. states.”

The committee cited that in Hawaii, the projected shortage of registered nurses in 2005 is 1,518, ranging up to 4,593 in the year 2020.

“This indicates that the Commonwealth may have to compete with other countries to attract nurses which will place an additional strain on the Commonwealth’s limited resources. This provides convincing evidence that we should invest in the education of students interested in pursuing a career in nursing,” it said.

The House panel said a total of 76 students have graduated from the Northern Marianas College nursing program, which was established in 1989. However, most of them did not take the National Council Nursing Licensure Examination nor are they employed in the health care system.

Under the bill, recipients have nine months after graduation to take the NCLEX, as opposed to the 90-day limit earlier proposed by the Department of Public Health.

Failure to pass the NCLEX within the period would be considered a default on the students’ obligation and will be cause for administrative action for repayment.

The bill also raises the grade point average requirement to 3.0 instead of 2.5 as a condition to receiving the scholarship.

Scores of standardized tests such as the Scholastic Achievement Test or the American College Testing shall be considered an important factor in considering overall scholastic achievement for applicants.

The bill provides a sunset provision of up to six years.