Select an active bill at the state or federal level that impacts the professional practice of nursing.

Select an active bill at the state or federal level that impacts the professional practice of nursing. In a 3-4 page paper (excluding the title and reference pages), summarize the provisions of the bill and clearly explain what the bill will accomplish. The paper should be no more than 4 pages, typed in Times New Roman using 12-point font, and double-spaced with 1″ margins.
Your review of a bill paper should:
Discuss the major provisions of the bill.
Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the legislation by explaining the background and all relevant facts.
Discuss any relevant history related to the legislation, pertinent votes, and issues that are stalling the legislation, etc.
Use primary sources for this information.
Identify key supporters and those who do not support the bill. Explain why some of these individuals support the bill and why some do not.
Explore the positions of the key stakeholders in the bill, both pros and cons. Do not make assumptions about potential key stakeholders. Examine this area carefully so you are correctly reflecting the stakeholders positions.
Discuss how the bill would impact a nurse’s ability to provide safe and quality care or to practice to the highest scope of the nursing license.
Explain specific actions that nurses can take to assist with the passage or defeat of the legislation

MODEL ANSWER

Review a Bill

The Major Provisions of the Bill

            The nursing bill currently active in Congress is the Nursing Where It’s Needed Act introduced on April 4, 2019, by the Senior Senator from Indiana, Todd Young, in collaboration with the Junior Senator from Alabama, Doug Jones. The bill seeks to make amendments to the Public Health Service Act targeted at expanding the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ authority to permit or allow nurses to practice and gain nursing expertise and experience….

            The bill also seeks to assist nurses, especially in underserved areas in the United States (rural communities), experiencing shortages of nursing staff. With the chance/opportunity to benefit from the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program (LRP) by the Health Resource and Service Administration, the bill is intended to assist nurses to practice in communities with a shortage of nurses around the United States (Young.senate.gov, 2019). At the same time, the nurses will also be allowed to access loan reimbursements to cover their education costs. The bill …

Background and Relevant Facts of the Legislation

            The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics approximates that 1.15 million more nurses will be required as a solution to the nursing shortage. The issue is further exacerbated in underserved and remote areas of the U.S. where it is difficult to attract talented and experienced nurses to meet the healthcare needs of the population (Congress.gov, 2019). The background and basis of this legislation is drawn following the formulation of the LRP in 2002. In order to incentivize students studying nursing to actively and fully provide treatment and nursing care in various underserved…

The LRP currently covers 60% of the unpaid nursing education for advanced practice and registered nurses in exchange for two years of nursing services in critical shortage facilities such as clinics and hospitals with an inadequate number of nurses (Govtrack, 2019). Based on this information with which the program started in 2002, the Nursing Where It’s Needed Act is an active bill seeking to allows in various health care facilities, especially those …

Relevant History Related to the Legislation

            Many rural areas, where approximately 30% of the population reside, are evidenced by the disproportionate population of the elderly and poor, low population density, small and underequipped healthcare facilities, and vast distances (Congress.gov, 2019). A lot of nursing professionals are working in nursing homes, health departments, and hospitals, thus the nursing care of patients is dependent on the availability of employers and programs that facilitate their stay and proper functioning (Govtrack, 2019). In the underserved regions around the United States, the major problem is the shortage of nurses. The legislation draws from this problem, while seeking to find a position based on the already existing program – the NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program – which is intended to send more nurses to …

Key Supporters and Opponents of the Bill             The bill is still in the ‘introduction’ phase since April 2019. The legislation appears to have stalled although there is one provision that is likely to be enacted, and the potential supporters of the legislation are Senators assigned to the Senate Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions committees (Congress.gov, 2019). The primary subject of this bill is health. The senators from these committees have shown interest in the passage of this legislation, but their support is primarily based on the one provision seen as viable in advancing the objective to reduce the shortage of nurses in various underserved health care facilities (Govtrack, 2019). However, most of the Democratic senators have opposed the legislation terming it as expensive as solving the issue of shortage of nurses via loan repayment and scholarship…