I do understand that some schools may have difficulty in finding clinical sites in Virginia. I do believe with some creativity it is possible to find clinical sites within the Commonwealth of Virginia. I believe it is important to Virginians to keep the future nursing workforce in Virginia.

As a Virginia Nurse for my entire 49 year career, I have had portions of my career where I was licensed and practiced in West Virginia, Maryland and The District of Columbia. Each jurisdiction has their own unique requirements and methods.

Virginia Nursing Schools are trained by the Virginia Board of Nursing to follow Virginia Requirements for Nursing. I am also concerned that some jurisdictions do not have "Multi-state" licensure as part of the Nursing Compact. Examples of this is The District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. This is an indicator of differences in their processes which would trickle down to their training. Perhaps we should have "Member of the Nursing Compact" as a requirement.

With no milage limitation students could be sent to any US state or territory. The further the school is away from the practice site the more likely this would be a preceptor situation with infrequent faculty oversite. Perhaps we could consider a "contiguous jurisdiction" caveat.  This would require clinical sites to be in states that share a Virginia boarder. 

Additionally, there is no requirement that the school show any documentation that they have been approved by the other jurisdiction to practice there. With the current nursing shortages there has been a dramatic shift for my school. I have received requests from four new sites that want to affiliate as clinical partners as a recruitment tool. I do believe there should be a line that requires compliance with both the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Nursing and the Board of Nursing for the jurisdiction clinical is located in.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Janice Rayl, BSN, RN, CRNI