Action | Licensure by endorsement; clinical experience |
Stage | Fast-Track |
Comment Period | Ended on 8/5/2009 |
On behalf of the Virginia Nurses Association, the professional organization for Registered Nurses, I am writing in support of the revised regulations governing licensure by endorsement for registered nurses with unencumbered licenses who have not met the clinical hour requirement specified in 18 VAC90-20-120. Requiring 960 clinical hours of practice prior to endorsement should be sufficient to determine the safe practice of these graduates, since 960 hours is almost equal to a year of full-time employment. VNA would also support a comparative prospective analysis of any disciplinary actions taken against these nurses compared with a cohort of nurses whose educational programs provided the required 500 clinical hours.