NCSBN’s Environmental Scan A Portrait of Nursing and Healthcare in 2020 and Beyond

Abstract

Journal of Nursing Regulation provides a worldwide forum for sharing research, evidence-based practice, and innovative strategies and solutions related to nursing regulation, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding the public. The journal maintains and promotes National Council of State Boards of Nursing's (NCSBN's) values of integrity, accountability, quality, vision, and collaboration in meeting readers' knowledge needs. Manuscript Information The Journal of Nursing Regulation accepts timely articles that may advance the science of nursing regulation, promote the mission and vision of NCSBN, and enhance communication and collaboration among nurse regulators, educators, practitioners, and the scientific community. Manuscripts must be original and must not have been nor will be submitted elsewhere for publication. See www.journalofnursingregulaton.com for author guidelines and manuscript submission information.

Conditions of Nursing Practice in Hospitals and Nursing Homes Before COVID-19: Implications for Policy Action

“…For example, an existing pre-pandemic policy intervention may have alleviated the need for emergency state policy action during the COVID-19 public health crisis. During the first surges of COVID-19, governors in some states (e.g., New York) used their temporary emergency powers to waive licensure requirements for RNs coming from other states to help with the COVID surge ( National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2020 , National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2022 ). Such emergency powers would not have been necessary had those states been part of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)—a state-level policy that enables RNs licensed in any NLC state to practice in other NLC states via a multistate license.…”

“…Additionally, during the pandemic, state boards of nursing experienced substantially delayed processing of applications for licensure, pointing to another vulnerability of our healthcare system in a time of a healthcare or other national emergency. Further adoption of the NLC could facilitate greater mobility of the much-needed nursing workforce across the United States to meet the demand for nursing care ( National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2020b ). Such a policy has wide support among RNs and the general public.…”