By BENJAMIN KLIEWER, Senior Reporter
An Oklahoma House bill that could have expanded the state’s number of nursing programs was shot down on March 24.
House Bill 4330 would have allowed the creation of diploma nursing programs, which would likely be offered at technology centers and junior colleges. The bill failed on a 52-35 vote, but a motion to reconsider the bill passed. Another bill using similar language can be proposed within two years.
The bill would have required 1,300 clock hours in nursing education, including clinical exercises, and fewer than 300 hours in non-nursing coursework.
Proponents of the bill saw it as a way to combat a shortage of healthcare workers in the state, while opponents feared that non-university nursing programs would equate to lower levels of education.
Rep. Carl Newton, R-Cherokee, said he voted for the bill because, when he talked with people he knew in the health care industry, they did not think non-university programs would be detrimental to the quality of care. Newton is an optometrist and the owner of Newton Eye Clinic in Cherokee.
Dr. Leslie Collins, assistant chair of the Charles Morton Share Trust Division of Nursing at Northwestern, said she thinks nursing education institutions need to collaborate more to help solve educational and workforce-related problems.
“I think that it is great to be looking to different ways to grow the nursing community,” Collins said. “We need it. We know we are in a nursing shortage. The pandemic made that even more of an issue.”
Collins said she was concerned about the level of education needed for a diploma program that would allow someone to become a registered nurse.
Northwestern President Dr. Janet Cunningham echoed those sentiments.
“We [higher education officials] are certainly in favor of keeping nursing at the higher education level because they are accredited programs,” she said.