By Ashleigh Hollowell

Amid a nationwide push to educate, train and hire more nurses at the bedside, and faster, Rhode Island passed a law that allows new nurses to practice before their NCLEX results are known. But patient safety is a concern.

The bill was signed into law June 29 by Gov. Daniel McKee as part of a larger healthcare initiative and brought on by a statewide need for more nurses.

"This bill mimics a previous pandemic gubernatorial executive order to accelerate the employment and readiness of new grads while they are awaiting their NCLEX results," Donna Policastro, RN, a retired advanced practice nurse and presently the consultant executive director and lobbyist for the Rhode Island State Nurses Association.

The previous initiative took patient safety into account by allowing this after the nurse received orientation and onboarding from their employers, Ms. Policastro explained.

"It proved to be successful and so a coalition of healthcare employers, nursing schools and [the Organization of Nurse Leaders] wholly supported this bill," she said.

New nurses are already assigned preceptors as they begin their work at a hospital, so allowing nurse graduates to begin practicing while they wait to take the NCLEX or wait for results would not mean they are practicing without oversight. And under the new law, nurse graduates can begin to practice before taking and while awaiting NCLEX results, but they must become licensed within 90 days.

"Allowing graduates of accredited registered nursing schools the opportunity to begin their on-the-job training and orientation while the results of their licensure exams and applications are pending promises to bring registered nurses, who remain in critical demand throughout Rhode Island, into the workforce faster by alleviating some of the administrative constraints they have traditionally faced upon graduation," said Anitra Galmore, DNP, RN, BSN, chief nursing officer and COO of South County Health in Wakefield, R.I.

"We are confident this new law will help bolster the registered nursing workforce with new grads without compromising the quality of care delivered by registered nurses," Dr. Galmore added.