科罗拉多州一项悬而未决的新法案可能会改变该州对注册护士背景调查的看法。根据 TheDenverChannel.com 的报道，科罗拉多州众议院财政委员会最近开会讨论加入一项名为“增强型护士执照契约”（或 eNLC）的多州协议。该协议是一个州联盟，允许护士跨州工作，而无需经过额外的背景调查或许可程序。
根据覆盖范围，科罗拉多州已经是 1999 年实施的原始护理执照契约 (NLC) 的一部分。 NLC 与 eNLC 具有相同的既定目标：为护士培养更大的州际灵活性。然而，该立法并没有在契约中的所有州带来完全标准化的许可要求。相反，根据国家护理委员会 (NCSBN) 的说法，各州保留了“不同的法定和规则要求”。希望在契约范围内搬迁到新州的护士必须完成额外的步骤才能获得许可。
报告解释说，通过消除相关州的独特要求，新的契约使美国更接近于真正的标准化护理许可程序。一旦护士获得执照，他或她就可以在契约中的任何一个州提供护理，而无需获得新的执照。
eNLC 中的每位护士必须遵守几项统一的执照要求，才能获得多州执照，涵盖范围说明。每个申请人都必须通过州和联邦指纹犯罪检查。任何在州或联邦一级有重罪定罪记录的申请人都将被取消资格。考生不得有任何“与护理实践有关”的轻罪。NCSBN 保证将根据具体情况对所有轻罪进行判断。
自 2017 年 7 月美国第 26 个州加入以来，eNLC 正式活跃于美国。报告证实，所有已经成为原始 NLC 一部分的护士都将加入 eNLC。这些护士无需通过额外的背景调查即可成为 eNLC 的一部分。在科罗拉多州，有 86,000 名护士达到了这一标准。在这些护士成为 eNLC 的祖父之前，科罗拉多州立法机构必须投票加入契约。
报道指出，州立法者已经投票决定不加入 eNLC。然而，该投票看到有关契约的条款与总体医疗保健法案捆绑在一起。许多共和党立法者投票反对这项打包的法案，因为他们声称它超出了范围。现在 eNLC 将作为一项独立的立法进行投票，管理人员预测会有不同的结果。
Per coverage, Colorado is already part of the original Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC), which was implemented in 1999. The NLC had the same stated goal as the eNLC: fostering greater interstate flexibility for nurses. However, the legislation did not bring about completely standardized licensure requirements across all the states in the Compact. Instead, states retained “different statutory and rule requirements,” according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Nurses wishing to relocate to new states within the Compact had to complete additional steps to get licensed.
Reports explain that by eliminating unique requirements across associated states, the new Compact brings the United States one step closer to a true standardized nursing licensure process. Once a nurse is licensed, he or she can provide care in any of the states in the Compact without having to obtain a new license.
There are several uniform licensure requirements every nurse in the eNLC must follow to obtain a multi-state license, coverage notes. Every applicant must pass both state and federal fingerprint criminal checks. Any applicants with felony convictions on their records—at the state or federal level—will be disqualified. Candidates are not allowed to have any misdemeanor convictions “related to the practice of nursing.” The NCSBN assures that all misdemeanors will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
The eNLC has officially been active in the United States since July 2017 when the 26th state joined. All nurses that are already a part of the original NLC are grandfathered in with the eNLC, reports confirm. These nurses will not need to go through additional background checks to be a part of the eNLC. In Colorado, there are 86,000 nurses who meet this benchmark. Before these nurses are grandfathered in to the eNLC, the Colorado legislature must vote to join the Compact.
State legislators have already voted once not to join the eNLC, reports note. However, that vote saw the provisions regarding the Compact bundled with an overarching healthcare bill. Many Republican lawmakers voted against that packaged bill because they claimed it overreached. Now that the eNLC will be voted on as a standalone piece of legislation, administrators predict a different outcome.
