WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSED ...

[Pages:128]WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BIENNIUM July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2008

Submitted by : Lanette L. Anderson, MSN, JD, RN

Executive Director 101 Dee Drive, Suite 100 Charleston, West Virginia 25311-1688

WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES

LANETIE L. ANDERSON, MSN, JD, RN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR E-MAIL: landerson@state.wv.us

MICHELLE L. WINTERS, MSN, MBA/HCM, RN, NHA, LNCC ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

E-MAIL: mwinters@state.wv.us

WEB: htlp:lllpnboard.state.wv.us101DEEDRIVE.SUITE 100

E-MAIL: lonboard@state.wv.us

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA 25311-1688

TELEPHONE (304) 558-3572

FAX

(304) 558-4367

TOLL FREE 1-877-558-LPNS

CHARLESTON AREA 558-LPNS

June 30, 2008

The Honorable Joe Manchin, III . Governor of West Virginia State Capitol, Building I Charleston, West Virginia 25305

Dear Governor Manchin:

The West Virginia State Board ofExaminers for Licensed Practical Nurses is pleased to provide you with our report ofthe biennium covering activities during the period between July 1,2006 and June 30,2008,

The goal of this agency is to provide competent, professionally prepared licensed practical nurses to provide safe, quality nursing care to the citizens of West Virginia, This goal is shared by other health care licensing boards and state agencies, and is demonstrated by the prevailing spirit of cooperation that exists between this Board and those other agencies, Staff and members of this Board continue to be active in nursing regulation on a national as well as state level. A cooperative spirit is also evident in health care agencies who offer their facilities for educational purposes, and then employ licensed practical nurses as a part of their health care work force, We have always recognized that without those high quality clinical experiences integrated into the one (l) year programs ofpractical nursing the value of licensed practical nurses as skilled care givers would be significantly diminished,

Please feel free to contact our office with questions or comments concerning information contained in this report.

; 1.

Catherine Vance, LPN President

CV/lla

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of Activities List of Board Members List of StaffMembers Expenditures FY 2007 & FY 2008 List of Schools Admissions, Graduation & Employment Data Licensure Statistics Disciplinary Statistics Newsletter: Fall, 2007, & Spring, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes FY 2008 Joint RN / LPN Board Meeting Minutes - FY 2008 List of Those Licensed Between July 1, 2006, & June 30, 2008

WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES

OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007 AND 2008

Members and staff of the West Virginia State Board of Examiners for Licensed Practical

Nurses are active participants in meetings and activities across the country on matters oflicensing, professional regulation and changing health care delivery systems. Members and staffcontinue, as has historically been the case, to serve on committees at the national level with agencies involved in licensing nurses from other states as well as agencies relating to health care and other professions within our own state. This involvement assures that members are aware of the many issues surrounding not only practical nursing, but the entire health care system, as the industry continues its attempts to organize and reorganize delivery ofhealth care to achieve acceptable quality care with fewer health care practitioners and fewer health care dollars. Changes in the patterns ofdelivery and mix of competent providers have resulted in fluctuations in demand for licensed practical nurses. Over time the demand in one area increases while the demand in another area may decrease. Summaries of annual reports from the state's licensed practical nursing schools demonstrate over the past few years that new graduates are employed in acute care settings at a higher rate than in previous years. With the current/impending shortage ofregistered professional nurses, this will likely continue to be the case. Licensed practical nurses also continue to be steadily employed in long term care, and are an important part ofthe health care team in that setting. Numbers of actively licensed LPNs have risen gradually over the past ten (10) years, however those licensed as new graduates and experienced nurses are generally able to obtain employment.

The number ofLPN educational programs in West Virginia remained at twenty-three (23) in 2007 and 2008. Twenty-one (21) programs are within the vocational education system, one (1) program, the B.M. Spurr School ofPractical Nursing, is privately sponsored by Reynolds Memorial Hospital, and one (1) program is located at New River Community and Technical College.

The Board utilizes the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses, through contract with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. This examination provides for

OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007 AND 2008 PAGE 2 interstate endorsement of licensees without further testing. With computer adaptive testing technology candidates are permitted to contact the testing center and test six days a week, year round rather than twice per year. They are also permitted to test in any ofover 100 testing locations across the country, rather than in West Virginia alone to get a West Virginia license. Results are transmitted to the Board via internet technology from the national testing service. Candidates are forwarded their results and licensure information for new licensees is posted on the Board's website as early as the same day as the candidate completes the exam. Retesting of failing candidates is available every forty-five (45) days.

The Board monitors licensee compliance with continuing competence requirements of twenty four (24) contact hours ofcontinuing education and four hundred (400) clock hours ofpractical nurse employment in each designated two year reporting period. A reporting cycle was completed with the renewal period ending June 30, 2008. The next reporting period will end on June 30, 2010. Continuing education audits are conducted on 7 to 10% of licensees per reporting cycle.

The Board continues to receive complaints against licensees for professional misconduct. In FY 2008 we received one hundred fifty-two (152) complaints. That number has remained fairly stable over the past five (5) years. Increases in numbers of disciplinary cases continue to be observed in all licensed professions in all states across the country. Continuing efforts to refine the process and procedures for complaint management have resulted in effective and timely resolution in most cases. The average complaint takes approximately seventy (70) calendar days from receipt ofthe complaint to execution of board action either imposing disciplinary measures or dismissing charges as unsubstantiated or outside the jurisdiction of the Board. Board staff have partnered with the WV Health Care Association in providing workshops to nurses and nurse employers around the state on the topic of how, when, and why to report a nurse to the Board. A presentation on that topic was also conducted by LPN Board staff on a national level at a meeting of the National Council of State Boards ofNurses in May 2007.

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