Explain why institutional licensure is unacceptable in today's healthcare system - Essay Example

Explain why al Licensure is Unacceptable in Today's Healthcare The road to quality and standards in nursing practice was a long and winding path. Prior to the middle of the twentieth century the competency of the person providing nursing care was seldom tested, and acceptance based on the claims of the individual. Developments in health care technology and the increasing use of as the primary point of meeting healthcare service needs made the continuance of the practice of using unqualified persons in providing nursing care unsatisfactory in the interests of the patients.

Under the constant demand from nursing leaders and nursing associations for the need to remove inconsistencies in the quality of nursing care, nursing licensure came into place as the means to provide protection against poor quality in nursing care (Catalano, 2000). Thus the basis of licensure is to ensure competency and quality in nursing care and for which nurses have to qualify through an examination. The current nursing practice licensure examination is the National Council Licensure Examination Computer Adaptive Testing (NCLEX-RN, CAT) for Registered Nurses.

Modifications can be shortly expected through the Mutual Recognition Model for Nursing Licensure that is targeted as a moving towards a universal nursing license, which will allow nurses qualifying from one state to practice in any other state. The activity of Licensure for nursing practice on the basis of RN examination thus goes towards meeting the objectives of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public through the establishment of nursing professional standards (Catalano, 2000).

Against this backdrop enters into the picture institutional licensure as an option for meeting the objectives of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Institutional licensure has been decried by nursing organizations as unsatisfactory for performing this function it continues to be pressed for by hospitals and nursing homes, as it allows them to cut down on costs through the hiring of less qualified and competent individuals to perform the nursing functions. Institutional licensure has made its inroads into some health care workers other than nursing professionals like respiratory therapists and physical therapists.

Institutional licensure involves permitting health care institutions on their own to determine the suitability of any individual to practice nursing based on certain guidelines laid out by an external board. Institutional licensure virtually turns the wheel of time back to days when anyone could practice nursing without passing a generally acceptable test. In other words, the critical issue with institutional licensure is the absence of any control exerted on determining the minimal level of competency required in a person taking up nursing practice.

Institutional licensure will render the nursing designations of RN, LPN/LVN meaningless. Furthermore, nurses practicing on the basis of institutional licensure will not come under the control of state nursing licensing boards and thus not responsible for rendering nursing care with the same quality and standards of the nurses licensed by the states with strong implications on patient safety. Another issue with institutional licensure is the lack of reciprocity that will cause such nurses attempting to move from one hospital or nursing home to another having to go through the relevant licensing process for that hospital or nursing home (Catalano, 2000).

Literary References Catalano, J. T. (2000). Nursing Now: Today’s Issues, Tomorrow’s Trends. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.