_Transition-to-Practice Period for Nurse
Practitioners: How Does SB 1375's

Proposal Compare to Other States?
nV POP.

 

In 2020, California took an important step to expand access to care and to
address primary care workforce shortages by passing AB 890, which createsa | ss) (EVA ge) ely Pel Tee dei
pathway for nurse practitioners (NPs) to treat patients independently to-practice period of 4,600
(meaning the NP does not have to be supervised by a physician). More than eR MAT RL
half of US states already allow NPs to practice independently. Research shows
that access to primary care is better in these states and that the quality of
primary care provided by NPs is similar to care delivered by physicians."

most robust in the country. Of
the 30 other states (plus

Washington, DC) that allow NPs

AB 890 delegated to the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) the to practice independently, 16
authority to establish the minimum amount of clinical experience and don't require any TTP period.
mentorship that an NP must receive before being allowed to practice
independently (referred to as a transition-to-practice [TTP] period). As of July
2022, the BRN has not released draft regulations, which could result in a delay
of AB 890's January 1, 2023, implementation date.

Eight states have a TTP period
of 2,400 hours or less.

 

In 2022, California Senate pro Tempore Toni Atkins introduced SB 1375, which clarifies the TTP requirement by
specifying that an NP with at least three full-time equivalent years or 4,600 hours of experience can practice
independently. SB 1375 will allow qualified NPs to begin practicing independently in 2023 who otherwise may be
delayed, given the timeline of the AB 890 regulations. See how the TTP period in SB 1375 compares to other states
that allow NPs to practice independently.

Transition-to-Practice Period Comparison

No Requirement 2000
16 States* Connecticut
Nebraska
Nevada 4000 6000
Virginia sonny Ilinois West Virginia
750 1040 2080 | Vermont 3000 3600 Maine 4600 6240
Colorado sh Dalota Minneso Maryland |New York Massachusetts [California Arkansas

   

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
4 Hours Required Before NPs Can Practice Independently
"No Requirement: Arizona, Alaska, District of Colombia, Deleware, Hawaii, lowa, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wyoming
tLegislation pending in Virginia may eliminate the transition to practice requirement.

Notes: All TTP periods expressed in years or months were converted to hours on the assumption that 1 year or 12 months = 2,000 hours. Due to
legislative changes since the source document's publication, as well as differing definitions, some states are included in this graphic as allowing
independent practice for NPs (also referred to as full practice authority) but are categorized differently in the source document.

 

¥

 

 

Source: Susanne J. Phillips, " ," Nurse Practitioner 47, no. 1 (Jan. 2022): 21-47.
* Joanne Spetz, , California Health Care Foundation, May 2019.
AQ THE CALIFORNA HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION | 1