The Associated Press – SEATTLE (AP) The state of Washington requires registered nurses to be certified in CPR, but it has a long way to go to meet standards set by the National Association of Certified Nurse Midwives, which advocates for nurse training and health care.
Nurses must complete an internship at a local hospital before starting training in a community nursing facility.
That training would be completed by an associate’s degree program at a community college.
The association also recommends nursing homes offer a refresher course before starting a career in nursing.
The NACNF, a nonprofit that promotes nurse education and training, has endorsed a bill that would require registered nurses be registered in their home states.
The state’s board of nurses voted last year to add nurse-to-patient training to the state’s curriculum.
That would require nurse-practitioners to have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing and complete at least two years of training, including two years in an accredited health care setting.
It’s unclear whether nurses who train in a home setting will have to complete the internship or a refreshers course before moving on to a community setting.
But state officials said they want registered nurses who already have the necessary training to take part in a training program.
They said that the NACNU also supports a requirement that registered nurses take an internship before moving into a nursing facility, and that they are looking into creating a similar program in the future.
The Associated Press first reported this story in February 2017.