LETTER: Nurses, take note

To the editor:

Of importance to Alaska nurses who are not employed for compensation but hold a current Alaska license; be aware of proposed changes to your license requirements that will impact your ability to renew.

According to the email correspondence and a very small notation in the recent Alaska Nurse the proposed NEW REQUIREMENTS TO RENEW YOUR LPN or RN LICENSE changes option 2, Professional Activities to 60 hours from 30 hours.

For the retired nurse or the nurse who wishes to step back to less than 320 hours of compensated employment but remain in the field of nursing, 60 hours of Professional Activity is virtually impossible for the majority. Volunteer opportunities of 60 hours are relatively scarce. Yet for the health related organizations, skilled nursing volunteers are vital.

As an example, I am a Red Cross Nurse, Alaska Chapter, Mat-Su. I am available to Disaster Health Services (DHS) to assist those who have suffered losses directly attributed to their disaster, be it a single family fire or a mass casualty. I am available to work in shelters. None of my available hours are recordable as Professional Activities until I am called. Only the hours of actual “work” are recorded. Because I am retired, I can be available almost 24/7.

I am prepared to respond at a moments notice, but because disasters in Alaska are fortunately few, I have, to date, 34.75 hours since December 1, 2016. Unless I deploy for a two-week shift to a major disaster out-of-state, I may not be able to accumulate 60 hours in the next license period (12/01/18-11/31/2020) and will therefore be required to forfeit my license to practice. And I am not alone in this dilema. And, none of us would likely return to the field of Nursing.

Furthermore, to institute this change without a full two-year licensure period to study, announce and receive licensee comment before implementation is hasty and shows a lack of understanding the impact.

The Division of Occupational Licensure, Nursing will accept comments until June 19. Time is short. Send your comments to RegulationsAndPublicComment@alaska.gov

We are a valuable asset to our communities, don’t deprive our communities of our services.

— Jennie Lee Schrage R.N

Willow, Alaska