Gov. Hochul signs key nursing simulation legislation

The aim of the legislation (S.447A/A.3076) is to help address New York’s nursing shortage and will align New York’s standards for nursing students with 31 other states that provide simulated clinical experiences for nursing education. The simulated experiences are subject to rigorous standards, oversight and approval by the New York State Department of Education.

The bill is supported by New York’s nursing education programs, including the University at Buffalo School of Nursing, along with the state’s leading health care unions and associations, including HANYS, GNYHA, NYSNA, PEF, CSEA, the Suburban Hospital Alliance, the Healthcare Association of Western and Central New York, and the Iroquois Healthcare Association.

The urgent demand for nurses amid a rapidly growing nurse shortage in New York and across the nation is reaching a point of crisis due to several factors, some of which include:

• Limited clinical placements impede nursing schools’ ability to educate more nurses.
• More than half of registered nurses are nearing retirement age.
• High-stress environments and demanding nurse-to-patient staffing ratios are contributing to nurse burnout – an issue that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – leading some nurses to leave the profession.
• As the population ages, the demand for specialized health care – and nurses – continues to increase.
• Nursing schools face challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified faculty members. Without a mechanism to address barriers to increasing enrollment in undergraduate nursing programs, enrollment in graduate programs – the pipeline for nursing faculty – will be insufficient to support the needed growth of nursing education programs.

The enactment of S.447A/A.3076 is one important step in addressing New York’s nursing shortage, which is predicted to be a deficit of more than 40,000 nurses by 2030.

During a press conference, Hochul noted that the availability of high-tech, high-quality simulation allows students to gain hands-on experience in a range of scenarios they may not encounter during clinical placements. The approval of this legislation, she says, allows us to “prioritize learning without sacrificing patient safety.”

“This bill will provide schools of nursing the opportunity to increase our capacity to expand our enrollment,” says Annette Wysocki, dean of the UB School of Nursing. “High fidelity simulations create situations that require critical thinking that is required to deliver advanced therapeutics and create workforce-ready practitioners for today's health care environment.”