New South Carolina bill should allow nurse graduates to practice in hospital even before they get their license, report

Columbia, South Carolina – Faster than expected, SC hospitals should receive additional help with the newest South Carolina bill.

Senator Tom Davis introduced a bill that will temporarily allow graduates of an accredited nurse school to practice under the supervision of a licensed registered nurse while waiting to take their licensure exam.

The hospital and medical personnel are under constant pressure since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic also slowed down the process and led to exam delays.

Palmetto State hospitals had nursing shortage even before the pandemic. Since last March, the situation got even worse.

“When COVID first started it was a huge challenge for our graduate nurses, because often times they had to wait as long as three months to wait for exams. In the meantime, that delayed them from being able to start working in hospitals,” Denzik said.

In July of 2020, state agencies issued a temporary order allowing grads to start helping in hospitals before their exam.

The recent bill that already passed the senate, should make this permanent.

“We have to move forward with this legislation to make sure our nursing students are able to start work, and to protect the health of our communities,” Denzik said. “It’s important to note that by the year 2030 we’re projected to be short 10,400 nurses in South Carolina alone. We think it’s important the community understands how significant the need is, and that’s why it’s so important to get this bill pushed through.”