(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Wayne DeAngelo and Daniel Benson (both D-Mercer/Middlesex) to help nursing students get academic credit for training received as corpsmen and medics in the United States military was approved Thursday by an Assembly panel.
“Military realities, like deployment and relocation, can make meeting credit requirements challenging for soldiers who are going to school,” said DeAngelo. “If the medical training received in the military is comparable to what they would learn in nursing school, then the school should be able to grant these students the credits that will help them get their degrees in a timely manner.”
“Many of these soldiers who are studying to become nurses are not only trained, but have actual field experience,” said Benson. “Higher education institutions allow students to gain academic credits through internships. There is no reason why nursing schools could not offer the same opportunity for our men and women in uniform based on their military service.”
The bill (A-2061) directs the New Jersey Board of Nursing to encourage schools of nursing approved by the board to consider granting a nursing student, who served in the United States military, academic credit toward the student’s nursing degree for the student’s prior training and experience as a Naval Corpsman or Army Medic. The bill would take effect on the 90th day after enactment.
The bill was released by the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee.