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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Texas Board of Nursing has worked to protect and |
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promote the welfare of Texans for 100 years; and |
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WHEREAS, On March 13, 1909, Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell |
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signed into law the Nurses Registration Act, establishing the Board |
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of Nurse Examiners, and during the board's first regular meeting |
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later that year, more than 200 applications for nurse registration |
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were considered and approved; and |
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WHEREAS, Licensed vocational nurses became regulated in the |
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1950s with the establishment of the Texas Board of Vocational Nurse |
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Examiners, and regulation of advanced practice nursing began in |
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1980; the Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners eventually merged |
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with the Board of Nurse Examiners, which became the Texas Board of |
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Nursing in 2007; and |
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WHEREAS, The board was granted authority over nursing |
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education early on and instituted a requirement that applicants for |
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nurse licensure be graduates of an accredited school approved by |
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the board; in 1950, Texas began using the State Board Test Pool |
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Examination to ensure that Texas nursing graduates were competent |
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to practice in the field, and in 1982, the board adopted the |
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National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses; in |
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addition to licensure examinations, the board conducts criminal |
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background checks on all currently licensed Texas nurses, as well |
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as candidates for nurse licensure; and |
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WHEREAS, Nurses are the second largest group of licensed |
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professionals in the United States, and Texas alone is home to |
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nearly 86,000 licensed vocational nurses and more than 210,000 |
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registered nurses, including nearly 13,000 with advanced practice |
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approval; the state's membership in both the Nurse Licensure |
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Compact and the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Multi-State |
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Compact permits Texas nurses to practice on a temporary basis in |
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other signatory states and their nurses to practice on a temporary |
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basis in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, For a century, the Texas Board of Nursing has |
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provided vital services in behalf of the state's residents, and it |
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is indeed fitting to recognize this noteworthy organization on the |
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occasion of its centennial year; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Texas |
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Board of Nursing and extend to board members and all others |
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associated with it sincere gratitude for their hard work and |
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dedication; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Texas Board of Nursing as an expression of high |
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regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |