Prof. Christine Kovner appointed to NYS Nursing Program Evaluation Commission

Christine T. Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Mathy Mezey Professor of Geriatric Nursing at NYU Meyers, has been appointed to the New York State Nursing Program Evaluation Commission.

The temporary commission is part of New York’s BSN in 10 legislation (NYS Senate Bill S6768), which was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in December 2017. The law requires future nurses graduating from associate degree or diploma nursing programs to obtain a baccalaureate in nursing within 10 years of initial licensure if they wish to be licensed and registered in New York State.

The New York State Nursing Program Evaluation Commission, which consists of nine members, will make recommendations on barriers to entry into nursing, availability and access to baccalaureate programs, financial barriers to entry into baccalaureate programs, and other alternative equivalents through which nurses may obtain training and experience.

Kovner was selected for the commission based on her research and expertise on nursing workforce issues. Her research focuses on quality improvement, RN working conditions, and nursing care cost. Kovner was the principal investigator of a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation studying the career trajectories of newly licensed registered nurses over the first ten years of their careers as well as other studies of cohorts of new nurses.

New York is the first state in the nation to pass a bill requiring a bachelor’s degree in nursing as a licensure requirement, long held as the recommended degree by the nursing community. Research shows that having more nurses with bachelor's degrees improves patient outcomes. Earning bachelor's degrees also creates opportunities for career mobility and leadership among all nurses.