Combat to Care Act.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires boards within the department to adopt rules and regulations to provide for methods of evaluating education, training, and experience obtained in the armed services, if applicable to the requirements of the business, occupation, or profession regulated, and to specify how this education, training, and experience may be used to meet the licensure requirements for the particular business, occupation, or profession regulated. Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing. Existing law requires applicants for licensure as a registered nurse to meet certain educational requirements, to have completed specified courses of instruction, and to not be subject to denial of licensure under specified circumstances. Existing law authorizes applicants who have served on active duty in the medical corps in the United States Armed Forces to submit a record of specified training to the board for evaluation in order to satisfy the courses of instruction requirement. Under existing law, if the applicant satisfies the other general licensure requirements and if the board determines that his or her education establishes competency to practice registered nursing, the applicant shall be granted a license upon passing a certain examination. This bill would provide that this act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Combat to Care Act and would make various legislative findings and declarations, including that California recognizes that military service members gain skill and experience while serving the country that, upon discharge, can be translated to the civilian world. The bill would require the Board of Registered Nursing, by regulation and in conjunction with the Military Department, to identify the Armed Forces education, training, or experience that is equivalent or transferable to the curriculum required for licensure by the board. The bill would require the board, after evaluating a military applicant's education, training, or experience, to provide the applicant with a list of the coursework, if any, he or she must still complete to be eligible for licensure and to grant the applicant, if he or she meets specified criteria, a license upon passing the standard examination. The bill would require the board to attempt to contact military service members who may meet the bill's criteria and would authorize the board to enter into an agreement with the federal government in that regard. The bill would require the board to maintain records of applicants, as specified.