2001 Montana Legislature

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SENATE BILL NO. 434

INTRODUCED BY D. BERRY



A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT DIRECTING THE BOARD OF NURSING TO AMEND ITS ADMINISTRATIVE RULE REQUIRING NURSES TO WEAR A NAME BADGE DISPLAYING THE FIRST AND LAST NAMES OF THE NURSE TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE NURSE'S LAST NAME APPEAR ON THE NAME BADGE; PROHIBITING READOPTION OF THE RULE; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."



     WHEREAS, on October 5, 2000, the Board of Nursing adopted ARM 8.32.413, requiring a nurse to wear a name badge displaying the nurse's first and last names; and

     WHEREAS, the safety and security of health care personnel is increasingly a concern for health care facilities of all types, especially those personnel working in psychiatric departments or emergency rooms, and this concern is well-founded because several registered professional nurses have reported being threatened or harassed by disgruntled patients or family members of patients; and

     WHEREAS, historically, the form of the name used on a name badge worn by a nurse has been left to the discretion of the nurse and the health care facility, and this practice has worked well in that health care facilities have policies to ensure that a particular nurse caring for a patient can be positively identified by the patient and the facility; and

     WHEREAS, nurses working in hospitals already wear name badges that show the nurses' first names and the profession for which they are licensed; and

     WHEREAS, of the states surrounding Montana, only one requires that nurses' last names appear on their name badges, and in Montana, no other members of a health care profession are required to wear name badges that display both their first and last names; and

     WHEREAS, the Montana Administrative Procedure Act gives the Legislature the power to enact law directing an agency of the Executive Branch to amend an administrative rule; and

     WHEREAS, it is therefore appropriate for the Legislature to exercise its powers under section 2-4-412, MCA, to direct the Board of Nursing to amend the rule requiring that a nurse's last name appear on the nurse's name badge to delete that requirement and for the Legislature to prohibit the Board from adopting that requirement again in the future.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:



     NEW SECTION.  Section 1.  Board not to require last names on name tags. The board of nursing shall amend ARM 8.32.413 to delete the requirement that a nurse wear a name badge while working as a nurse that displays the last name of the nurse.



     NEW SECTION.  Section 2.  Board not to adopt rule requiring last names on name badges. The board may not adopt a rule requiring a nurse to wear a name badge while working as a nurse that displays the last name of the nurse.



     NEW SECTION.  Section 3.  Codification instruction. [Section 2] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 37, chapter 8, and the provisions of Title 37, chapter 8, apply to [section 2].



     NEW SECTION.  Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

- END -




Latest Version of SB 434 (SB0434.01)
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