Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: State nursing education regulatory board allegedly conspired to exclude a university as an accredited education provider, (Aug 13, 2015)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The state board for regulating nursing education colluded with its members to exclude a public university from recognition as an accredited education provider by using an arbitrary singular mechanism for evaluating nursing programs to control the entry of baccalaureate nursing candidates into the healthcare market, according to a complaint filed by a current student in the federal district court in Monroe, Louisiana (Rodgers v. The Louisiana State Board of Nursing, August 12, 2015).

The Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN), the state agency authorized to regulate nursing education within the state, identifies national benchmarking licensing criteria and approves baccalaureate educational programs and practice standards at the registered nurse (RN) and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) level. The LSBN is composed of a consortium of state licensed health care professionals, including registered nurses, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, and two non-voting physician advisors.

Kourtney Shari Rodgers is presently pursuing a baccalaureate of science degree in nursing (BSN) at Grambling State University’s School of Nursing. Rodgers began the program in August 2012, has successfully completed three of the five levels necessary for completion of the program, is projected to graduate in May 2016, and maintains a 3.75 cumulative grade point average.

The complaint states that Grambling State University’s BSN program has met the baccalaureate accreditation standards established by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), the recognized authority by the Department of Education in accrediting the quality of nursing education. In June 2015, the LSBN notified Grambling State University of its involuntary termination of the School of Nursing’s BSN programs, for failure to maintain an 80 percent First Time Taker Pass Rate (FTTPR) for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

According to the complaint, the LSBN’s singular reliance upon the 80 percent FTTPR NCLEX-RN is highly arbitrary and capricious. There is no empirical research that the FTTPR on the NCLEX-RN competently assesses the quality of the instruction offered at a participating accredited baccalaureate nursing program or that the safety or performance level of a RN candidate who passes the NCLEX-RN on the second, third, or fourth setting is a less competent RN than a first time taker and passer of the NCLEX-RN.

ACEN, which conferred accreditation status for the Grambling State University baccalaureate science of nursing program, utilized a comprehensive review process that critically evaluated six areas of its BSN program, including mission and administrative capacity, faculty and staff, students, curriculum, resources, and outcomes. The LSBN used performance on the NCLEX-RN as one of its evaluation criteria. In terminating Grambling State’s BSN program, the LSBN’s over reliance on this one factor disregarded the fact that state RN licensure applicants can retake the NCLEX-RN as many as four times with four years of graduation and there is no data that an initial passer of the NCLEX-RN is a safer RN than an applicant who failed his or her initial attempt, the complaint alleges.

The complaint also alleges that the LSBN’s anticompetitive conduct has left the plaintiff without an educational program to pursue her vocation and caused immediate financial and educational hardships. The defendant’s conduct has also heavily impacted the costs to the state healthcare system due to the shortage of RNs within the state.

The plaintiff asserts claims for violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The action seeks injunctive relief, treble damages, attorney fees, and any other just and proper relief.

The case is No. 3:15-cv-02176.

Attorneys: William T. Hughey (The Hughey Law Firm, P.L.L.C.) and Dianne Hill (Hill Law Office) for Kourtney Shari Rodgers.

Companies: The Louisiana State Board of Nursing

News: Antitrust LouisianaNews