STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4452 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 5, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ASHBY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation to establishing the Capital Region preceptor stipend program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Capital Region preceptor stipend program". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. New York state health care is in crisis from 4 staffing shortages that are exacerbated by staff burnout. Quality 5 preceptorships are an essential component of clinical professional 6 development, and also a powerful tool for recruitment and retention in 7 the healthcare industry. By providing supervision during clinical prac- 8 tice and facilitating the application of theory to practice for students 9 and staff learners, preceptors can help promote self-awareness and crit- 10 ical thinking for students. That confidence and on-the-job training will 11 foster a healthy mentorship and encourage future health care profes- 12 sionals to pursue their health career in New York state. Preceptor- 13 ships, however, are a time-consuming commitment and health care workers 14 in New York state are hard-pressed to add more to their plates. A 15 stipend program would incentivize health care professionals to be 16 preceptors and take on the responsibility of training future health 17 professionals. 18 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6505-f to 19 read as follows: 20 § 6505-f. Capital Region preceptor stipend program. 1. Program estab- 21 lished. The chief administrative officer of the office of the 22 professions shall create a "Capital Region preceptor stipend program" 23 for preceptor clinicians. Under such program, a stipend shall be issued 24 out of funds made available for such program pursuant to appropriation 25 from the legislature from the office of the professions account under EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08950-01-5

S. 4452 2 1 section ninety-seven-nnn of the state finance law, and shall be released 2 in check form to qualified preceptor clinicians. The chief administra- 3 tive officer of the office of the professions' responsibilities shall 4 include, but not be limited to: 5 (a) Promulgating any necessary rules and regulations for the applica- 6 tion and distribution of funds; 7 (b) Creating a process to accept and subsequently register preceptor 8 clinicians into the Capital Region preceptor stipend program, and a 9 process to deny unqualified preceptor clinicians; 10 (c) Creating an application process whereby certain criteria and qual- 11 ifications shall be met by a preceptor clinician accepted to the 12 program; and 13 (d) Creating a revocation process for qualified clinical preceptor- 14 ships that are to be terminated. 15 2. Stipend. A resident of New York state who registers with and is 16 accepted to the program and provides preceptor instruction as part of a 17 clinical preceptorship in the Capital Region shall be issued a stipend 18 upon admittance into the program. Such stipend shall equal five thousand 19 dollars. 20 3. Annual review. After the program's first full year and each year 21 thereafter during the month of December, there shall be an annual review 22 conducted by the office of the professions which shall provide, but not 23 be limited to, the following: 24 (a) An audit and record of all preceptor clinicians who applied and 25 been either denied or accepted under the program; and 26 (b) A record and audit of all stipends distributed under the program. 27 4. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall 28 have the following meanings: 29 (a) "Preceptor clinician" means any of the following who are employed 30 within the Capital Region and who, without the provision of any form of 31 compensation therefor, provides a clinical preceptorship or preceptor- 32 ships including, but not limited to, both community and in-patient 33 facilities, and certified or licensed providers under article thirty-six 34 of the public health law, during the taxable year: 35 (i) a physician licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-one of 36 this title; 37 (ii) a physician assistant licensed pursuant to article one hundred 38 thirty-one-B of this title; 39 (iii) a specialist assistant registered pursuant to article one 40 hundred thirty-one-C of this title; 41 (iv) a certified registered nurse anesthetist certified by the depart- 42 ment; 43 (v) a registered professional nurse licensed pursuant to section 44 sixty-nine hundred five of this title; 45 (vi) a nurse practitioner certified pursuant to section sixty-nine 46 hundred ten of this title; 47 (vii) a clinical nurse specialist certified pursuant to section 48 sixty-nine hundred eleven of this title; or 49 (viii) a midwife licensed pursuant to article one hundred forty of 50 this title. 51 (b) "Capital Region" means the region of the state (i) containing the 52 following eight counties: Albany, Columbia, Greene, Saratoga, Schenecta- 53 dy, Rensselaer, Warren, and Washington counties; and (ii) as further 54 defined by the regional economic development councils. 55 (c) "Clinical preceptorship" means a preceptorship for a student 56 enrolled in a New York state based educational program approved pursuant

S. 4452 3 1 to this title to become a physician, physician assistant, specialist 2 assistant, certified registered nurse anesthetist, registered profes- 3 sional nurse, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or midwife, 4 and which preceptorship provides preceptor instruction in family medi- 5 cine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergen- 6 cy medicine, psychiatry, home healthcare, general surgery, or gerontolo- 7 gy under the supervision of a preceptor clinician. 8 (d) "Program" means the Capital Region preceptor stipend program 9 created pursuant to subdivision one of this section. 10 (e) "Qualified preceptor clinician" means a preceptor clinician who 11 has qualified for the Capital Region preceptor stipend program pursuant 12 to the application process created pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivi- 13 sion one of this section, and who is entitled to receive a stipend 14 pursuant to subdivision two of this section. 15 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 97-nnn of the state finance law, as 16 added by section 90 of part A of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is 17 amended to read as follows: 18 3. Moneys of this account, following appropriation by the legislature, 19 shall be available to the state education department for services and 20 expenses of the office of the professions, including payment of stipends 21 under the Capital Region preceptor stipend program established pursuant 22 to section sixty-five hundred five-f of the education law, provided that 23 the first year payments under such stipend program shall not exceed five 24 million dollars. 25 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 26 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 27 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 28 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 29 completed on or before such effective date.

Establishes the Capital Region preceptor stipend program

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