Push to modernize Healthcare Professional licensing by the NJ Board of Consumer Affairs
- by: Michelle R
- recipient: Healthcare professionals, hospital workers, patients, Physical therapists, Nurses, Social workers, Politicians, State workers, United States
This petition is to bring to light and rectify the horrible latency and disjointed process that healthcare professionals need to go through just to obtain a license to practice in the state of NJ.
The main concern is that the Department of Consumer Affairs and its internal Boards are not adhering to their timelines regarding the licensing of healthcare professionals including nurses, therapists and social workers. Beyond this, the Department is misplacing documents and money for months at a time with a paper only system, doubtlessly making things harder for both prospective licensees and state workers.
The problem became apparent as the author of this petition was attempting to reactivate her Physical Therapist license after registering inactive a few years prior. She submitted all necessary documents. This included private information such as her SSN. She later called the Department to ensure that her application had landed in the correct hands. Her certified mail receipt showed that it had at least gotten to the building three weeks prior. She was told it may have been received but was not “in the system.” This had also happened with her original application for licensure in 2012. The application had at that time been “lost (the Department's word)” in the mail room for weeks. She was calling daily and being hung up on as staff insisted that she had not mailed the application (including money and private information) to the correct place. It was not until she contacted the post office and got them involved that she was told her application would be searched for and found.
More people have since come forward, saying they too had issues with their applications, whether it was initial applications, transfers, requests for name changes, replacement licenses etc. For one therapist, it took six months to receive a new license for a simple name change to her married name. In another instance, she said it took her two months of sending letters of complaint every other day to Lisa Tadeo (Executive Director) just to get a replacement license. One professional reported it taking six months to have a license in social work transferred from another state. The Department of Consumer Affairs required redundancy of already sent paperwork and two sets of checks simply because the application "expired" sitting on a pile or lost. A nurse reported needing to physically drive to Newark and go to demand to be given a number just so they could register to take the NCLEX. The application to obtain this number had been mailed three months prior, overnighted to ensure swift delivery.
These licenses are our livelihood. We cannot work without them, even if we have passed our boards and have a test score in our hands to show prospective employers. The licenses must be displayed at all times in the offices in which we work. If the information is incorrect, we risk being unable to work, or our workplaces risk fines for keeping us on staff. Obviously this has its merits of keeping out fraudulent workers. However, when it is the State of New Jersey’s fault for not adhering to their self-proclaimed timeline (which they will tell you is 10 to 15 business days from the time the application is “put in the system”), they are directly responsible for keeping healthcare workers from caring for their patients, and from making a living. They are blatantly mishandling money and private information of applicants who want nothing more than to do what their license enables them to do. I think we can all agree that this is at minimum unacceptable, and at most negligent and deplorable.
We hope this petition will result in:
-A tracking system for submitted applications to ensure both transparency of process and timeliness. This should be enacted within 6 months.
-Accountability for receiving and getting applicants "in the system." This may include a single person who is responsible for, and signs off on, any certified mail packages containing applications or related documents.
-Timely handling of checks or money sent in company with applications to ensure they are not misplaced (within 30 days)
-An applicant driven computer system accessible to the Department in which the applicant can submit information electronically regarding name changes, address changes, track approved continuing education and request letters of approval.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionThe main concern is that the Department of Consumer Affairs and its internal Boards are not adhering to their timelines regarding the licensing of healthcare professionals including nurses, therapists and social workers. Beyond this, the Department is misplacing documents and money for months at a time with a paper only system, doubtlessly making things harder for both prospective licensees and state workers.
The problem became apparent as the author of this petition was attempting to reactivate her Physical Therapist license after registering inactive a few years prior. She submitted all necessary documents. This included private information such as her SSN. She later called the Department to ensure that her application had landed in the correct hands. Her certified mail receipt showed that it had at least gotten to the building three weeks prior. She was told it may have been received but was not “in the system.” This had also happened with her original application for licensure in 2012. The application had at that time been “lost (the Department's word)” in the mail room for weeks. She was calling daily and being hung up on as staff insisted that she had not mailed the application (including money and private information) to the correct place. It was not until she contacted the post office and got them involved that she was told her application would be searched for and found.
More people have since come forward, saying they too had issues with their applications, whether it was initial applications, transfers, requests for name changes, replacement licenses etc. For one therapist, it took six months to receive a new license for a simple name change to her married name. In another instance, she said it took her two months of sending letters of complaint every other day to Lisa Tadeo (Executive Director) just to get a replacement license. One professional reported it taking six months to have a license in social work transferred from another state. The Department of Consumer Affairs required redundancy of already sent paperwork and two sets of checks simply because the application "expired" sitting on a pile or lost. A nurse reported needing to physically drive to Newark and go to demand to be given a number just so they could register to take the NCLEX. The application to obtain this number had been mailed three months prior, overnighted to ensure swift delivery.
These licenses are our livelihood. We cannot work without them, even if we have passed our boards and have a test score in our hands to show prospective employers. The licenses must be displayed at all times in the offices in which we work. If the information is incorrect, we risk being unable to work, or our workplaces risk fines for keeping us on staff. Obviously this has its merits of keeping out fraudulent workers. However, when it is the State of New Jersey’s fault for not adhering to their self-proclaimed timeline (which they will tell you is 10 to 15 business days from the time the application is “put in the system”), they are directly responsible for keeping healthcare workers from caring for their patients, and from making a living. They are blatantly mishandling money and private information of applicants who want nothing more than to do what their license enables them to do. I think we can all agree that this is at minimum unacceptable, and at most negligent and deplorable.
We hope this petition will result in:
-A tracking system for submitted applications to ensure both transparency of process and timeliness. This should be enacted within 6 months.
-Accountability for receiving and getting applicants "in the system." This may include a single person who is responsible for, and signs off on, any certified mail packages containing applications or related documents.
-Timely handling of checks or money sent in company with applications to ensure they are not misplaced (within 30 days)
-An applicant driven computer system accessible to the Department in which the applicant can submit information electronically regarding name changes, address changes, track approved continuing education and request letters of approval.
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