Kristin Olsen wants audit of California licensing boards’ computer system
Problems with a new state nurse-licensing system have prompted so many complaints from nursing school graduates and hospital administrators that a state Assembly member has called for an audit of the project to figure out what has gone wrong.
In a letter to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, said she’s heard that the BreEZe system launched last fall has delayed nursing license applications so long that it’s affected graduates ability to secure work.
“My office has been contacted by a number of nursing graduates, professors and hospital administrators who have experienced a great deal of difficulty since the implementation of the new electronic system,” Olsen told the committee. “Due to the unsuccessful rollout, graduates are unable to secure local jobs and local hospitals remain understaffed.”
A spokesman for the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is responsible for the BreEZe project, couldn’t be immediately reached this morning for comment.
The department rolled out the first phase of the program last year. Among other features, it allows online license applications and license renewals for registered nurses, physician assistants, doctors and respiratory care practitioners. In all, 10 of the 37 boards, bureaus and committees under Consumer Affairs now license through the BreEZe system. The rest are supposed to switch over by next year.
This story was originally published February 6, 2014 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Kristin Olsen wants audit of California licensing boards’ computer system."