S703 1R

An Act concerning implicit bias training and supplementing Title 26 ¹and Title 45¹ of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. Every hospital that provides inpatient maternity services and every birthing center licensed in the State pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall implement an evidence-based implicit bias training program for ¹:

(1)¹ all health professionals who provide perinatal treatment and care to pregnant women at the hospital or birthing center ¹; and

(2) all administrative and clerical staff members who interact with pregnant women at the hospital or birthing center.

A hospital or birthing center that implements an implicit bias training program pursuant to this section shall ensure that the program is structured in a manner that permits health care professionals to be eligible to receive continuing education credits for participation in the program¹.

b. The training program shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) identifying previous and current unconscious biases and misinformation when providing perinatal treatment and care to ¹, or interacting with,¹ pregnant women;

(2) identifying personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural barriers to inclusion;

(3) information on the effects of historical and contemporary exclusion and oppression of minority communities;

(4) information about cultural identity across racial and ethnic groups;

(5) information about communicating more effectively across racial, ethnic, religious, and gender identities;

(6) information about reproductive justice;

(7) a discussion on power dynamics and organizational decision-making and their effects on implicit bias;

(8) a discussion on health inequities and racial and ethnic disparities within the field of perinatal care, and how implicit bias may contribute to pregnancy-related deaths and maternal and infant health outcomes; and

(9) corrective measures to decrease implicit bias at the interpersonal and institutional levels.

c. A health care professional who provides perinatal treatment and care to pregnant women at a hospital that provides inpatient maternity services or a birthing center licensed in the State pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) ¹and all administrative and clerical staff members who interact with pregnant women at the hospital or birthing center¹ shall:

(1) complete the training program on implicit bias at such times and intervals as the hospital or birthing center shall require;

(2) complete a refresher course under the training program, designed to provide the health care professional ¹or administrative or clerical staff member¹ with updated information about racial, ethnic, and cultural identity, and best practices in decreasing interpersonal and institutional implicit bias, every two years or on a more frequent basis, if deemed necessary by the hospital or birthing center; and

(3) receive a certification from the hospital or birthing center upon successful completion of the training program.

d. ¹A health care professional who completes a continuing education course on implicit bias pursuant to section 2, 3, or 4 of P.L. , c. (C. , C. , or C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed to have satisfied the implicit bias training requirement set forth in subsection c. of this section for the licensure or certification period in which the continuing education course was completed.

e.¹ As used in this section:

“Implicit bias” means a bias in judgment or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes, including implicit prejudice and implicit stereotypes, that often operate at a level below conscious awareness and without intentional control.

“Implicit stereotypes” means the unconscious attributions of particular qualities to a member of a certain social group, influenced by experience, and based on learned associations between various qualities and social categories, including race and gender.

¹2. The State Board of Medical Examiners shall require that the number of credits of continuing medical education required of each person licensed as a physician who provides prenatal or perinatal treatment and care to pregnant women, as a condition of biennial registration pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1971, c.236 (C.45:9-6.1), include one credit of educational programs or topics concerning implicit bias, which educational programs and topics shall meet the requirements for a training program set forth in subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The continuing medical education requirement in this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of section 10 of P.L.2001, c.307 (C.45:9-7.1), including, but not limited to, the authority of the board to waive the provisions of this section for a specific individual if the board deems it is appropriate to do so.¹

¹3. The State Board of Medical Examiners shall require that the number of credits of continuing medical education required of each person licensed as a physician assistant who provides prenatal or perinatal treatment and care to pregnant women, as a condition of biennial renewal pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1991, c.378 (C.45:9-27.13), include one credit of educational programs or topics concerning implicit bias, which educational programs and topics shall meet the requirements for a training program set forth in subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The continuing medical education requirement in this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of section 16 of P.L.1991, c.378 (C.45:9-27.25), including, but not limited to, the authority of the board to waive the provisions of this section for a specific individual if the board deems it is appropriate to do so.¹

¹4. The New Jersey Board of Nursing shall require that the number of credits of continuing education required of each person licensed as a professional nurse or a practical nurse who provides prenatal or perinatal treatment and care to pregnant women, as a condition of biennial license renewal, include one credit of educational programs or topics concerning implicit bias, which educational programs and topics shall meet the requirements for a training program set forth in subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The board may, in its discretion, waive the continuing education requirement set forth in this section on an individual basis for reasons of hardship, such as illness or disability, retirement of the license, or other good cause. A waiver shall apply only to the current biennial renewal period at the time of board issuance.¹

¹[2.] 5.¹ The Department of Health ¹and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety¹ shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.

¹[3.] 6.¹ This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following the date of enactment.