1.This Act may be cited as the
Troops to Nurse Teachers Act of
2008
.
2.Programs to increase
the number of nurses within the Armed Forces
(a)The Secretary of Defense may provide for the carrying out
of each of the programs described in subsections (b) through (f).
(b)Service of
nurse officers as faculty in exchange for commitment to additional service in
the Armed Forces
(1)One of the programs under this section may be a program
in which covered commissioned officers with a graduate degree in nursing or a
related field who are in the nurse corps of the Armed Force concerned serve a
tour of duty of two years as a full-time faculty member of an accredited school
of nursing.
(2)A commissioned officer of the nurse corps of the Armed
Forces described in this paragraph is a nurse officer on active duty who has
served for more than nine years on active duty in the Armed Forces as an
officer of the nurse corps at the time of the commencement of the tour of duty
described in paragraph (1).
(3)An officer serving on the faculty of an accredited
school or nursing under this subsection shall be accorded all the benefits,
privileges, and responsibilities (other than compensation and
compensation-related benefits) of any other comparably situated individual
serving a full-time faculty member of such school.
(4)Agreement for
additional serviceEach officer who serves a tour of duty on the
faculty of a school of nursing under this subsection shall enter into an
agreement with the Secretary to serve upon the completion of such tour of duty
for a period of four years for such tour of duty as a member of the nurse corps
of the Armed Force concerned. Any service agreed to by an officer under this
paragraph is in addition to any other service required of the officer under
law.
(c)Service of
nurse officers as faculty in exchange for scholarships for nurse officer
candidates
(1)One of the programs under this section may be a program
in which commissioned officers with a graduate degree in nursing or a related
field who are in the nurse corps of the Armed Force concerned serve while on
active duty a tour of duty of two years as a full-time faculty member of an
accredited school of nursing.
(2)An officer serving on the faculty of an accredited
school of nursing under this subsection shall be accorded all the benefits,
privileges, and responsibilities (other than compensation and
compensation-related benefits) of any other comparably situated individual
serving as a full-time faculty member of such school.
(3)Scholarships
for nurse officer candidates(A)Each accredited school
of nursing at which an officer serves on the faculty under this subsection
shall provide scholarships to individuals undertaking an educational program at
such school leading to a degree in nursing who agree, upon completion of such
program, to accept a commission as an officer in the nurse corps of the Armed
Forces.
(B)The total amount of funds made
available for scholarships by an accredited school of nursing under
subparagraph (A) for each officer serving on the faculty of that school under
this subsection shall be not less than the amount equal to an entry-level
full-time faculty member of that school for each year that such officer so
serves on the faculty of that school.
(C)The total number of scholarships
provided by an accredited school of nursing under subparagraph (A) for each
officer serving on the faculty of that school under this subsection shall be
such number as the Secretary of Defense shall specify for purposes of this
subsection.
(d)Scholarships
for certain nurse officers for education as nurses
(1)One of the programs under this section may be a program
in which the Secretary provides scholarships to commissioned officers of the
nurse corps of the Armed Force concerned described in paragraph (2) who enter
into an agreement described in paragraph (4) for the participation of such
officers in an educational program of an accredited school of nursing leading
to a graduate degree in nursing.
(2)A commissioned officer of the nurse corps of the Armed
Forces described in this paragraph is a nurse officer who has served not less
than 20 years on active duty in the Armed Forces and is otherwise eligible for
retirement from the Armed Forces.
(3)Amounts in a scholarship provided a nurse officer
under this subsection may be utilized by the officer to pay the costs of
tuition, fees, and other educational expenses of the officer in participating
in an educational program described in paragraph (1).
(4)An
agreement of a nurse officer described in this paragraph is the agreement of
the officer—
(A)to participate in
an educational program described in paragraph (1); and
(B)upon graduation
from such educational program—
(i)to
serve not less than two years as a full-time faculty member of an accredited
school of nursing; and
(ii)to
undertake such activities as the Secretary considers appropriate to encourage
current and prospective nurses to pursue service in the nurse corps of the
Armed Forces.
(e)Transition
assistance for retiring nurse officers qualified as faculty
(1)One of the programs under this section may be a program
in which the Secretary provides to commissioned officers of the nurse corps of
the Armed Force concerned described in paragraph (2) the assistance described
in paragraph (3) to assist such officers in obtaining and fulfilling positions
as full-time faculty members of an accredited school of nursing after
retirement from the Armed Forces.
(2)A commissioned officer of the nurse corps of the Armed
Forces described in this paragraph is a nurse officer who—
(A)has served an
aggregate of at least 20 years on active duty or in reserve active status in
the Armed Forces;
(B)is eligible for
retirement from the Armed Forces; and
(C)possesses a
doctoral or master degree in nursing or a related field which qualifies the
nurse officer to discharge the position of nurse instructor at an accredited
school of nursing.
(3)The
assistance described in this paragraph is assistance as follows:
(A)Career placement
assistance.
(B)Continuing
education.
(C)Stipends (in an
amount specified by the Secretary).
(4)A
nurse officer provided assistance under this subsection shall enter into an
agreement with the Secretary to serve as a full-time faculty member of an
accredited school of nursing for such period as the Secretary shall provide in
the agreement.
(f)Benefits for
retired nurse officers accepting appointment as faculty
(1)One of the programs under this section may be a program
in which the Secretary provides to any individual described in paragraph (2)
the benefits specified in paragraph (3).
(2)An individual described in this paragraph is an
individual who—
(A)is retired from
the Armed Forces after service as a commissioned officer in the nurse corps of
the Armed Forces;
(B)holds a graduate
degree in nursing; and
(C)serves as a
full-time faculty member of an accredited school of nursing.
(3)The
benefits specified in this paragraph shall include the following:
(A)Payment of
retired or retirement pay without reduction based on receipt of pay or other
compensation from the institution of higher education concerned.
(B)Payment by the
institution of higher education concerned of a salary and other compensation to
which other similarly situated faculty members of the institution of higher
education would be entitled.
(C)If the amount of
pay and other compensation payable by the institution of higher education
concerned for service as an associate full-time faculty member is less than the
basic pay to which the individual was entitled immediately before retirement
from the Armed Forces, payment of an amount equal to the difference between
such basic pay and such payment and other compensation.
(g)Administration
and duration of programs
(1)The Secretary shall establish requirements and procedures
for the administration of the programs authorized by this section. Such
requirements and procedures shall include procedures for selecting
participating schools of nursing.
(2)Any
program carried out under this section shall continue for not less than two
years.
(3)Not
later than two years after commencing any program under this section, the
Secretary shall assess the results of such program and determine whether or not
to continue such program. The assessment of any program shall be based on
measurable criteria, information concerning results, and such other matters as
the Secretary considers appropriate.
(4)The
Secretary may continue carrying out any program under this section that the
Secretary determines, pursuant to an assessment under paragraph (3), to
continue to carry out. In continuing to carry out a program, the Secretary may
modify the terms of the program within the scope of this section. The
continuation of any program may include its expansion to include additional
participating schools of nursing.
(h)In
this section, the terms school of nursing and
accredited have the meaning given those terms in section 801 of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296).