| Date: | 07/17/1984 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
A member of the Board of Registration in Nursing may also serve on an accreditation panel of the National League of Nurses, subject to the restrictions contained in §§ 4, 6 and 23 of the conflict of interest law.
You are a member of the Board of Registration in Nursing (Board). Pursuant to G.L. c. 13, § 13, you were appointed by the governor to the Board to serve for six years, which term of office will expire in February 1986. As a Board member, you receive five hundred dollars a year as compensation, as well as the necessary traveling expenses you actually incur in attending the meetings of the Board. G.L. c. 13, § 15. The Board is statutorily required to hold three regular meetings a year, G.L. c. 13, § 14, but in fact holds a meeting once a month. Pursuant to G.L. c. 112, § 74 et seq., the Board holds examinations for the registration of nurses and the licensing of practical nurses, investigates all complaints of violations within its area of authority, and makes such rules and regulations that are consistent with law and relevant to its procedure as it deems expedient.
You were also recently elected to a three-year term, to start January 1985, on Panel I of the Board of Review of Accreditation of Associate Degree Nursing Programs within the National League of Nursing (NLN). The NLN is a professional association which is the nationally recognized accrediting authority for nursing education. The individual members of NLN include nurses and other concerned individuals. The agency (school of nursing) members of NLN do not need to be accredited to join, nor do they need to join to be accredited. The entire membership of NLN elects its Board members. Thus, the accreditation program administered by NLN is a voluntary review of a school's curriculum by its peers.
Your position as a member of the NLN Review Panel for Associate Degree Programs is unpaid, although you will be reimbursed for expenses. The fifteen-member Panel meets twice a year, the length of the meeting depending on the number of schools to be reviewed at that meeting. The accreditation process you will participate in will involve evaluating the quality of the nursing education in associate degree programs and engaging those schools in continuous efforts toward improvement.
Does G.L. c. 268A permit you to serve simultaneously as a member of the Board and as a member of the NLN Accreditation Review Panel for Associate Degree Programs?
Yes.
Section 1(q) of G.L. c. 268A defines "state employee" as "a person performing services for or holding an office, position, employment, or membership in a state agency, whether by election, appointment, contract of hire or engagement, whether serving with or without compensation, on a full, regular, part-time, intermittent or consultant basis." As a member of the Board of Registration in in Nursing, you are a state employee for the purposes of G.L. c. 268A and are therefore subject to that laws provisions. Your part-time status qualifies you as a special state employee,[1] and the conflict law will apply less restrictively to you in certain circumstances.
Section 4(c) provides that a state employee may not act as agent or attorney for anyone other than the state in connection with any particular matter[2] in which the commonwealth is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.[3] This section subjects state employees to restrictions on assisting outsiders in their dealings with the state. While your participation in any given accreditation decision will be as the agent of NLN, NLN accreditation decisions concerning Associate Degree Nursing Programs are not particular matters of direct and substantial interest to the state. The board and NLN do support the same goal, namely quality nursing education. However, NLN accreditation is not a prerequisite to Board approval of a nursing school. NLN accreditation is a voluntary curriculum review process undergone by nursing programs which choose to participate. On the other hand, Board approval of a nursing school is a statutorily defined process which involves a site survey and the evaluation of faculty qualifications, instructional and clinical facilities, safety and teacher/student ratios as well as a review of the curriculum. See G.L. c. 112 § 74 and § 74A, 244 CMR 6.00 et seq. Before qualifying by examination as an RN or LPN, an aspiring nurse must furnish "satisfactory proof that he is of good moral character and a graduate of a school for nurses approved by the board," G.L. c. 112, § 74. Thus, graduation from a program legally approved by the Board is required of an applicant for a nursing license or registration, whereas graduation from a NLN accredited school is not. Inasmuch as NLN accreditation is voluntary and not an integral part of either board approval or nurse licensure/registration, your participation in that process in light of your Board membership will not be prohibited by § 4.[4]
Section 6 provides that a state employee shall not participate as such an employee in a particular matter in which a business organization for which he serves as an officer has a financial interest. From the facts you present, it does not appear that the § 6 prohibition applies to your situation. The approval of a school of nursing pursuant to 244 CMR 6.00 et seq., in which you would participate as a Board member, is not a matter in which NLN has a financial interest.[5] While an agency (school of nursing) member of NLN may have a financial interest in a certain Board approval decision, NLN as an organization will not. NLN's accrediting function is not dependent upon the outcome of a Board approval decision.
As a state employee, you are also subject to the standards of conduct set forth in § 23 of Chapter 268A. It does not appear that the dual Board position you propose would violate either § 23 (¶ 2) (2) or (3), which provide that no state employee shall
(a) use or attempt to use his official position to secure unwarranted privileges or
exemptions for himself or others; or
(b) by his conduct give reasonable basis for the impression that any person can
improperly influence or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official
duties, or that he is unduly affected by the kinship, rank, position or influence of
any party or person.
However, because NLN represents nurses who are subject to regulation by the Board, you should take care to abide by these § 23 provisions in carrying out your Board and NLN duties.
The more apparent issue raised by § 23 is contained in paragraph 3, which prohibits a state employee from improperly disclosing materials or data within the exemptions to the definition of public records as defined by section seven of chapter four, and which were acquired by her in the course of her official duties or using such information to further her personal interests. These provisions, which are largely self-explanatory, come into play when state employees misuse confidential information to which they have access as state employees. In view of your access to confidential information as a Board member, e.g., information concerning a Mass. nursing school obtained by the Board during a site survey or a review of staff, clinical or curriculum qualifications, you should keep this provision in mind and not disclose the information to NLN.[6]
End Of Decision
