An Act to direct the Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing to require certain licensees to complete bias reduction training as part of their continuing education and continuing competency requirements for licensure and to amend and reenact § 54.1-3011 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Nursing continuing education requirements.
HB1147 requires the Virginia Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to adopt regulations making bias reduction training part of continuing education or continuing competency for certain licensees. The training must address implicit and explicit bias in health care, and the first required topic must focus on how unconscious and conscious racial bias affects care during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. The bill also directs the Boards to designate organizations that can provide evidence-based curricula and to update the list of approved trainings as additional needs are identified.
The measure further requires that bias reduction training be completed for every license renewal period, but not more often than once every two years. For subsequent renewal cycles, the content must include practice-related topics identified by the Boards, including conditions such as sickle cell disease that are often racialized in clinical practice, and how race-based assumptions can contribute to delayed diagnosis, inadequate treatment, and disparate outcomes. The bill also requires the Boards to report completion data to the Department of Health and the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative, which is tasked with evaluating the training’s impact for providers involved in fertility, prenatal, birth, and postpartum care and recommending improvements.
In addition to the new training mandate, the bill amends § 54.1-3011 of the Code of Virginia, the nursing license renewal statute, to align Board of Nursing continuing education authority with the new requirement. The existing framework allowing the Board to require up to two hours of continuing learning in a specific subject area remains, but the act specifically directs the Boards to use that authority for bias reduction training. The bill also preserves existing renewal, lapse, reinstatement, and emergency-waiver provisions for nursing licenses.
The bill’s impact is to create a new statewide licensure condition for many physicians, nurses, and other Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing licensees, embedding bias reduction education into the renewal process. It expands regulatory oversight over continuing education content and creates reporting and evaluation duties for state health entities, with particular emphasis on maternal and perinatal care and on reducing racial disparities in diagnosis and treatment.
Overall sentiment appears supportive but not unanimous. The bill advanced through committees and both chambers with substitute versions and passed the House and Senate, though several votes were split, indicating meaningful opposition. The main point of contention appears to be the policy choice to require bias-focused training as a licensure condition, especially the bill’s explicit focus on racial bias and health disparities in clinical practice; supporters likely viewed it as a patient-safety and equity measure, while opponents likely questioned the mandate, scope, or regulatory burden.
The bill adds a new continuing education requirement for licensees of the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing, requiring bias reduction training at each renewal period, no more often than every two years. It directs the Boards to promulgate regulations, approve evidence-based curricula, and report completion data to the Department of Health and the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative. It also amends § 54.1-3011 to fit the new training mandate within the nursing renewal statute while leaving existing renewal, lapse, reinstatement, and emergency-waiver provisions intact.
The bill appears to have had generally favorable momentum, passing both chambers and ultimately becoming law, but with notable opposition at multiple stages. Committee and floor votes were not unanimous, suggesting the measure was supported by a majority but remained politically divisive. The debate likely centered on whether mandatory bias reduction training is an appropriate and effective licensure requirement for health professionals.
The principal contention is the requirement that health professionals complete mandatory bias reduction training, especially the bill’s explicit emphasis on implicit and explicit racial bias in pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum care, and racialized conditions such as sickle cell disease. Supporters likely argued the training is necessary to reduce disparities and improve outcomes, while opponents likely objected to compelled training, the use of race-focused content, or the administrative burden on licensees and boards. The split votes in committee and on the floor indicate that these concerns were significant, even though the bill ultimately passed.