Kim Litwack, dean of UWM’s College of Health Professions and Sciences, speaks on the Nov. 14 occasion introducing a brand new instrument to assist construct Wisconsin’s well being care workforce. (UWM Photo/Troye Fox)

Nurse practitioner Kelsey Jahn graduated together with her UWM doctoral diploma in May 2022 and handed her board examination three weeks later. But it was mid-December, almost six months later, earlier than she obtained her nurse practitioner license from the state.

Jahn’s expertise isn’t the norm, however lengthy wait instances for licensing have been irritating to professionals who want the credential to follow.

A brand new portal that higher connects the state’s licensing company – the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) – with the Universities of Wisconsin will velocity that course of.

DSPS Secretary Dan Hereth and Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman joined UWM College of Health Professions and Sciences Dean Kim Litwack on Nov. 14 to announce LicensE Educator Access Portal, or LEAP.

The portal was utilized in a pilot program final yr involving 5 nursing faculties, together with UWM’s, and is now able to broaden to different well being care fields. Results from the pilot use confirmed LEAP improved the timeframe for licensing by about 25%, Hereth stated.

“Since I was appointed 15 months ago, DSPS has improved licensing in fields from dentistry, pharmacy and even plumbing,” Hereth stated. “LEAP is the latest step in this process, and it will allow us to further streamline all licensing of health care professions. It can do more than protect the public through licensing. It offers another way to ensure that talent remains in Wisconsin.”

With the instrument, collaborating instructional establishments in Wisconsin will obtain entry to LicensE, the DSPS platform for licensing functions. Institutions can see their scholar rosters, confirm program completion and commencement, and establish what steps is likely to be lacking to help college students via the licensing course of.

“The demand for health care workers is critical in Wisconsin and we need to work together to make this transition seamless,” Litwack stated. “More than 80% of UWM graduates stay in the state of Wisconsin, so this really helps the workforce and overall needs of the region.”

About 900 college students in UWM’s College of Health Professions and Sciences apply for licenses yearly, stated Litwack, in professions from registered nurses and bodily therapists to audiologists and speech language pathologists.

“Just last week, our Board of Regents asked the legislature to release $32 million in state funding to help grow the number of graduates in four high-demand fields, including nursing and health care,” Rothman stated. “If this funding is approved, we anticipate expanding our capacity to educate nearly 2,400 more nurses across Wisconsin in the next five years. So, this new portal could not come at a better time for the Universities of Wisconsin.”

DSPS administers greater than 250 state licenses throughout a big selection of professions. In addition to launching LEAP, DSPS has established a dashboard that offers real-time info on how rapidly new functions are reviewed and documentation is generated.