House of Representatives

SB 1265

board of nursing; omnibus

Sponsors: Senators Gerard, Guenther, Hellon

DP	Committee on Health
DP	Caucus and COW
DP	Third Read	This bill as introduced contains a PROP 108 clause.
X	As Passed the House

SB 1265 modifies the Board of Nursing (Board) definitions, increases a fee and Board member compensation and makes licensing and regulatory changes.

History

The mission of the Board is to protect the public by the regulating nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) through licensing and certification. The Board is comprised of nine members (5 nurses, 2 practical nurses and 2 public members) and has an operating budget of $3,043,100 for fiscal year 2001-2002. The Board utilizes a staff of approximately 54 persons to carry out its duties and currently regulates approximately 47,300 registered nurses, 9,162 licensed practical nurses and 18,600 certified nursing assistants.

Laws 2001, Chapter 101 added Arizona into a multi-state nursing compact (Nursing Compact) to make it easier for nurses to practice in more than one state. SB 1265 makes further modifications to statute to adhere to the Nursing Compact. The bill also includes a number of recommendations by the Board as a result of an Office of the Auditor General September 2001 report to modify statutes to ease licensing and certification restrictions and ensures statutes are consistent with current nursing practices and national standards.

Provisions

Definitions

· Changes the definition of an Approved Nursing Program from a program accredited by a national nursing accreditation to one that has met the standards of the Board.

· Adds definition of Clinical Nursing Specialist to include a registered nurse that is

- Certified by the Board as a clinical nurse specialist.

- Holds a graduate degree with a major in nursing.

- Certified in a clinical specialty or provides proof of competence to the Board.

- Qualified to analyze, prescribe, manage and make independent nursing decisions for patient care.

· Defines a Licensee as defined in the Nursing Compact (Laws 2001, Chapter 101).

· Changes the definitions of Practical Nursing and Professional Nursing to make them consistent with national standards and include duties that are consistent with the current practices in nursing.

· Changes the definition to Registered Nurse Practitioner to conform to national standards and ensures that a nurse practitioner maintain a national certification or provide proof of competence after July 1, 2004. Nurse practitioners certified by the Board prior to July 1, 2004 will not need to meet the national certification requirements or provide proof of competence.

Regulation

· Makes it an act of unprofessional conduct to fail to report to the Board any evidence that a nurse is incompetent, guilty of unprofessional conduct, physically or mentally unable to safely practice medicine or fails to self report a conviction of a felony or undesignated offense within ten days of a conviction.

· Allows the executive director to accept the voluntary revocation of a license or certificate to resolve a pending complaint.

· Conforms language to the Nursing Compact by allowing the Board to limit, revoke or suspend a multi-state license.

· Enables the Board to exchange information with other licensing authorities of healthcare institutions, facilities and homes regarding practices that place a patient’s health at risk.

· Allows nurses practicing under the Nursing Compact to use the title “nurse”.

· Allows the Board to impose and administrative penalty of up to $1,000 in lieu of unprofessional conduct for timely notification, renewal and address notification violations. Requires the Board to deposit the penalty into the general fund.

Licensing & Certification

· Allows the executive director to issue single state and multi-state licenses, temporary nurse practitioner certificates and temporary clinical nurse specialist certificates.

· Allows the Board to establish standards, survey and approve nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist programs. Provides the Board with rule making authority to establish competency standards for obtaining and maintaining a license.

· Eliminates the requirement that a license applicant has completed an approved four-year course of high school study of equivalent as determined by the Board.

· Specifies that the Board shall only maintain a register of licenses and certificates for Arizona nurses, eliminating the need for the Board to maintain a registry of nurses practicing under the Nursing Compact.

· Allows the Board to issue a temporary nurse practitioner certificate or a clinical nurse specialist certificate to a professional nurse who holds an unencumbered temporary license and meets the requirements for certification.

· Allows the Board to survey advanced practice nursing programs similar to nursing programs and nurse assistant programs.

Licensing and Certification of Foreign Graduates

· Creates a separate section of statute to address foreign graduates. Eliminates references to foreign graduates in statutes relating to domestic graduates.

· Modifies the requirements for foreign nurse graduates who are not licensed in another state and do not meet the examination requirement.

Fees and Compensation

· Increases Board member compensation from $100 to $200 per day.

· Increases the fee for issuing a certification card to a nursing assistant applicant for renewal from $25 to $50.

Other

· Eliminates duplicate and obsolete statutes.

· Makes technical and conforming changes.

· Contains a Proposition 108 clause.

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· 45th Legislature

· Second Regular Session 3 May 29, 2002

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