Ala. Admin. Code r. 610-X-3-.01 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 6, March 31, 2022
(1) Approved
Program: A nursing education program that meets all of the standards as
specified in these rules.
(2)
Articulation: A planned process between two or more educational programs or
systems to assist students to make a smooth transition from one program to
another without duplication in learning or coursework.
(3) Clinical and Theoretical Competence: The
possession of knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to meet current
standards of nursing practice and education as specified in Chapter 610-X-6,
Standards of Nursing Practice, Chapter 610-X-3, Nursing Education Programs,
Chapter 610-X-4, Licensure, Chapter 610-X-5, Advanced Practice Nursing
Collaborative Practice, and Chapter 610-X-9, Advanced Practice
Nursing.
(4) Clinical Learning
Experience: Organized plan of learning experiences, under the oversight of an
experienced clinical supervisor, that provides student opportunities to
integrate knowledge into assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, and
clinical reasoning of nursing care appropriate to the scope of practice for the
level and type of program.
(5)
Pre-clinical Learning Experience: An organized plan occurring prior to the
learning experience, with information to span the lifespan for varied clinical
settings, to ensure a safe transition to nursing practice in complex
environments with pre- and post-clinical conferences.
(6) Simulation: A technique that amplifies
"real-life" learning in an interactive manner with guided experiences that
replicate significant aspects of reality of acute, chronic, and community
health settings across the life-span.
(7) Prelicensure Clinical Supervisor: A
licensed registered nurse, acting in a supervisory capacity of clinical
learning experiences, who is accessible to assign or prescribe a course of
action, give procedural guidance, direction, and evaluation for a nursing
student(s). This term may include assigned clinical faculty or adjunct
faculty.
(8) Preceptor (RN program
or LPN program): a licensed nurse whose licensure is appropriate to the scope
of practice with at least one year of experience, who is employed in a clinical
setting and serves as a role model, resource person, and clinical educator to
enhance the learning experiences of a student nurse.
(9) Clinical Supervisor, Clinical
Coordinator, or Preceptor (Advanced Practice Program): an advanced practice
registered nurse, a physician, or other appropriately licensed,
population-focused clinician who provides guidance, serves as a role model,
resource, and clinical educator to enhance the learning experiences of an
advanced practice nursing student.
(10) Curriculum: An organized plan of study
in nursing that includes both theoretical and clinical learning experiences
essential for preparing students to be eligible upon graduation to apply for
licensure as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or certification and
approval of an advanced practice nurse.
(11) Curriculum Outcomes: A common set of
competencies expected of a program's graduates upon completion of an organized
plan of study. Outcomes are clear, measurable demonstrations of student
learning.
(12) Deficiency(ies):
Failure of a nursing education program to meet one or more of the standards as
stated in Chapter 610-X-3, Nursing Education Programs.
(13) Distance Education: A formal educational
process in which the majority of the instruction in a course/program occurs
when instructors and students are not physically in the same location. The
educational process may use various methodologies consistent with this chapter
for communication, instruction, and evaluation.
(14) Nursing Faculty: Registered professional
nurse, with at least one graduate degree in nursing or a health-related field,
appointed by the governing institution. Nursing faculty for advanced practice
nursing courses must meet national accreditation, certification, and
educational standards for the specific program of study. This requirement does
not apply to non-nursing faculty teaching non-nursing courses in an advanced
practice curriculum.
(15) Licensed
Hospital: A facility described in Code of Ala. 1975,
Section 22-21-20(1),
other than a health maintenance organization, which has an organized medical
staff or which employs the services of a medical director who is a physician
licensed to practice medicine in Alabama. The term hospital shall not include
the private offices of physicians or dentists, whether in individual, group,
professional corporation, or professional association practice.
(16) Nursing Program Administrator:
Registered professional nurse with a master's or higher degree in nursing who
has primary accountability and responsibility for administration of the nursing
program.
(17) Survey: A
comprehensive, Board-authorized on-site evaluation or review of a written
report, and/or documents, for a proposed or existing program in prelicensure or
advanced practice education that serves to assess the program's compliance with
the Board's education standards.
(18) Systematic Plan of Evaluation: A
comprehensive written document that reflects ongoing evaluation of all program
components that includes, but is not limited to, collection of objective data,
evaluation of outcomes, and results in improvements based on evaluative
data.
(19) Unencumbered License: an
active license that has no current stipulations, conditions, or
limitations.
(20) Governing
Institution Administrator: Person with overall administrative authority for the
instructional sites where the nursing program is located.
(21) Prelicensure Program Pass Rate
Calculation: For each year, the Board shall determine a program's annual pass
rate by calculating the percentage of those graduates taking the national
licensure examination for the first time within six months of program
completion who achieve a passing score on the national licensure examination on
the first attempt. The annual pass rates will be based on the calendar year
(January 1 to December 31). In 2019, the three-year average includes the
previous two fiscal years average and the 2018 calendar year average. In 2020,
the three-year average includes the fiscal year 2017 average, and the 2018 and
2019 calendar year averages. In 2021, the three-year average will include all
averages from the three prior calendar years.
(22) External Exam: A standardized means of
testing readiness to practice nursing, usually administered following
completion of a program of study in nursing education.
(23) Notice of Deficiency: An official notice
by the Board which identifies areas of deficiency and provides the expected
date of correction. The notice may require follow-up site visits and submission
of additional documents, evaluations, and reports.
(24) Notice of Correction: An official notice
by the Board notifying a nursing education program of the correction of
previous areas of deficiency and current approval status of the nursing
program.
(25) Prelicensure program:
a nursing education program that prepares graduates for licensure as a
registered nurse or licensed practical nurse pursuant to Section
34-21-20, et. seq. of the
Code of Ala. 1975.
(26) Advanced practice program: a nursing
education program that prepares graduates for approval to practice as an
advanced practice nurse pursuant to Section
34-21-80, et. seq. of the
Code of Ala. 1975.
(27) Dual Role: preparation for two distinct
patient population foci within a single advanced practice nursing education
program of study.
(28) Patient
Population Focus/Foci: one of six areas of concentration [Family/Individual
Across the Lifespan, Adult-Gerontology (Acute or Primary), Neonatal, Pediatrics
(Acute or Primary), Women's Health/Gender-Related, and Psych/Mental Health]
within advanced practice nursing education programs.
Notes
Author: Alabama Board of Nursing
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, ยง 34-21-2(2).
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