Ala. Admin. Code r. 610-X-3-.02 - Standards For Approval
Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 6, March 31, 2022
(1)
All Alabama prelicensure nursing education programs and advanced practice
nursing education programs, including Alabama distance nursing education
programs, must be approved by the Alabama Board of Nursing and accredited by a
national nursing accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of
Education by January 1, 2023 or within five (5) years of Approval by the Board,
in the case of a new program. If a program is unable to satisfy this
requirement as the result of ineligibility for accreditation due to the
existence of a deficiency or order issued by the Alabama Board of Nursing
pursuant to this Chapter, the program shall establish candidacy for
accreditation within six (6) months of successful resolution of the deficiency
or satisfaction of the terms of the Order. Alabama advanced practice nursing
education programs in operation prior to December 31, 2020, are considered in
approved status. Advanced practice nursing education programs established in
Alabama on or after January 1, 2021, shall obtain Board approval prior to
implementation.
(2) The governing
institution, nursing program administrator, and nursing faculty are accountable
for the standards, processes, and outcomes of the nursing education
program.
(3) The governing
institution offering the nursing program shall be:
(a) A postsecondary education institution
that is authorized to offer nursing education and is accredited by an
organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
(b) Approved and licensed by the appropriate
State of Alabama education agency(ies), as required by law.
(4) The governing institution
shall provide support and resources sufficient to ensure achievement of student
learning and program outcomes. Resources include, but are not limited to:
(a) Financial.
(b) Education program physical facilities, if
appropriate.
(c) Instructional and
learning equipment.
(d) Technology,
to include simulation tools.
(e)
Administrative, instructional, and support personnel.
(5) The governing institution's administrator
or program administrator shall notify the Board, in writing, of any substantive
changes in the program, including, but not limited to:
(a) Nursing program administrator.
(b) Governing institution administrator,
President, CEO, Chancellor, or Provost.
(c) Governance structure of the
institution.
(d) Accreditation
status and accreditation status reports related to the governing institution or
nursing education program.
(e)
Ownership or merger of governing institution.
(f) Name of the governing institution or
nursing education program.
(g)
Relocation of the governing institution or nursing education program.
(h) Significant curriculum changes.
(i) Intent to close a program.
(j) Expanding or collapsing, combining, or
separating programs, including, but not limited to, prelicensure programmatic
changes, and clinical/role populations preparing advanced practice registered
nurses in an approved graduate nursing education degree program, specialty, or
sub-specialty track,
(k) Reduction
in nursing program faculty size exceeding thirty percent.
(l) Annual turnover in faculty greater than
thirty percent.
(m) The percentage
of total nursing faculty (full-time, clinical, adjunct, part-time, and other)
employed at the institution as full-time faculty falls below thirty percent.
(n) Utilization of virtual or
simulation lab in lieu of a "hands-on" lab for anatomy and physiology
lab.
(o) Utilization of virtual or
simulation lab in lieu of any required direct clinical hours for national
certification examination.
(6) There shall be an organizational chart
that depicts the authority, responsibility, and channels of communication
between the nursing program and the governing institution and other comparable
programs within the governing institution.
(7) A nursing education program shall be
administered by a qualified program administrator who is accountable for the
planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program.
Minimum qualifications of a nursing program administrator shall include:
(a) An active, unencumbered
Alabama registered nurse license or a multistate registered nurse license
issued by a party state, as defined in Chapter 4 of these rules.
(b) An earned graduate degree in nursing.
Nursing program administrators for advanced practice nursing education programs
should be doctoral prepared.
(c)
Academic and experiential qualifications to administer a nursing education
program.
(8) The
governing institution and nursing program administrator shall provide
sufficient numbers of qualified faculty to ensure that curriculum
implementation and expected program outcomes are achieved and aligned with
national nursing accrediting standards. Minimum qualifications of nurse faculty
shall include:
(a) An active, unencumbered
Alabama registered nurse license, or a multistate registered nurse license
issued by a party state, as defined in Chapter 4 of these rules.
(b) An earned graduate degree in nursing or a
related health field.
(c) Academic
and experiential qualifications to teach in the area assigned.
(9) Institutional and program
policies, procedures, and other publications, whether written or electronic,
shall:
(a) Be written, accurate, and
consistent as published, and publicly available.
(b) Address students' abilities to assume
clinical assignments including, but not limited to, educational preparedness
and physical, mental, and emotional behaviors.
(c) Provide opportunities for students to
regularly participate in the development, evaluation, and continuous
improvement of the program.
(10) All faculty are provided orientation and
educated in basic instruction or teaching, adult learning principles,
curriculum development, test item writing, and simulation standards, as
appropriate to the faculty position.
(11) Faculty participate in and are
accountable for curriculum development, implementation, and
evaluation.
(12) The curriculum of
a nursing education program shall:
(a) Enable
the student to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the
level, scope, and standards of competent nursing practice expected at the level
of licensure, approval, or certification.
(b) Provide evidence-based, outcome-focused,
and culturally-sensitive theoretical and clinical experiences specific to the
expected scope of practice of graduates from each type of nursing education
program.
(c) The curriculum content
of a prelicensure nursing education program shall include:
1. Liberal arts and sciences supportive of
the nursing education program.
2.
Anatomy and physiology with a corresponding lab. Utilizing a "virtual lab" in
lieu of a ~hands-on' lab is considered a substantive change and requires Board
notification.
3. Nursing
foundations, health assessment, pharmacology, nutrition, and community-based
nursing.
4. History and trends of
nursing, cultural diversity, legal and ethical responsibilities, and nursing
scope of practice responsibilities, including leadership, management,
delegation, and health care delivery systems.
5. Theoretical and clinical learning
experiences across the lifespan in the areas of adult, maternal/infant,
child/pediatric, and psychiatric/mental health nursing that includes
simulation, laboratory time, and direct patient care in a licensed health care
setting. This does not prohibit additional experience in licensed non-health
care setting.
6. Simulation
learning experiences conducted according to acceptable faculty training
standards and guidelines which incorporate clinical objectives, student
debriefing, and evaluation are acceptable components of the clinical
experience. Unless otherwise authorized by the Board, Simulation shall not
comprise more than 50% of the clinical learning experience.
7. Safe and Effective Care Environment,
Health Promotion and Maintenance, Psychosocial Integrity, and Physiological
Integrity across the lifespan.
8.
Microbiology for students pursuing an associate or baccalaureate
degree.
(13)
The governing institution, nursing program administrator, and nursing faculty
are accountable for selecting and evaluating the teaching methods, delivery
modalities, and processes used to achieve expected program outcomes.
(14) Clinical supervision or preceptorship of
students shall comply with the standards set forth in this chapter.
(a) Clinical learning experiences shall be
supervised by a registered nurse with knowledge of educational strategies and
subject matter, and who is experienced in the clinical technologies essential
to the safe practice of nursing.
(b) The clinical supervisor or assigned
clinical faculty shall hold an active, unencumbered license to practice
professional nursing in Alabama, or a multistate registered nurse license
issued by a party state, as defined in Chapter 4 of these rules.
(c) The clinical supervisor or assigned
clinical faculty shall be readily accessible to assign or prescribe a course of
action, provide procedural guidance, direction, and evaluation for students
engaged in the clinical learning experience.
(d) The faculty-student ratio in clinical
learning experiences shall be collaboratively determined by the professional
nursing faculty, the School of Nursing administration, and the professional
nurse administrator, or designee, in the clinical agency. In licensed hospitals
that provide inpatient acute care, the faculty to student ratio shall not
exceed 1:8 during clinical learning experiences. The faculty-student ratio
shall be determined according to the:
1.
Complexity of the educational experience.
2. Acuity of the patient(s).
3. Physical layout of the clinical
setting.
4. Student's level of
knowledge and skills necessary to provide safe patient care.
(e) The nursing education program
shall work with clinical agencies for the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of clinical experiences.
(f) Clinical learning experiences shall
include the development of skills in clinical reasoning, management of care for
groups of patients, and delegation to and supervision of other health care
personnel performed in acute care and a variety of health care
settings.
(g) Nursing faculty shall
maintain responsibility and accountability for planning, implementation, and
evaluation of all student clinical learning experiences.
(15) Nursing programs that offer only
simulations or clinical testing do not meet the requirements for providing
clinical learning experiences for nursing students.
(16) Scores on external exams shall not be
utilized as the sole criterion for barring a student from graduating from the
nursing program who otherwise, has successfully completed all required
coursework.
Notes
Rule 610-X-3-.01 was renumber to .02 as per certification filed September 25, 2006; effective October 30, 2006.
Author: Alabama Board of Nursing
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, ยง 34-21-2(2).
The following state regulations pages link to this page.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.