Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-19-502 - Requirements for APRN Programs

A. An educational institution or other entity that offers an APRN program in this state for RNP, CNM, or CNS roles shall ensure that the program:

1. Is offered by or affiliated with a college or university that is accredited under A.R.S. § 32-1644;

2. For new programs, the college or university offering the program has at least one additional nationally accredited nursing program as defined in R4-19-101 or otherwise provides substantial evidence of the ability to attain national APRN program accreditation for all graduating cohorts;

3. Is a formal educational program, that is part of a masters or doctoral program or a post-masters program in nursing with a concentration in an advanced practice registered nursing role and population focus under R4-19-501;

4. Is nationally accredited, or has achieved candidacy status for national accreditation by an approved national nursing accrediting agency as defined in R4-19-101;

5. Offers a curriculum that covers the scope of practice for both the role of advanced practice as specified in A.R.S. § 32-1601 and the population focus including;

a. Three separate graduate level courses in:

i. Advanced physiology and pathophysiology, including general principles across the lifespan;

ii. Advanced health assessment, which includes assessment of all human systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts and approaches;

iii. Advanced pharmacology, which includes pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and pharmacotherapeutics of all broad category agents;

b. Diagnosis and management of diseases across practice settings including diseases representative of all systems;

c. Preparation that provides a basic understanding of the principles for decision making in the identified role;

d. Preparation in the core competencies for the identified APRN role including legal, ethical and professional responsibilities; and

e. Role preparation in an identified population focus under R4-19-501.

6. Verifies that each student has an unencumbered license to practice as an RN in the state of clinical practice;

7. Includes a minimum of 500 hours of faculty supervised clinical practice (programs that prepare students for more than one role or population focus shall have 500 hours of clinical practice in each role and population focus);

8. Notifies the Board of any changes in hours of clinical practice, accreditation status, denial or deferral of accreditation or program administrator and responds to Board requests for information;

9. Has financial resources sufficient to support accreditation standards and the educational goals of the program;

10. Establishes academic, professional, and conduct standards that determine admission to the program, progression in the program, and graduation from the program that are consistent with sound educational practices and recognized standards of professional conduct;

11. Establishes provisions for advanced placement for individuals holding a graduate degree in nursing who are seeking education in an APRN role and population focus, provided that advanced placement students master the same APRN competencies as students in the graduate-level APRN program; and

12. Provides the Board an application for approval under the provisions of R4-19-209(B) before making changes to the:

a. Scope of the program, or

b. Level of educational preparation provided.

B. A CNS, CNM, or RNP program shall appoint the following personnel:

1. An APRN program administrator who:

a. Holds a current unencumbered RN license or multi-state privilege to practice in Arizona and a current unencumbered APRN certificate issued by the Board;

b. Holds an earned doctorate in nursing or health-related field if appointed after the effective date of this Section;

c. Has at least two years clinical experience as an APRN; and

d. Holds current national certification as an APRN.

2. A lead faculty member who is educated and certified both nationally and by the Board in the same role and population focus to coordinate the educational component for the role and population focus in the advanced practice registered nursing program.

3. Nursing faculty to teach any APRN course that includes a clinical learning experience who have the following qualifications:

a. A current unencumbered RN license or multi-state privilege to practice registered nursing in Arizona;

b. A current unencumbered Arizona APRN certificate,

c. A graduate degree in nursing or a health related field in the population focus,

d. Two years of APRN clinical experience, and

e. Current knowledge, competence and certification as an APRN in the role and population focus consistent with teaching responsibilities.

4. Adjunct or part-time clinical faculty employed solely to supervise clinical nursing experiences shall meet all of the faculty qualifications for the APRN program they are teaching.

5. Interdisciplinary faculty who teach non-clinical courses shall have advanced preparation in the areas of course content.

6. Clinical preceptors may be used to enhance faculty-directed clinical learning experiences, but not to replace faculty. A clinical preceptor shall be approved by program administration or faculty and:

a. Hold a current unencumbered license or multistate privilege to practice as a registered nurse or physician in the state in which the preceptor practices or, if employed by the federal government, holds a current unencumbered RN or physician license in the United States;

b. Have at least one year clinical experience as a physician or an advanced practice nurse

c. Practice in a population focus comparable to that of the APRN program;

d. For nurse preceptors, have at least one of the following:

i. Current national certification in the advanced practice role and population focus of the course or program in which the student is enrolled;

ii. Current Board certification in the advanced practice role and population focus of the course or program in which the student is enrolled; or

iii. If an advanced practice preceptor cannot be found who meets the requirements of subsection (B)(6)(d)(i) or (ii), educational and experiential qualifications that will enable the preceptor to precept students in the program, as determined by the nursing program and approved by the Board.

C. An entity that offers a CRNA program in Arizona shall maintain full national program accreditation with no limitations from the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs or an equivalent agency approved by the Board. The program shall notify the Board of all program accreditation actions within 30 days of official notification by the accrediting agency.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-19-502

Former Section IV, Part II; Amended effective February 20, 1980 (Supp. 80-1). Former Section R4-19-54 repealed, new Section R4-19-54 adopted effective July 20, 1981 (Supp. 81-4). Former Section R4-19-54 renumbered as Section R4-19-502 (Supp. 86-1). Section repealed, new Section R4-19-502 renumbered from R4-19-501 and Section heading amended effective November 18, 1994 (Supp. 94-4). Section repealed, new Section R4-19-502 adopted effective November 25, 1996 (Supp. 96-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 3804, effective November 12, 2005 (05-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 1438, effective July 6, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 3289, effective 12/2/2020.