Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 1484 - Nurse Practitioner Education
(a) The
program of study preparing a nurse practitioner shall be approved by the board
and be consistent with the nurse practitioner curriculum core competencies as
specified by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties in
"Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies Content" (2017), which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
(b) The
purpose of the nurse practitioner education program shall be to prepare a
graduate nurse practitioner to provide competent primary care or acute care
services, or both, in one or more of the categories.
Written program materials shall reflect the mission, philosophy, purposes, and outcomes of the program and be available to students.
Learning outcomes for the nurse practitioner education program shall be measurable and reflect assessment and evaluation of the theoretical knowledge and clinical competencies required of the graduate.
(c)
Administration and organization of the nurse practitioner education program
shall:
(1) Be taught in a college or
university accredited by a nursing organization that is recognized by the
United States Department of Education or the Council of Higher Education
Accreditation that offers a graduate degree to qualified students.
(2) Prepare graduates for national
certification as a certified nurse practitioner in one or more nurse
practitioner category by the National Commission on Certifying Agencies or the
American Board of Nursing Specialties.
(3) Have admission requirements and policies
for withdrawal, dismissal and readmission that are clearly stated and available
to the student.
(4) Inform
applicants of the academic accreditation and board approval status of the
program.
(5) Document the nurse
practitioner role and the category of educational preparation on the program's
official transcript.
(6) Maintain a
method for retrieval of records in the event of program closure.
(7) Have and implement a written total
program evaluation plan.
(8) Have
sufficient resources to achieve the program outcomes.
(d) Faculty.
(1) There shall be an adequate number of
qualified faculty to develop and implement the program and to achieve the
stated outcomes.
(2) Each faculty
member shall demonstrate current competence in the area in which the faculty
member teaches.
(3) There shall be
a lead nurse practitioner faculty educator who meets the faculty
qualifications.
(4) Faculty who
teach in the nurse practitioner education program shall be educationally
qualified and clinically competent in the same category as the theory and
clinical areas taught. Faculty shall meet the following requirements:
(A) Hold an active, valid California
registered nurse license;
(B) Have
a Master's degree or higher degree in nursing;
(C) Have at least two years of clinical
experience as a nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, clinical nurse
specialist, or certified registered nurse anesthetist within the last five (5)
years of practice and consistent with the teaching responsibilities.
(5) Faculty teaching in clinical
courses shall be current in clinical practice.
(6) Each faculty member shall assume
responsibility and accountability for instruction, planning, and implementation
of the curriculum, and evaluation of students and the program.
(7) Interdisciplinary faculty who teach
non-clinical nurse practitioner nursing courses, such as but not limited to,
pharmacology, pathophysiology, and physical assessment, shall have a valid and
active California license issued by the appropriate licensing agency and an
advanced graduate degree in the appropriate content areas.
(e) Director.
(1) The nurse practitioner education program
director shall be responsible and accountable for the nurse practitioner
education program within an accredited academic institution including the areas
of education program, curriculum design, and resource acquisition, and shall
meet the following requirements:
(A) Hold an
active, valid California registered nurse license;
(B) Have a Master's or a higher degree in
nursing;
(C) Have had one academic
year of experience, within the last five (5) years, as an instructor in a
school of professional nursing, or in a program preparing nurse practitioners;
and
(D) Be certified by the board
as a nurse practitioner.
(2) The director, if they meets the
requirements for the certified nurse practitioner role, may fulfill the lead
nurse practitioner faculty educator role and responsibilities.
(f) Clinical Preceptor.
(1) A clinical preceptor in the nurse
practitioner education program shall:
(A) Hold
an active valid, California license to practice his or her respective
profession and demonstrate current clinical competence.
(B) Participate in teaching, supervising, and
evaluating students, and shall be competent in the content and skills being
taught to the students.
(2) Clinical preceptor functions and
responsibilities shall be clearly documented in a written agreement between the
agency, the preceptor, and the nurse practitioner education program including
the clinical preceptor's role to teach, supervise and evaluate students in the
nurse practitioner education program.
(3) A clinical preceptor is oriented to
program and curriculum requirements, including responsibilities related to
student supervision and evaluation;
(4) A clinical preceptor shall be evaluated
by the program faculty at least every two (2) years.
(g) Students shall hold an active, valid
California registered nurse license to participate in nurse practitioner
education program clinical experiences.
(h) Nurse Practitioner Education Program
Curriculum.
The nurse practitioner education program curriculum shall include all theoretical and clinical instruction that meet the standards set forth in this section and be consistent with national standards for graduate and nurse practitioner education, including nationally recognized core role and category competencies and be approved by the board.
(1) The program shall evaluate previous
education and experience in health care for the purpose of granting credit for
meeting program requirements.
(2)
The curriculum shall provide broad educational preparation and include a
graduate core, advance practice registered nursing core, the nurse practitioner
core role competencies, and the competencies specific to the
category.
(3) The program shall
prepare the graduate to be eligible to sit for a specific national nurse
practitioner category certification examination consistent with educational
preparation.
(4) The curriculum
plan shall have appropriate course sequencing and progression, which includes,
but is not limited to the following:
(A) The
advanced practice registered nursing core courses in advanced health
assessment, advanced pharmacology, and advanced pathophysiology shall be
completed prior to or concurrent with commencing clinical course
work.
(B) Instruction and skills
practice for diagnostic and treatment procedures shall occur prior to
application in the clinical setting.
(C) Concurrent theory and clinical practice
courses in the category shall emphasize the management of health-illness needs
in primary and/or acute care.
(D)
The supervised direct patient care precepted clinical experiences shall be
under the supervision of a certified nurse practitioner.
(5) The program shall meet and may exceed the
minimum of five hundred (500) clinical hours of supervised direct patient care
experiences, as specified in current nurse practitioner standards provided in
this section. Additional clinical hours required for preparation in more than
one category shall be identified and documented in the curriculum plan for each
category.
(6) The nurse
practitioner education curriculum shall include content related to California
Nursing Practice Act, Business & Professions Code, Division 2, Chapter 6,
Article 8, "Nurse Practitioners", and California Code of Regulations Title 16,
Division 14, Article 7, "Standardized Procedure Guidelines" and Article 8,
"Standards for Nurse Practitioners," including, but not limited to:
(A) Section 2835.7 of Business &
Professions Code, "Additional authorized acts; implementation of standardized
procedures";
(B) Section 2836.1 of
Business & Professions Code, "Furnishing or ordering of drugs or
devices."
(7) The
program may be full-time or part-time, and shall be consistent with standards
as established by The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties
(NONPF) in "Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies Content" (2017) or the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in "Criteria for Evaluation
of Nurse Practitioner Programs" (2016), which is hereby incorporated by
reference. The program must also include theory and supervised clinical
practice.
(8) The course of
instruction program units and contact hours shall be calculated using the
following formulas:
(A) One (1) hour of
instruction in theory each week throughout a semester or quarter equals one (1)
unit.
(B) Three (3) hours of
clinical practice each week throughout a semester or quarter equals one (1)
unit. Academic year means two semesters, where each semester is 15-18 weeks; or
three quarters, where each quarter is 10-12 weeks.
(9) Supervised clinical practice shall
consist of at least 12 semester units or 18 quarter units.
(10) The duration of clinical experience
shall be sufficient for the student to demonstrate clinical competencies in the
nurse practitioner category.
(11)
The nurse practitioner education program shall arrange for clinical instruction
and supervision of the student.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Sections 2715, 2835.7 and 2836, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 2835, 2835.5, 2835.7, 2836, 2836.1, 2836.2, 2836.3 and 2837, Business and Professions Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 2715, 2835.7 and 2836, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 2835, 2835.5, 2835.7, 2836, 2836.1, 2836.2, 2836.3 and 2837, Business and Professions Code.
2. Amendment of subsection (h)(5) filed 2-8-2022; operative
3. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (b), (d)(2), (e)(2) and (h)(5) filed 8-2-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 31).
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