Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 1491 - Qualifications and Requirements

An applicant for a Public Health Nurse Certificate shall have a license, in active status, to practice as a registered nurse in California and shall have met the education and clinical experience requirements as follows:

(1) Possession of a baccalaureate or entry-level master's degree in nursing from a nursing school accredited by a Board-approved accrediting body, such as the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The baccalaureate or entry-level master's program must have included coursework in public health nursing, including a supervised clinical experience in public health settings; or

(2) Possession of a baccalaureate or entry-level master's degree in nursing from a nursing school which is not accredited by a Board-approved accrediting body, such as the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, but the Board has determined that the nursing school's public health nursing coursework and the supervised clinical experience are equivalent to that of a nursing school accredited by a Board-approved accrediting body; or

(3) Possession of a baccalaureate degree in a field other than nursing and completion of a specialized public health nursing program that includes a supervised clinical experience at a baccalaureate school of nursing accredited by a Board-approved accrediting body, such as the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

(4) Theoretical content for a Public Health Nurse Certificate shall include, but is not limited to, the following areas:

(A) Physical, mental, and developmental assessment: child and adult;

(B) Surveillance and epidemiology: chronic and communicable diseases;

(C) Health promotion and disease prevention;

(D) Multicultural nursing concepts;

(E) Research methodology and statistics;

(F) Health teaching concepts and strategies;

(G) Population based practice: assessment and development of community collaboration at the level of systems, community and family/individual;

(H) Assessment of health needs of individuals and families, to include environment, and interventions across the lifespan;

(I) Legal and health care financing issues;

(J) Family violence, e.g., child, adult, domestic, elder abuse, etc., prevention, detection, intervention, treatment, and California reporting requirements;

(K) Case management/care coordination; and

(L) Emergency preparedness and response.

(5) A faculty member of the nursing program shall be responsible for coordinating students' clinical experience and supervision.

(6) Supervised clinical experience shall be:

(A) In public health settings with individuals, families, and community;

(B) Concurrent with or following acquisition of theoretical knowledge prescribed by the curriculum; and

(C) A minimum of 90 hours.

(7) Training in the prevention, early detection, intervention, California reporting requirements, and treatment of child neglect and abuse that shall be at least seven (7) hours in length and shall be acquired through:

(A) A baccalaureate nursing program or a specialized public health nursing program; or

(B) A course of instruction in the prevention, early detection, intervention, California reporting requirements, and treatment of child neglect and abuse that is offered by a continuing education provider approved by the Board.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 1491

1. New section filed 4-14-72; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 72, No. 16).
2. Amendment filed 3-9-87; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 87, No. 11).
3. Editorial correction of subsection (a)(2) (Register 90, No. 35).
4. Renumbering and amendment of former title 17, section 4501 to new title 16, section 1491 and amendment of NOTE filed 1-26-96; operative 2-28-96. Submitted to OAL for printing only (Register 96, No. 5).
5. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 9-2-98; operative 10-2-98 (Register 98, No. 36).
6. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 5-12-2005; operative 6-11-2005 (Register 2005, No. 19).

Note: Authority cited: Section 2715, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 2817 and 2818, Business and Professions Code.

1. New section filed 4-14-72; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 72, No. 16).
2. Amendment filed 3-9-87; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 87, No. 11).
3. Editorial correction of subsection (a)(2) (Register 90, No. 35).
4. Renumbering and amendment of former title 17, section 4501 to new title 16, section 1491 and amendment of Note filed 1-26-96; operative 2-28-96. Submitted to OAL for printing only (Register 96, No. 5).
5. Amendment of section and Note filed 9-2-98; operative 10-2-98 (Register 98, No. 36).
6. Amendment of section and Note filed 5-12-2005; operative 6-11-2005 (Register 2005, No. 19).