Or. Admin. Code § 851-021-0045 - [Effective 12/14/2024] Standards for Approval: Nursing Faculty
(1) Nursing program
faculty must include a sufficient number of qualified Nurse Educators and Nurse
Educator Associates to meet the identified learning outcomes of the nursing
education program.
(2) The Nurse
Administrator and each nurse faculty member must hold a current, unencumbered
license to practice as a registered nurse in Oregon, maintain current knowledge
of nursing practice for the registered nurse and the licensed practical nurse,
and be academically and experientially qualified for the level of
appointment.
(3) Qualifications for
practical nurse programs:
(a) The Nurse
Administrator must:
(A) Hold at least a
master's degree in nursing with documentation of preparation or experience in
curriculum and teaching; and,
(B)
Have the equivalent of a minimum of four years of full-time nursing experience
of which two years must have been in patient care, and two years must have been
as a Nurse Educator or in an administrative position in an academic nursing
education program.
(b)
Each Nurse Educator must:
(A) Hold at least a
baccalaureate degree in nursing;
(B) Have the equivalent of a minimum of three
years of full-time patient care nursing experience; and,
(C) Document competency in teaching through
experience, educational preparation, or continuing education.
(c) Each Nurse Educator Associate
must:
(A) Hold at least a baccalaureate degree
in nursing; and,
(B) Have the
equivalent of a minimum of two years of full-time patient care nursing
experience.
(d) If the
program in practical nursing is embedded within a registered nurse program, all
faculty member appointments shall meet the qualifications required for
registered nurse programs.
(4) Qualifications for registered nurse
programs:
(a) The Nurse Administrator must:
(A) Hold at least a master's degree in
nursing with documentation of preparation and experience in curriculum and
teaching in an academic nursing program. In addition, for baccalaureate degree
nursing programs, the Nurse Administrator must hold an earned doctorate degree;
and,
(B) Have the equivalent of a
minimum of five years of full-time nursing experience to include:
(i) A minimum of two years must be in patient
care at the registered nurse level; and,
(ii) A minimum of three of these years must
be in a Nurse Educator or administrative position in an academic nursing
education program.
(b) Each Nurse Educator must:
(A) Hold at least a master's degree in
nursing or a baccalaureate degree in nursing and master's or doctoral degree in
a related field with relevant teaching and nursing experience related to the
teaching assignment.
(B) Have the
equivalent of a minimum of three years of full-time patient care experience at
the registered nurse level; and,
(C) Document competency in teaching through
experience, educational preparation, or continuing education.
(c) Each Nurse Educator Associate
must hold at least a baccalaureate degree in nursing with the equivalent of a
minimum of two years of full-time patient care experience at the registered
nurse level.
(5)
Non-nurse faculty teaching within the nursing curriculum or other required
courses with embedded nursing outcomes must be academically and experientially
qualified for assigned teaching responsibilities.
(a) A faculty appointment form must be
completed by the nurse administrator and approved by the Board representative
before such faculty assumes program responsibilities.
(b) No exceptions will be granted for
non-nurse faculty members.
(6) Faculty appointments without exception
are made by the Nurse Administrator and do not require Board approval or
notification. However, the Board maintains the authority to conduct audits of a
program's faculty education and experience at any time to confirm compliance
with OAR 851-021.
(7) Approval for
Appointment by Exception is required for nursing faculty teaching in a nursing
program as indicated:
(a) Any exceptions to
the minimum qualifications for nursing program faculty appointments as
indicated in subsections (3) and (4) of this rule must be submitted in writing
to the Board representative including the rationale for the request and
description of recruitment efforts;
(b) The exception request must be approved by
the Board representative before the faculty member assumes the program
assignment; and
(c) The fully
qualified nurse educator providing oversight for the faculty appointed by
exception is identified; and
(d)
The current number of faculty appointments by exception in a program must be
considered during the approval process by the Board representative.
(8) The Board representative may
grant exceptions to nursing faculty appointments for any of the following
circumstances:
(a) The education and
experience qualifications are deemed equivalent to the requirements;
or,
(b) The appointed individual is
pursuing the needed qualifications. Reports on progress toward meeting the
minimum qualifications must be provided as requested by the Board
representative; or,
(c) The
individual without full qualification is appointed for one year. The exception
may be extended annually for a maximum of two times, with documentation of
either continued and unsuccessful recruitment for a qualified replacement, or a
plan to establish eligibility under exception (b) above.
(9) Nursing program faculty may include
full-time and part-time faculty members. Any individual responsible for
evaluating student ability to meet outcomes in the classroom or any part of the
nursing practice experiences is included in the faculty. Nurse faculty members
must have the authority and responsibility to:
(a) Design, review, and implement the
curriculum.
(b) Determine student
admission, progression, and graduation eligibility.
(c) Define expected outcomes for each course
and the program overall.
(d)
Provide timely feedback to students on progression within a course and the
program overall.
(e) Provide
opportunity for students to evaluate teaching effectiveness, courses, and the
program overall.
(f) Collaborate
through defined channels with other nursing programs and nursing practice
experience partners to develop appropriate and equitable access to nursing
practice experiences.
(g) Provide
clear guidance to nursing practice experience partners, Clinical Nurses, and
Clinical Preceptors on learning outcomes, expected competencies, and learning
level of students assigned to nursing practice experiences.
(h) Provide faculty member and Clinical
Preceptor orientation.
(i) Provide
mechanisms for student input into and/or participation in decisions related to
the nursing program.
(j) Implement
a plan for on-going course-specific and comprehensive program
evaluation.
(k) Maintain
documentation of professional development activities that demonstrate links
between periodic evaluation of competency, professional goals, planned
professional development activities, and completion of these
activities.
(10) Faculty
Operations must show the following:
(a) A
standard format for faculty meeting minutes to capture meaningful discussions,
decision-making, and follow-up; and,
(b) A timetable for regular review of nursing
program policy, including student, program, and course outcomes with overall
curriculum evaluation and faculty input.
(11) The Nurse Administrator and each nurse
faculty member must demonstrate professional competence and continued
development in nursing practice pertinent to assigned teaching responsibilities
and, nursing education practices.
(a) The
Nurse Administrator and each faculty member must periodically review assigned
teaching responsibilities, evaluating and revising professional development
plans as indicated.
(b) The
educational institution and Nurse Administrator shall support faculty in
developing and maintaining competence in assigned teaching responsibilities and
nursing practice.
(c) Links between
evaluation of competency, professional goals, planned professional development
activities and completion of these activities must be evident in documented
performance review process.
(12) Faculty providing oversight in nursing
practice experience settings outside of Oregon must meet nurse practice act
requirements in the state in which the nursing practice experience is
occurring.
(13) Faculty
Member-to-Student Ratio in Faculty-led nursing practice experience:
(a) Faculty-led nursing practice experience
must include nursing practice experiences that lead to achievement of course
outcomes.
(b) The number of faculty
members appointed for oversight of direct care must be one faculty member to
every eight students having experience in one or more patient care units at any
given time. Nursing faculty may determine that student and patient safety and
learning effectiveness are improved with a lower faculty to student
ratio.
(c) Nursing program policy
must include factors to be considered in determining the faculty
member-to-student ratio in each nursing practice experience setting, such as:
(A) Outcomes to be achieved;
(B) Preparation and expertise of faculty
member;
(C) Level of
students;
(D) Type of environment;
(E) Number, type and condition of
patients;
(F) Number, type, and
location of nursing practice experience sites; and,
(G) Adequacy of the ratio for nurse faculty
to:
(i) Assess students' capability to
function safely within the nursing practice experience;
(ii) Select and guide student experience;
and,
(iii) Evaluate student
performance.
(d) Faculty must remain in the same facility
as the student group throughout the nursing practice experience shift and must
maintain a meaningful presence in the facilitation of learning and evaluation
as defined in program policy.
(e)
When students are assigned to community-based practice sites, the faculty
member assigned to the student group is not required to be consistently
on-site, but must provide meaningful presence and appropriate, in-person
participation with the student and agency staff as described in program
policy.
(f) A faculty member must
be readily available to the agency staff while students are involved in the
nursing practice experience.
(14) Faculty Member-to-Student Ratio in
Dedicated Education Units (DEU):
(a) The
faculty member-to-student ratios may be modified in the DEU with the use of
DEU-specific Clinical Preceptors.
(b) Clinical Preceptors may be used within a
DEU as described by the following guidelines:
(A) Faculty must orient and provide on-going
guidance for Clinical Preceptors in practice sites related to the program
goals, teaching strategies, learning outcomes, and expected competencies of the
students;
(B) Clinical Preceptors
must be selected according to written criteria developed by faculty and agreed
to by a responsible person in the practice site;
(C) Faculty are not required to remain in the
same facility as the student group throughout the nursing practice experience
shift but must maintain a meaningful presence with nursing practice experience
Preceptors and students at the practice site, as defined in program
policy;
(D) The faculty member must
confer with each Clinical Preceptor and student (individually or in groups)
regularly during the nursing practice experience as defined in program policy;
and,
(E) Each Clinical Preceptor in
the DEU may have oversight of no more than two students at one time.
(15) Faculty
Member-to-Student Ratio in the Final Clinical Practicum Experience:
(a) The program must establish reasonable
faculty-to-student ratios to:
(A) Allow for
appropriate supervision and evaluation of the learning experience;
and,
(B) Support student
achievements of course outcomes.
(b) Each Clinical Preceptor may have
oversight of one student at a time during the provision of patient
care.
(c) The faculty member
assigned to the student group is not required to be consistently on-site, but
must provide meaningful presence and appropriate, in-person participation in
the student-preceptor-faculty triad as described in program policy.
(d) A faculty member must be readily
available to the Clinical Preceptor and student while students are involved in
the learning experience.
(e)
Nursing practice experience evaluation of student achievement of course
outcomes remain the responsibility of the assigned faculty member with
consideration of input from the Clinical Preceptor and Clinical
Nurses.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 678.150, ORS 678.340 & ORS 678.360
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 678.150 & ORS 678.360
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