Utah Admin. Code R156-31b-102 - Definitions
Terms used in this rule are defined in Title 58, Chapter 1, Division of Professional Licensing Act, and Title 58, Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act. In addition:
(1)
"Accreditation" means formal recognition and approval of a nurse education
program by an accrediting body for nursing education that is approved by the
United States Department of Education.
(2) "Administering" means the direct
application of a prescription drug or device, whether by injection, inhalation,
ingestion, or by any other means, to the body of a human patient or research
subject by another person.
(3)
"APRN" means advanced practice registered nurse.
(4) "APRN-CRNA" means advanced practice
registered nurse with registered nurse anesthetist certification.
(5) "Approved continuing education" means:
(a) continuing education that has been
approved by a nationally or internationally recognized approver of professional
continuing education for health-related industries;
(b) nursing education courses offered by an
approved education program as defined in Subsection (6);
(c) health-related coursework taken from an
educational institution accredited by a regional or national institutional
accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education;
(d) continuing education approved by any
state board of nursing; or
(e)
training or educational presentations offered by the Division.
(6) "Approved education program"
as defined in Subsection
58-31b-102(3) is
further defined to mean a prelicensing nursing education program that meets the
standards in Sections
58-31b-601 and
R156-31b-601.
(7) "Approved re-entry program" means a
program designed to evaluate nursing competencies for nurses that is:
(a)
(i)
approved by a state board of nursing; or
(ii) offered by an accredited nursing
education program; and
(b) includes a minimum of 150 hours of
supervised clinical learning.
(8) "Certificate of Academic Status" means
the Division form that may be completed by an approved registered nursing
education program for an applicant for a registered nurse apprentice license,
to prove the applicant's qualifications for licensure under Subsections
58-31b-302(3)(e) and
(f) and Section
R156-31b-302c.
(9) "CGFNS" means the Commission on Graduates
of Foreign Nursing Schools.
(10)
(a) "Clinical practice experiences" means, as
used in the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education's Standards for
Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs, amended 2024,
planned learning activities in nursing practice that allow students to
understand, perform, and refine professional competencies at the appropriate
program level.
(b) "Clinical
practice experiences" may be known as clinical learning opportunities, clinical
practices, clinical strategies, clinical activities, experiential learning
strategies, or practice.
(11) "CNA" means a certified nurse
aide.
(12) "Completed" an education
program under Section 58-31b-302, means:
(a)
graduation from the education program, verified by official transcripts showing
degree and date of program completion; and
(b) for an LPN applicant under Subsection
58-31b-302(2)(e)
and Section R156-31b-302b, may include:
(i) current enrollment in an RN approved
education program; and
(ii)
completion of coursework in the RN approved education program that is
equivalent to the coursework of a PN approved education program.
(13) "Comprehensive
nursing assessment" means:
(a) conducting
extensive initial and ongoing data collection:
(i) for individuals, families, groups, or
communities; and
(ii) addressing
anticipated changes in patient conditions as well as emergent changes in
patient health status;
(b) recognizing alterations to previous
patient conditions;
(c)
synthesizing the biological, psychological, spiritual, and social aspects of
the patient's condition;
(d)
evaluating the impact of nursing care; and
(e) using data generated from the assessments
conducted pursuant to Subsections (a) through (d) to:
(i) make independent decisions regarding
patient health care needs;
(ii)
plan nursing interventions;
(iii)
evaluate any possible need for different interventions; and
(iv) evaluate any possible need to
communicate and consult with other health team members.
(14) "Contact hour" in the context
of continuing education means 60 minutes, and may include a ten-minute
break.
(15) "Delegate" means:
(a) to transfer to another nurse the
authority to perform a selected nursing task in a selected situation;
(b) for an APRN who specializes in
psychiatric mental health nursing, to transfer to a licensed mental health
therapist selected psychiatric APRN supervisory clinical experiences within
generally accepted industry standards; or
(c) to transfer to an unlicensed individual,
including unlicensed assistive personnel or a responsible caregiver, the
authority to perform a task that, according to generally accepted industry
standards or law, does not require a nursing assessment as defined in
Subsections (13) and (20).
(16) "Delegatee" means one or more persons
assigned by a delegator to act on the delegator's behalf.
(17) "Delegator" means:
(a) a licensed nurse directly responsible for
a patient's care, who assigns to another licensed or unlicensed individual the
authority to perform a task on behalf of the delegator under Subsection
58-31b-102(12)(g)
or R156-31b-102(15),
or Section R156-31b-701a or
R156-31b-701b; or
(b) a responsible caregiver who delegates to
an unlicensed direct care worker the performance of nursing care for a patient
under Sections
58-31b-308.1 and
R156-31b-701c.
(18)
(a)
"Disruptive behavior" means conduct, whether verbal or physical, that:
(i) is demeaning, outrageous, or
malicious;
(ii) occurs during the
process of delivering patient care; and
(iii) places a patient at
risk.
(b) "Disruptive
behavior" does not include criticism that is offered in good faith with the aim
of improving patient care.
(19) "EAP" means Emergency Action
Plan.
(20) "Focused nursing
assessment" means an appraisal of a patient's status and situation at hand,
including:
(a) verification and evaluation of
orders; and
(b) assessment of:
(i) the patient's nursing care
needs;
(ii) the complexity and
frequency of the required nursing care;
(iii) the stability of the patient;
and
(iv) the availability and
accessibility of resources, including appropriate equipment, adequate supplies,
and other appropriate health care personnel to meet the patient's nursing care
needs.
(21)
"Foreign nurse education program" means any program that originates or occurs
outside of the United States.
(22)
"Individualized healthcare plan" or "IHP" means a written document that:
(a) is developed by the school nurse using
the nursing process that includes assessment, diagnosis, outcome
identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation;
(b) outlines the provision of student
healthcare services intended to achieve specific student outcomes;
(c) includes a confirmed medical diagnosis by
a licensed health care provider as defined in Subsection
78B-3-403(13),
that is within the health care provider's scope of practice; and
(d) may be used to develop an EAP that
instructs school staff how to manage a specific student's medical
emergency.
(23)
"Licensure by equivalency" applies only to a licensed practical nurse and may
be warranted if the person seeking licensure:
(a)
(i)
has, within the two-year period preceding the date of application, successfully
completed course work in a registered nurse education program that meets the
criteria established in Sections
58-31b-601 and
R156-31b-601; and
(ii) has been unsuccessful on the NCLEX-RN at
least one time; or
(b)
(i) is currently enrolled in an accredited
registered nurse education program; and
(ii) has completed course work that is
certified by the education program provider as being equivalent to the course
work of a practical nursing program accredited by the Accreditation Commission
for Education in Nursing (ACEN), as verified by the nursing education program
director or administrator.
(24) "LPN" means licensed practical
nurse.
(25) "MAC" means medication
aide certified.
(26) "Medication"
means a prescription or nonprescription drug as defined in Subsection
58-17b-102(26),
58-17b-102(39),
or 58-17b-102(65) of
the Pharmacy Practice Act.
(27)
"NCLEX" means the National Council Licensure Examination administered by the
NCSBN.
(28) "NCLEX-PN" means the
NCLEX for Practical Nurses administered by the NCSBN.
(29) "NCLEX-RN" means the NCLEX for
Registered Nurses administered by the NCSBN.
(30) "NCSBN" means the National Council of
State Boards of Nursing.
(31)
"Nonapproved education program" means a nurse prelicensing course of study that
does not meet the criteria of Section
58-31b-601, including a foreign
nurse education program.
(32)
"Nurse" means:
(a) an individual licensed
under Title 58, Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act as:
(i) a licensed practical nurse;
(ii) a registered nurse;
(iii) an advanced practice registered nurse;
or
(iv) an advanced practice
registered nurse-certified registered nurse anesthetist; or
(b) a certified nurse midwife licensed under
Title 58, Chapter 44a, Nurse Midwife Practice Act.
(33) "Other specified health care
professional," as used in Subsection
58-31b-102(13),
means an individual in addition to a registered nurse or a licensed physician
who is permitted to direct the tasks of a licensed practical nurse, and
includes:
(a) an advanced practice registered
nurse;
(b) a certified nurse
midwife;
(c) a chiropractic
physician;
(d) a dentist;
(e) an osteopathic physician;
(f) a physician assistant;
(g) a podiatric physician;
(h) an optometrist;
(i) a naturopathic physician; or
(j) a mental health therapist as defined in
Subsection
58-60-102(15).
(34) "Patient" means an individual:
(a) who receives medical or nursing care;
and
(b) to whom a licensee owes a
duty of care.
(35)
"Patient surrogate" means an individual who has legal authority to act on
behalf of a patient when the patient cannot act or make decisions unaided,
including:
(a) a parent;
(b) a foster parent;
(c) a legal guardian; or
(d) a person legally designated as the
patient's attorney-in-fact.
(36) "PN" means an unlicensed practical
nurse.
(37) "Psychiatric mental
health nursing specialty" means an expertise in psychiatric mental health,
whether as a clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner licensed as an
APRN.
(38) "Practica" means working
in the nursing field as a student, not exclusive to patient care
activities.
(39) "Practitioner"
means a person authorized by law to prescribe treatment, medication, or medical
devices.
(40) "RN" means a
registered nurse.
(41) "School"
means any private or public institution of primary or secondary education,
including a charter school, pre-school, kindergarten, or special education
program.
(42) "Supervision" means
the global definitions of levels of supervision in Section
R156-1-102a, as follows:
(a) "Direct supervision" and "immediate
supervision" are defined in Subsection
R156-1-102a(1)(a).
(b) "Indirect supervision" is defined in
Subsection R156-1-102a(1)(b).
(c) "General supervision" is defined in
Subsection R156-1-102a(1)(c).
(d) "Supervising licensee" is defined in
Subsection R156-1-102a(1)(d).
(43)
(a)
"Unlicensed assistive personnel," as used in Subsection
58-31b-102(18),
is further defined to mean an unlicensed individual who performs health care
services in a complementary or assistive role to a nurse in carrying out acts
included within the definition of the practice of nursing.
(b) "Unlicensed assistive personnel" includes
the following:
(i) a nurse aide, orderly,
assistant, attendant, technician, home health aide, medication aide permitted
or certified by a state agency, unlicensed direct care worker, or any other
individual who provides personal care or assistance regarding health-related
services; and
(ii) a nursing
student not licensed as a nurse, who provides care that is not part of the
student's formal educational program, and who must comply with applicable laws
and rules regarding the student's performance of care.
(44) "Unprofessional conduct," as
defined in Title 58, Chapter 1, Division of Professional Licensing Act, and
Title 58, Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act, is further defined in Section
R156-31b-502.
Notes
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.
No prior version found.