21 NCAC 36 .0120 DEFINITIONS
The following definitions apply throughout this chapter unless the context indicates otherwise:
(1) "Administrative Law Counsel" means an attorney licensed to practice in this State whom the Board has retained to serve as procedural officer for contested cases.
(2) "Academic term" means one semester of a school year.
(3) "Accountability/Responsibility" means being answerable for action or inaction of self, and of others in the context of delegation or assignment.
(4) "Accredited institution" means an institution accredited by a United States Department of Education-approved institutional accrediting body.
(5) "Active Practice" means activities that are performed, either for compensation or without compensation, consistent with the scope of practice for each level of licensure as defined in G.S. 90-171.20(4), (7), and (8).
(6) "Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)" means a nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, nurse-midwife, or clinical nurse specialist.
(7) "Assigning" means designating responsibility for implementation of a specific activity or set of activities to an individual licensed and competent to perform such activities.
(8) "Bulletin" means the official publication of the Board.
(9) "Chief Nursing Administrator" means a senior level executive within the healthcare organization responsible for overseeing the practice of nursing to ensure consistency in practice standards and to facilitate an interdisciplinary team approach to the delivery of care.
(10) "Clinical Agency" means an agency established to administer or provide health care services in which a student provides care to clients under the supervision of faculty or a preceptor.
(11) "Clinical experience" means application of nursing knowledge demonstrating clinical judgment in a current or evolving practice setting in which a student provides care to clients under the supervision of faculty or a preceptor.
(12) "Clinical judgment" means the observed outcome of critical thinking and decision-making. It is an iterative process that uses nursing knowledge to observe and assess presenting situations, identify a prioritized client concern, and generate the best possible evidence-based solutions in order to deliver safe client care.
(13) "Competent" means having the knowledge, skills, and ability to safely perform an activity or role.
(14) "Continuing Competence" means on-going acquisition and application of knowledge and the decision-making, psychomotor, and interpersonal skills expected of the licensed nurse resulting in nursing care that contributes to the health and welfare of clients served.
(15) "Contact Hour" means 60 minutes of an organized learning experience.
(16) "Continuing Education Activity" means a planned, organized learning experience that is related to the practice of nursing or contributes to the competency of a nurse as outlined in 21 NCAC 36 .0223(a)(2).
(17) "Controlling institution" means the degree-granting organization or hospital under which a nursing education program is operating or seeking to establish a new nursing education program. The controlling institution shall hold approval or applicable licensure by the appropriate North Carolina agency, the University of North Carolina System, or North Carolina Community College System and be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the United States Secretary of Education.
(18) "Curriculum" means an organized system of teaching and learning activities directed toward the achievement of specified learning objectives and outcomes.
(19) "Delegation" means transferring to a competent individual the authority to perform a specific nursing activity in a selected situation. The nurse retains accountability/responsibility for the delegation.
(20) "Debriefing" means an organized learning activity that follows a clinical or simulated experience and is led by a trained faculty facilitator. Students' reflective thinking is encouraged and feedback is provided regarding the students' performance during discussion of various aspects of the completed experiences.
(21) "DHSR" means Division of Health Service Regulation.
(22) "Dimensions of Practice" means aspects of nursing practice, including professional responsibility, knowledge-based practice, ethical and legal practice, and collaborating with others, consistent with G.S. 90-171.20(4), (7), and (8).
(23) "Distance education" means teaching and learning strategies used to meet the learning needs of students when the students and faculty are not in the same location.
(24) "External standardized examination" means a commercially available standardized predictive test that provides individual student scores that are linked to a probability of passing the NCLEX™ examination.
(25) "Faculty directed clinical practice" means clinical experiences provided under the accountability/responsibility and direction of program faculty.
(26) "Focused client care experience" means a clinical experience that emulates an entry-level work experience in nursing, assisting the student in transitioning to an entry-level nursing practice. Supervision may be by faculty and preceptor dyad or direct faculty supervision.
(27) "Full Approval" is the status assigned to a program following graduation by the first cohort of students, evidence of compliance with Section .0300 of this Chapter, and an NCLEX® examination pass rate that meets or exceeds 90 percent of the national pass rate for licensure level on first writing of the licensure examination for calendar years ending December 31.
(28) "Initial Approval" means the status assigned to a nursing education program following submission of a new, complete application and documented evidence of compliance with Section .0300 of this Chapter.
(29) "Interdisciplinary faculty" means faculty from professions other than nursing.
(30) "Interdisciplinary team" means all individuals involved in providing a client's care who cooperate, collaborate, communicate, and integrate care to ensure that care is continuous and reliable.
(31) "Learning resources" means materials that faculty use to assist students in meeting the expectations for learning defined by the curriculum.
(32) "Level of Licensure" means practice of nursing by either a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse, as defined in G.S. 90-171.20(7) and (8).
(33) "Level of student" means the point in the program to which the student has progressed.
(34) "Maximum enrollment" means the total number of pre-licensure students that can be enrolled in the program at any one time. The number reflects the capacity of the program based on demonstrated resources sufficient to implement the curriculum.
(35) "Methods of Instruction" means the planned process through which teacher and student interact with selected environment and content so that the response of the student gives evidence that learning has taken place, based upon stated course objectives and outcomes for learning experiences in classroom, laboratory, simulation, and clinical settings.
(36) "National Credentialing Body" means a credentialing body that offers certification or re-certification in the licensed nurse's or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse's specialty area of practice.
(37) "NCLEX-PN™" means the National Council Licensure Examinations for Practical Nurses.
(38) "NCLEX-RN™" means the National Council Licensure Examinations for Registered Nurses.
(39) "Nursing Accreditation body" means a national nursing accrediting body that is recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(40) "Program faculty" means individuals employed full or part-time by an academic institution responsible for developing, implementing, evaluating, and updating nursing curricula.
(41) "Nursing project" means a project or research study of a topic related to nursing practice that includes a problem statement, objectives, methodology, and summary of findings.
(42) "Participating in" means to have a part in or contribute to the elements of the nursing process. As defined by the legal scope of practice, the licensed practical nurse role for participating in the nursing process is dependent upon the assignment and supervision by the registered nurse, physician, dentist, or other person authorized by State law to provide the supervision.
(43) "Pattern of noncompliance" means episodes of recurring non-compliance with one or more Rules in Section .0300.
(44) "Preceptor" means a registered nurse at or above the level of licensure that an assigned student is seeking who may serve as a teacher, mentor, role model, and supervisor for the student in a faculty-directed clinical experience.
(45) "Prescribing Authority" means the legal permission granted by the Board of Nursing and Medical Board for the nurse practitioner and nurse midwife to procure and prescribe legend and controlled pharmacological agents and devices to a client in compliance with Board rules and other applicable federal and State law, regulations, and rules.
(46) "Program Closure" means to cease operation of a program.
(47) "Program Description Report" means a written assessment of a program designed to detail program features and operations which support Board evaluation of compliance with established regulations as set forth in Section .0300 of this Chapter.
(48) "Program" means a course of study that prepares an individual to function as an entry-level practitioner of nursing. The four types of programs are:
(a) Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) - Curriculum components for the BSN provide for the attainment of knowledge and skill sets in the current practice in nursing, nursing theory, nursing research, community and public health, health care policy, health care delivery and finance, communications, therapeutic interventions, and current trends in health care. For this program type, the client is the individual, family, group, and community;
(b) Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) – Curriculum components for the ADN provide for the attainment of knowledge and skill sets in the current practice in nursing, community concepts, health care delivery, communications, therapeutic interventions, and current trends in health care. For this program type, client is the individual, group of individuals, and family;
(c) Practical Nurse Diploma (PN) - Curriculum components for the PN diploma prepare for providing direct nursing care under the supervision of a registered nurse or other health care provider as defined by the Nursing Practice Act. Curriculum components provide for the attainment of knowledge and skill sets in the current practice of practical nursing, communications, therapeutic interventions, including pharmacology, growth and development, and current trends in health care. For this program type client is the individual or group of individuals; and
(d) Direct Master's Entry (DME) – Curriculum components for a DME provide for the attainment of knowledge and skill sets in the current practice in nursing, nursing theory, nursing research, community and public health, health care policy, health care delivery and finance, communications, therapeutic interventions, and current trends in health care. For this program type, the client is the individual, family, group, and community. The DME will provide additional education for strengthened competencies in organizational and systems thinking, quality improvement and safety, care coordination, interprofessional communication, and team-based care and leadership for students with a non-nursing baccalaureate degree.
(49) "Review" means collecting and analyzing information to assess compliance with Section .0300 of this Chapter. Information may be collected by multiple methods, including review of written reports and materials, on-site observations, review of documents, and in-person or telephone interviews and conferences.
(50) "Self-Assessment" means the process whereby an individual reviews their own nursing practice and identifies the knowledge and skills possessed as well as those skills to be strengthened or acquired.
(51) "Simulation" means a technique, not a technology, to replace or amplify clinical experiences with guided experiences that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world of nursing practice in a fully interactive manner.
(52) "Specialty" means a broad, population-based focus of study encompassing the common health-related problems of a particular group of patients and the likely co-morbidities, interventions, and responses to those problems.
(53) "Supervision" means the provision of guidance or direction, evaluation, and follow-up by a licensed nurse to accomplish an assigned or delegated nursing activity or set of activities.
(54) "Survey" means an on-site visit for the purpose of gathering data in relation to reviewing a program's compliance with Section .0300 of this Chapter.
(55) "Traditional clinical experience" means a clinical experience where the student provides in-person care to patients/clients under the guidance of an instructor or preceptor.
(56) "Warning Status" means the status assigned to a nursing education program found to be noncompliant with any provision in Section .0300 of this Chapter.
History Note: Authority G.S. 90-171.23; 90-171.38;
Eff. April 1, 2003;
Amended Eff. June 1, 2017; December 1, 2016; July 1, 2012; November 1, 2008; May 1, 2006; December 1, 2005; August 1, 2005;
Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. January 9, 2018;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2024; January 1, 2019.