ACCREDITATION/APPROVAL OF BASIC NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
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One of the functions of a state board of nursing is to ensure that schools preparing nurses maintain minimum standards of education. Depending on the state, a state board of nursing must either approve or accredit a nursing program. This is a legal requirement.
Nursing programs can also choose to seek voluntary accredi- tation from a private organization such as the Accreditation Com- mission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Maintaining voluntary accreditation is a means of informing the public and prospective stu- dents that the nursing program has met certain criteria.
All states require approval/accreditation by the state board of nursing. Some states require that nursing programs be both state approved/accredited and accredited by a national accrediting agency such as ACEN or CCNE.
Standards of Care The purpose of standards of care is to protect the public. Standards of care are the skills and learning commonly possessed by members
BOX 4–1 Mutual Recognition Model
• Each state has to enter into an interstate compact, called the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), that allows nurses to practice in more than one state.
• Multistate licensure privilege means the authority to practice nursing in another state that has signed an interstate compact. It is not an additional license.
• A nurse must have a license in his or her primary state of legal residency, if it is an NLC state.
• The states continue to have authority in determining licensure requirements and disciplinary actions.
• The nurse is held accountable for knowing and practicing the nursing practice laws and regulations in the state where the client is located at the time of care.
• Enactment does not change a state’s nurse practice act. • Complaints and/or violations would be addressed by the
home state (place of residence) and the remote (practice) state.
• RNs and LPNs/LVNs are included in the interstate compact or NLC. There is now a separate APRN compact. A state must be a member of the NLC for RNs and LPNs before entering into the APRN compact. A state must adopt both compacts to cover LPNs/RNs and APRNs for mutual recognition.