Section R4-19-101. Definitions

“Abuse” means a misuse of power or betrayal of trust, respect,

or intimacy by a nurse, nursing assistant, or applicant that causes or is likely to cause physical, mental, emotional, or financial harm to a client.

“Administer” means the direct application of a medication to the body of a patient by a nurse, whether by injection, inhala- tion, ingestion, or any other means.

“Admission cohort” means a group of students admitted at the same time to the same curriculum in a regulated nursing, nurs- ing assistant, or advanced practice nursing program or entering the first clinical course in a regulated program at the same time. “Same time” means on the same date or within a narrow range of dates pre-defined by the program.

“Applicant” means a person seeking licensure, certification, prescribing, or prescribing and dispensing privileges, or an entity seeking approval or re-approval, if applicable, of a:

CNS or RNP nursing program, Credential evaluation service, Nursing assistant training program, Nursing program,

Nursing program change, or Refresher program.

“Approved national nursing  accrediting agency” means an organization recognized by the United States Department of Education as an accrediting agency for a nursing program.

“Assign” means a nurse designates nursing activities to be per- formed by another nurse that are consistent with the other nurse's scope of practice.

“Certificate or diploma in practical nursing” means the docu- ment awarded to a graduate of an educational program in prac- tical nursing.

“Certified medication assistant” means a certified nursing assistant who meets Board qualifications and is additionally certified by the Board to administer medications under A.R.S.

§ 32-1650 et. seq.

“CES” means credential evaluation service.

“Client” means a recipient of care and may be an individual, family, group, or community.

“Clinical instruction” means the guidance and supervision pro- vided by a nursing, nursing assistant or medication assistant program faculty member while a student is providing client care.

“CMA” means certified medication assistant.

“CNA” means a certified nursing assistant, as defined in A.R.S § 32-1601(14).

“CNS” means clinical nurse specialist, as defined in A.R.S. § 32-1601(6).

“Collaborate” means to establish a relationship for consulta- tion or referral with one or more licensed physicians on an as- needed basis. Supervision of the activities of a registered nurse practitioner by the collaborating physician is not required.

“Contact hour” means a unit of organized learning, which may be either clinical or didactic and is either 60 minutes in length or is otherwise defined by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board.

“Continuing education activity” means a course of study related to nursing practice that is awarded contact hours by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board, or academic credits in nursing or medicine by a regionally or nationally accredited college or university.

“CRNA” means a certified registered nurse anesthetist as defined in A.R.S. § 32-1601(5).

“DEA” means the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Dispense” means to package, label, and deliver one or more doses of a prescription-only medication in a suitable container for subsequent use by a patient.

“Dual relationship” means a nurse or CNA simultaneously engages in both a professional and nonprofessional relation- ship with a patient or resident or a patient’s or resident’s fam- ily that is avoidable, non-incidental, and results in the patient

or resident or the patient’s or resident’s family being exploited financially, emotionally, or sexually.

“Eligibility for graduation” means that the applicant has suc- cessfully completed all program and institutional requirements for receiving a degree or diploma but is delayed in receiving the degree or diploma due to the graduation schedule of the institution.

“Endorsement” means the procedure for granting an Arizona nursing license to an applicant who is already licensed as a nurse in another state or territory of the United States and has passed an exam as required by A.R.S. §§ 32-1633 or 32-1638 or an Arizona nursing assistant or medication assistant certifi- cate to an applicant who is already listed on a nurse aide regis- ter or certified as a medication assistant in another state or territory of the United States.

“Episodic nursing care” means nursing care at nonspecific intervals that is focused on the current needs of the individual.

“Failure to maintain professional boundaries” means any con- duct or behavior of a nurse or CNA that, regardless of the nurse’s or CNA’s intention, is likely to lessen the benefit of care to a patient or resident or a patient's or resident's family or places the patient, resident or the patient's or resident's family at risk of being exploited financially, emotionally, or sexually;

“Full approval” means the status granted by the Board when a nursing program, after graduation of its first class, demon- strates the ability to provide and maintain a program in accor- dance with the standards provided by A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15 and this Chapter.

“Good standing” means the license of a nurse, or the certifi- cate of a nursing assistant, is current, and the nurse or nursing assistant is not presently subject to any disciplinary action, consent order, or settlement agreement.

“Independent nursing activities” means nursing care within an RN's scope of practice that does not require authorization from another health professional.

“Initial approval” means the permission, granted by the Board, to an entity to establish a nursing assistant training program, after the Board determines that the program meets the stan- dards provided by A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15 and this Chap- ter.

“Licensure by examination” means the granting of permission to practice nursing based on an individual's passing of a pre- scribed examination and meeting all other licensure require- ments.

“LPN” means licensed practical nurse.

“NCLEX” means the National Council Licensure Examina- tion.

“Nurse” means a licensed practical or registered nurse.

“Nursing diagnosis” means a clinical judgment, based on anal- ysis of comprehensive assessment data, about a client's response to actual and potential health problems or life pro- cesses. Nursing diagnosis statements include the actual or potential problem, etiology or risk factors, and defining char- acteristics, if any.

“Nursing process” means applying problem-solving tech- niques that require technical and scientific knowledge, good judgment, and decision-making skills to assess, plan, imple- ment, and evaluate a plan of care.

“Nursing program” means a formal course of instruction designed to prepare its graduates for licensure as registered or practical nurses.

“Nursing program administrator” means a nurse educator who meets the requirements of A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15 and this Chapter and has the administrative responsibility and authority for the direction of a nursing program.

“Nursing program faculty member” means an individual working full or part time within a nursing program who is responsible for either developing, implementing, teaching, evaluating, or updating nursing knowledge, clinical skills, or curricula.

“Nursing-related activities or duties” means client care tasks for which education is provided by a basic nursing assistant training program.

“P & D” means prescribing and dispensing.

“Parent institution” means the educational institution in which a nursing program, nursing assistant training program or medi- cation assistant program is conducted.

“Patient” means an individual recipient of care.

“Pharmacology” means the science that deals with the study of drugs.

“Physician” means a person licensed under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapters 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 17, or 29, or by a state medical board in the United States.

“Preceptor” means a licensed nurse or other health profes- sional who meets the requirements of A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15 and this Chapter who instructs, supervises and evaluates a licensee, clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner or pre- licensure nursing student, for a defined period.

“Preceptorship” means a clinical learning experience by which a learner enrolled in a nursing program, nurse refresher pro- gram, clinical nurse specialist, or registered nurse practitioner program or as part of a Board order provides nursing care while assigned to a health professional who holds a license or certificate equivalent to or higher than the level of the learner's program or in the case of a nurse under Board order, meets the qualifications in the Board order.

“Prescribe” means to order a medication, medical device, or appliance for use by a patient.

“Private business” means any individual or sole proprietor- ship, partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, corporation or other legal business entity.

“Proposal approval” means that an institution has met the stan- dards provided by A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15 and this Chapter to proceed with an application for provisional approval to establish a pre-licensure nursing program in Arizona.

“Provisional approval” means that an institution has met the standards provided by A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15 and this Chapter to implement a pre-licensure nursing program in Ari- zona.

“Refresher program” means a formal course of instruction designed to provide a review and update of nursing theory and practice.

“Register” means a listing of Arizona certified nursing assis- tants maintained by the Board that includes the  following about each nursing assistant:

Identifying demographic information;

Date placed on the register;

Date of initial and most recent certification, if applicable; and

Status of the nursing assistant certificate, including find- ings of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property made by the Arizona Department of Health Services, sanctions imposed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and disciplinary actions by the Board.

“Resident” means a patient who receives care in a long-term care facility or other residential setting.

“RN” means registered nurse.

“RNP” means a registered nurse practitioner as defined in A.R.S. § 32-1601(19).

“SBTPE” means the State Board Test Pool Examination.

“School nurse” means a registered nurse who is certified under R4-19-309.

“Secure examination” means a written test given to an exam- inee that:

Is administered under conditions designed to prevent cheating;

Is taken by an individual examinee without access to aides, textbooks, other students or any other material that could influence the examinee’s score; and,

After opportunity for examinee review, is either never used again or stored such that only designated employees of the educational institution are permitted to access the test.

“Self-study” means a written self-evaluation conducted by a nursing program to assess the compliance of the program with the standards listed in Article 2.

“Standards related to scope of practice” means the expected actions of any nurse who holds the identified level of licen- sure.

“Substance use disorder” means misuse, dependence or addic- tion to alcohol, illegal drugs or other substances.

“Supervision” means the direction and periodic consultation provided to an individual to whom a nursing task or patient care activity is delegated.

“Unlicensed assistive personnel” or “UAP” means a CNA or any other unlicensed person, regardless of title, to whom nurs- ing tasks are delegated.

“Verified application” means an affidavit signed by the appli- cant attesting to the truthfulness and completeness of the appli- cation and includes an oath that applicant will conform to ethical professional standards and obey the laws and rules of the Board.

Historical Note

Former Glossary of Terms; Amended effective Nov. 17, 1978 (Supp. 78-6). Former Section R4-19-01 repealed, new Section R4-19-01 adopted effective February 20, 1980 (Supp. 80-1). Amended paragraphs (1) and (7),

added paragraphs (9) through (25) effective July 16, 1984 (Supp. 84-4). Former Section R4-19-01 renumbered as Section R4-19-101 (Supp. 86-1). Amended effective November 18, 1994 (Supp. 94-4). Section repealed, new

Section adopted effective July 19, 1995 (Supp. 95-3).

Amended effective December 22, 1995 (Supp. 95-4).

Amended effective November 25, 1996 (Supp. 96-4).

Amended by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 1712, effective April 4, 2001 (Supp. 01-2). Amended by final rulemaking

at 14 A.A.R. 4621, effective January 31, 2009 (Supp. 08- 4). Pursuant to authority of A.R.S. § 41-1011(C), Laws 2012, Ch. 152, § 1, provides for A.R.S. references to be corrected to reflect the renumbering of definitions. There- fore the A.R.S. citations in the definitions of “CNA” “CNS” and “RNP” have been updated. Agency request filed July 12, 2012, Office File No. M12-242 (Supp. 12- 3). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 1308,

effective July 6, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). Amended by final

rulemaking at 20 A.A.R. 1859, effective September 8,

2014 (Supp. 14-3).