South Carolina Board of Nursing

South Carolina Nurse, The, Apr-Jun 2003

Official Information

BOARD MISSION

The mission of the State Board of Nursing for South Carolina is the protection of public health, safety, and welfare by assuring safe and competent practice of nursing.

This mission is accomplished by assuring safe initial practice as well as continuing competency in the practice of nursing and by promoting nursing excellence in the areas of education and practice. The Board licenses qualified individuals as licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. Complaints against nurses are investigated and disciplinary action taken when necessary. Schools of nursing are surveyed and approved to ensure quality education for future nurses.

BOARD VACANCY

There is one vacant position on the Board of Nursing. This position is for a registered nurse to represent the Third Congressional District. Board members must be licensed in South Carolina, must be employed, must have at least three years of practice in their respective profession immediately preceding their appointment, and must reside in the district they represent. If you are a registered nurse or know of a registered nurse who would like to be considered for a position on the Board of Nursing, please submit a letter of request along with a copy of your resume and/or curriculum vitae to the Governor's Office, Post Office Box 11829, Columbia, SC 29211.

BOARD MEMBER REAPPOINTED

On January 3, 2003, Governor Jim Hodges reappointed Rose Kearney-Nunnery to serve a second term representing the Second Congressional District. Dr. Kearney-Nunnery was elected president of the Board at the November 2002 meeting. Dr. Sylvia Whiting serves as vicepresident and Suzanne White as secretary.

NURSE PRACTICE ACT REVISION

Laws governing nursing in South Carolina are being revised and open meetings have been held for Board members and staff to receive input from nurses and the public on those changes. Open meetings were held in Columbia, Greenville, Florence, and Charleston. A number of nurses spoke at these sessions. The Board also received numerous comments by mail and email. The Board and staff would like to take this opportunity to thank those who participated in these efforts to update the laws governing our practice.

BOARD APPROVES PLANS FOR APRN RENEWAL AUDIT

The Board of Nursing has approved plans for the first office based audit of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse renewal to begin in May 2003. These plans were first endorsed and recommended to the Board by the Nursing Practice and Standards Committee and the Advanced Practice Subcommittee. Five percent of all 2003 renewed APRN with prescriptive authority and 5 percent of those without prescriptive authority, which includes CRNAs, will be randomly selected by computer for audit. Those selected will be notified by mail and will have 72 hours to post the required documentation to the Board as required by the nurse practice act.

For nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists with official recognition, and certified nurse midwives, this will include:

* Copy of current certification per Regulation 91-6.c.

* If holding prescriptive authority, copies of pharmacotherapeutics education in accord with current Board policy.

* Copy of "General Data" requirements from written protocols per Regulation 91-6.h.2.a. for all current practice sites.

For certified registered nurse anesthetists, this will include:

* Copy of current certification per Regulation 91-6.c.

* Copy of "General Data" section from written guidelines per Regulation 91-6.i.2.a. for all current practice sites.

Non-compliance may result in disciplinary action by the Board. Please address any questions to Bob Barnwell or Sandra Bryant in the Practice and Advanced Practice section.

POSITION STATEMENT ON PHARMACOTHERAPEUTICS EDUCATION REQUIRED FOR PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY APPLICATION

Approved by the SC Board of Nursing on January 30, 2003-Effective July 1, 2003

Regulation 91-g.j outlines the requirements for applying for initial prescriptive authority and renewal. In addition to requirements for Official Recognition and national certification, the regulations specify that evidence of completion of forty-five (45) contacts hours of education in pharmacotherapeutics, within two years preceding the application and acceptable to the Board, must be provided for initial approval. Fifteen (15) contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics within the preceding two years are required for renewal of prescriptive authority privileges.

INITIAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

1. Forty-five (45) contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics education must have been completed in the two years prior to the date of the application. This applies to APRNs previously holding prescriptive authority in another state but whose privileges in that state have expired by more than six (6) months. APRNs with documented current prescriptive authority in another state must submit documentation of at least fifteen (15) hours within the two (2) years preceding the date of their application.

2. APRNs who have graduated from graduate school within the preceding two (2) years who have completed the required forty-five (45) contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics in the curriculum and who have not had a break in their enrollment will meet the educational requirements as defined in the regulation. Fifteen (15) additional hours of pharmacotherapeutics education are required if the graduate has not been continuously enrolled in the graduate program and there are more than two (2) years between the completion of the pharmacotherapeutics course(s) and graduation.