12 Alaska Admin. Code § 44.400

Current through August 30, 2024

Section 12 AAC 44.400 - Requirements for initial licensure

(a) Except as provided in (e) and (f) of this section, an applicant for initial licensure to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) as defined in AS 06.68.850.

(1) must have satisfactorily completed

(A) a formal accredited graduate educational course of study preparing in one of the APRN roles that

(i) is a minimum of one academic year in length;

(ii) prepares registered nurses to perform an expanded role in the delivery of health care;

(iii) includes a combination of classroom instruction and a minimum of 500 separate, non-duplicated hours of supervised clinical practice;

(iv) for a certified nurse practitioner, a certified nurse midwife, or a certified clinical nurse specialist, if completed on or after January 1, 1998, has distinct graduate level course offerings in advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacotherapeutics, and advanced physical assessment, as evidenced by an official transcript or other official documentation received directly from a graduate program accredited by a nursing accrediting body that is recognized by the United States Secretary of Education or that is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or its successor organization; and

(v) for a certified registered nurse anesthetist, if completed on or after January 1, 2016, has distinct graduate level course offerings in advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacotherapeutics, and advanced physical assessment, as evidenced by an official transcript or other official documentation received directly from a graduate program accredited by a nursing accrediting body that is recognized by the United States Secretary of Education or that is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or its successor organization;

(B) repealed 4/27/97;

(2) must hold a current license to practice as a registered nurse in this state;

(3) must hold a current certification of advanced practice registered nurse in the population focus of nursing for which the applicant was educated as provided in (a) of this section, granted by a national certification body recognized by the board and as evidenced by official documentation received directly from the certifying body;

(4) shall, in the absence of a continuing education requirement of the certifying body, submit documented evidence of having obtained 60 contact hours of continuing education in the population focus of the advanced practice registered nurse every two years;

(5) repealed 1/19/2022

(6) shall submit a completed application on a form provided by the department; the completed application must include

(A) repealed 8/25/2023;

(B) repealed 8/25/2023;

(C) the applicant's signature certifying that the information in the application is correct to the best of the applicant's knowledge;

(D) a certified transcript sent directly to the department from the graduate APRN program of study showing the applicant has satisfactorily completed an educational course of study that meets the requirements of (1) of this subsection; and

(E) if the applicant graduated from an advanced practice registered nurse program outside of the United States or Canada, except Quebec, Canada,

(i) verification of having ever passed the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) academic examination - overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 on all modules;

(ii) verification of having ever passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-based test- overall score of 84 with a speaking score of 26;

(iii) a valid evaluation of the applicant's nursing education by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools Credentials Evaluation Service, with a full education., course-by-course report that indicates the applicant's nursing education was taught in English; or

(iv) an official International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP) certificate verifying successful completion of the VisaScreen: Visa Credential Assessment Service; and

(7) shall submit the initial biennial licensure fee established by 12 AAC 02.280.

(b) Repealed 12/1/84.

(c) Authorized prescriptions by an APRN must comply with all applicable state and federal laws.

(d) To meet the requirements of (a)(3) of this section, an applicant for an licensure to practice as an adult or family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner must submit

(1) certification issued by the American Nurses Credentialing Center before January 1, 2003 certifying that the applicant has passed the examination administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for

(A) psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist; or

(B) adult or family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner; or

(2) certification issued by the American Nurses Credentialing Center on or after January 1, 2003 certifying that the applicant has passed the examination administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for adult or family psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist.

(e) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, an applicant for initial authorization to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse who is a graduate of a foreign advanced practice registered nurse program may satisfy the requirements of (a) of this section by graduation from a foreign graduate level advanced practice registered nurse program that is equivalent to an accredited advanced practice registered nurse education program in the United States. The applicant must submit an official transcript, mailed directly to the department from the foreign advanced practice registered nurse program, and accompanied by certified English translations if the original documents are not in English. The applicant must also submit a credentials evaluation from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools verifying that the foreign advanced practice registered nurse education program from which the applicant graduated is equivalent to an accredited advanced practice registered nurse education program in the United States.

(f) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, the graduate degree requirements of (a) of this section are satisfied by a

(1) certificate-prepared women's health care nurse practitioner, neonatal nurse practitioner, or nurse midwife who completed the individual's advanced nurse practitioner program before January 1, 2006;

(2) certificate-prepared nurse practitioner in a population focus recognized by the board, other than a population focus listed in (1) of this subsection, who completed the individual's advanced practice registered nurse program before January 1, 2003.

(3) certificate -prepared certified registered nurse anesthetist who completed an accredited program before January 1, 2001.

(g) In this section,

(1) "accredited" means approved by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Program (COA), the Accrediatation Commission for Midwifery Education, or another national nursing accrediting organization at the time the applicant attended the program;

(2) "certificate-prepared" means an advanced practice registered nurse who graduated from an advanced practice registered nurse program that awarded a certificate.

12 AAC 44.400

Eff. 1/13/80, Register 73; am 5/16/81, Register 78; am 12/1/84, Register 91; am 11/7/87, Register 104; am 4/27/97, Register 142; am 11/2/2001, Register 160; am 11/16/2002, Register 164; am 3/28/2008, Register 185; am 11/19/2008, Register 188; am 4/16/2010, Register 194; am 10/3/2011, Register 200; am 12/27/2012, Register 204; am 3/19/2014, Register 209, April 2014; am 8/10/2016, Register 219, October 2016; am 5/16/2018, Register 226, July 2018; am 10/20/2018, Register 228, January 2019; am 4/14/2021, Register 238, July 2021; am 1/19/2022, Register 241, April 2022; am 6/12/2022, Register 242, July 2022; am 8/25/2023, Register 247, October 2023

Information on the Psychiatric Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist examination and the Adult or Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner examination referred to in 12 AAC 44.400 maybe obtained from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, 8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3492; telephone: (800) 284-2378.

In 2010 the revisor of statutes, acting under AS 01.05.031, renumbered former AS 08.68.410 as AS 08.68.850. As of Register 196 (January 2011), the regulations attorney made a conforming technical revision under AS 44.62.125(b)(6), to 12 AAC 44.400(a), so that the cross-reference to former AS 08.68.410(1) now refers to the renumbered statute, AS 08.68.850(1). In addition, the regulations attorney made a conforming technical revision to the authority citation that follows 12 AAC 44.400, so that the citation to former AS 08.68.410 now refers to AS 08.68.850.

As of Register 228 (January 2019), the regulations attorney made a technical correction under AS 44.62.125(b)(6), to the introductory language of 12 AAC 44.400(a).

Information regarding the International English Language Testing System (lELTS) described in 12 AAC 44.400(a)(6)(E)(i) is available at www.ielts.org

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL-iBT) examination described in 12 AAC 44.400(a)(6)(E)(ii) is administered by Educational Testing Services, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, New Jersey 08541; Telephone: (609) 771-7100 or (877) 863-3546; website at www.ets.org/toefl.

Information regarding the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools Credentials Evaluation Service and the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP) certificate described in 12 AAC 44.400(a)(6)(E)(iii) and (iv) is available at CGFNS International, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-2651; Telephone: (215) 222-8454; website at www.cgfns.org.

Authority:AS 08.68.100

AS 08.68.850