Ariz. Admin. Code § 4-19-206

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 44, November 1, 2024

Section R4-19-206 - Curriculum

A. A nursing program shall provide a written program curriculum to students that includes;

1. Student centered outcomes for the program;

2. A curriculum plan that identifies the prescribed course sequencing and time required;

3. Specific course information that includes:

a. A course description and outline including student centered and measurable didactic, clinical, and simulation objectives, if applicable, for each unit of instruction;

b. Graded activities to demonstrate that course objectives have been met.

B. A nursing program administrator and faculty members shall ensure that the curriculum:

1. Is designed so that the student is able to achieve program objectives within the curriculum plan;

2. Is logically consistent between and within courses and structured in a manner whereby each course builds on previous learning.

3. Incorporates established professional standards, guidelines or competencies; and

4. Is designed so that a student who completes the program will have the knowledge and skills necessary to function in accordance with the definition and scope of practice specified in A.R.S. for a practical nurse Title 32, Chapter 15 and A.A.C. Title 4 Chapter 19, for a registered or practical nurse, as applicable.

C. A nursing program shall provide for progressive sequencing of classroom and clinical instruction sufficient to meet the goals of the program and be organized in such a manner to allow the student to form necessary links of theoretical knowledge, clinical reasoning, and practice.

1. A nursing program curriculum shall provide coursework that includes, but is not limited to:

a. Content in the biological, physical, social, psychological and behavioral sciences, professional responsibilities, legal and ethical issues, history and trends in nursing and health care, to provide a foundation for safe and effective nursing practice consistent with the level of the nursing program;

b. Didactic content and supervised clinical experience in the prevention of illness and the promotion, restoration and maintenance of health in patients across the life span and from diverse cultural, ethnic, social and economic backgrounds to include:

i. Patient centered care,

ii. Teamwork and collaboration,

iii. Evidence-based practice,

iv. Quality improvement,

v. Safety, and

vi. Informatics

2. A registered nursing program shall provide clinical instruction that includes, at a minimum, selected and guided experiences that develop a student's ability to apply core principles of registered nursing in varied settings when caring for:

a. Adult and geriatric patients with acute, chronic, and complex, life-threatening, medical and surgical conditions;

b. Peri-natal patients and families;

c. Neonates, infants, and children;

d. Patients with mental, psychological, or psychiatric conditions; and

e. Patients with wellness needs.

3. A practical nursing program shall provide clinical instruction that includes, at minimum, selected and guided experiences that develop a student's ability to apply core principles of practical nursing when caring for:

a. Patients with medical and surgical conditions throughout the life span,

b. Peri-natal patients, and

c. Neonates, infants, and children in varied settings.

4. A nursing program shall assign students only to those clinical agencies that provide the experience necessary to meet the established clinical objectives of the course.

E. A nursing program may provide precepted clinical instruction. Programs offering precepted clinical experiences shall:

1. Develop and enforce policies that require preceptors to:

a. Be licensed nurses at or above the level of the program either by holding an Arizona license in good standing, holding multi-state privilege to practice in Arizona under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15, or if practicing in a federal facility, meet requirements of A.R.S. § 32-1631(5);

b. For LPN preceptors, practice under the supervision required by A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15.

2. Develop and implement policies that require a faculty member of the program to:

a. Together with facility personnel, select preceptors that possess clinical expertise sufficient to accomplish the goals of the preceptorship;

b. Supervise the clinical instruction consistent with requirements of this Article, and

c. Maintain accountability for student education and evaluation.

F. A nursing program may utilize simulation in accordance with the clinical objectives of the course. Unless approved under R4-19-214, a nursing program shall not utilize simulation for an entire clinical experience with any patient population identified in subsection (D) of this Section.

G. A nursing program shall maintain at least a 80% NCLEX®; passing rate for graduates taking the NCLEX-PN® or NCLEX-RN® for the first time within 12 months of graduation.

H. At least 45% of students enrolled in the first nursing clinical course shall graduate within 100% of the prescribed period. "Prescribed period" means the time required to complete all courses and to graduate on time according to the nursing program's curriculum plan in place at the time the student entered the program, excluding the time to complete program pre-requisite or pre-clinical courses.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-19-206

Adopted effective February 20, 1980 (Supp. 80-1). Former Section R4-19-16 repealed, former Section R4-19-17 renumbered and amended as Section R4-19-16 effective July 16, 1984 (Supp. 84-4). Former Section R4-19-16 renumbered as R4-19-206 (Supp. 86-1). Section repealed; new Section adopted effective July 19, 1995 (Supp. 95-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 5349, effective November 8, 2001 (Supp. 01-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 451, effective March 7, 2005 (05-1). 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. Therefore the A.R.S. citations in subsection (B)(3) were updated. Agency request filed July 12, 2012, Office File No. M12-242 (Supp. 12-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 1419, effective July 6, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 25 A.A.R. 919, effective 6/3/2019.