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2001 SESSION


CHAPTER 244
An Act to amend and reenact § 54.1-3001 of the Code of Virginia, relating to exemptions to nursing licensure.
[H 2245]
Approved March 14, 2001

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 54.1-3001 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 54.1-3001. Exemptions.

This chapter shall not apply to the following:

1. The furnishing of nursing assistance in an emergency;

2. The practice of nursing, which is prescribed as part of a study program, by nursing students enrolled in nursing education programs approved by the Board or by graduates of approved nursing education programs for a period not to exceed ninety days following successful completion of the nursing education program pending the results of the licensing examination, provided proper application and fee for licensure have been submitted to the Board and unless the graduate fails the licensing examination within the ninety-day period;

3. The practice of any legally qualified nurse of another state who is employed by the United States government while in the discharge of his official duties;

4. The practice of nursing by a nurse who holds a current unrestricted license in another state, the District of Columbia or a United States possession or territory for a period of thirty days pending licensure in Virginia, if the nurse, upon employment, has furnished the employer satisfactory evidence of current licensure and submits proper application and fees to the Board for licensure before, or within ten days after, employment. At the discretion of the Board, additional time may be allowed for nurses currently licensed in another state, the District of Columbia or a United States possession or territory who are in the process of attaining the qualification for licensure in this Commonwealth;

5. The practice of nursing by any registered nurse who holds a current unrestricted license in another state, the District of Columbia, or a United States possession or territory, or a nurse who holds an equivalent credential in a foreign country, while enrolled in an advanced professional nursing program requiring clinical practice. This exemption extends only to clinical practice required by the curriculum;

6. The practice of nursing by any nurse who holds a current unrestricted license in another state, the District of Columbia, or a United States possession or territory and is employed to provide care to any private individual while such private individual is traveling through or temporarily staying, as defined in the Board's regulations, in the Commonwealth;

7. General care of the sick by nursing assistants, companions or domestic servants that does not constitute the practice of nursing as defined in this chapter;

8. The care of the sick when done solely in connection with the practice of religious beliefs by the adherents and which is not held out to the public to be licensed practical or professional nursing; and

9. Any employee of a school board, authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of insulin and glucagon, when, upon the authorization of a prescriber and the written request of the parents as defined in § 22.1-1, assisting with the administration of insulin or administrating glucagon to a student diagnosed as having diabetes and who requires insulin injections during the school day or for whom glucagon has been prescribed for the emergency treatment of hypoglycemia.

10. The practice of nursing by any nurse who is a graduate of a foreign nursing school and has met the credential, language, and academic testing requirements of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools for a period not to exceed ninety days from the date of approval of an application submitted to the Board when such nurse is working as a nonsupervisory staff nurse in a licensed nursing home or certified nursing facility. During such ninety-day period, such nurse shall take and pass the licensing examination to remain eligible to practice nursing in Virginia; no exemption granted under this subdivision shall be extended.

2. That the Board of Nursing shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act within 280 days of its enactment.

3. That the Board of Nursing shall report annually to the Joint Commission on Health Care on the number of people who utilized the provisions of subdivision 10 of § 54.1-3001 to practice nursing in the Commonwealth in the preceding year, and the number of those people who passed the licensing examination and remained eligible to practice nursing in the Commonwealth.

4. That the Joint Commission on Health Care shall study the effectiveness of this act in increasing the nurse workforce available to nursing homes in the Commonwealth and any effects on the quality of nursing care in nursing homes that employ persons under subdivision 10 of § 54.1-3001.

5. That an emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.