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2002 SESSION


CHAPTER 713
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-3001 and 54.1-3018 of the Code of Virginia, relating to licensure of nurses; exemptions.
[H 665]
Approved April 6, 2002

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 54.1-3001 and 54.1-3018 of the Code of Virginia are 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, or who holds a current unrestricted license in Canada and whose training was obtained in a nursing school in Canada where English was the primary language, 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, or Canada 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;

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; and

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.

§ 54.1-3018. Registered nurse's license by endorsement.

A. The Board may issue a license by endorsement to an applicant to practice professional nursing if the applicant has been licensed as a professional or registered nurse under the laws of another state, the District of Columbia, or a United States possession or territory, and, in the opinion of the Board, the applicant meets the qualifications required of registered nurses in this Commonwealth.

B. The Board shall also endorse for licensure nurses who hold an unrestricted license in Canada and whose training was obtained in a nursing school in Canada where English was the primary language and who have passed the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination (CRNE).