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THE ,~?lTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

AUSTIN ~~.TExA~ September 9, lg.59

Honorable George M. Hilliard Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners 904 Lavaca Street Austin 1, Texas Opinion No. W-697
Re: Whether a LicensedVocational Nurse, as defined by Article 4528c,Vernon's Civil Statutes, is equivalent to a Licensed Practlcal Nurse: whether one Registered Nurse may be in charge of nursing at two or more hospitals afflllating In one vocational nursing school; and related Dear Dr. Hilllard: questions.

Your request for an opinion from this office concerns two questions. Each will be dealt with separately. Your first question Is as follows:

"Is a LicensedVocational Nurse, as defined by the subject statute, (Art. 4528c, VRCS), equivalent to Licensed PracticalNurse, as the latter term is defined and regulatedby statute In other states, or are there In Texas an indefinitenumber of classificationsof personswho may practice trie nursing arts for hire without qualifying as professionalRegistered Nurses or as TubercularNurses, only one of which classifications,LicensedVocational Nurse, Is regulatedby statute?" The laws of the State of Texas provide for the establishmentand set out the qualificatfons for the following types of nurses. First, a Registered Nurse, who Is under the control and supervision of the Board of Nurse Examiners of the State of Texas. Second, there are TuberculosisNurses, who are under the control and supervision of a Board ofHonorable George M. Hilliard, page 2 (W-697)

TuberculosisNurses Examiners. A third group is called LicensedVocational Nurses, and their statushas been provided for under Cha ter 118, Acts of the 52nd Legislature, lg.51 (Art. 4528c, R.C.S.'5.

Article 4528, Revised Civil Statutes,provides as follows: "This law shall not be construed to apply to the gratutiousnursing of the sick by friends, nor any person nursing the sick for hire who does not in any way assume or profess to practice as a graduate certifiedregistered nurse.” (Emphasis ours). .Section3 of Article 4528c,Revised Civil Statutes, provides as follows:

"Theprovisions of this Act shall not apply to gratutious nursing of the sick by friends or members of the family; nor shall the provisions of this Act apply to persons licensedby the Board of Nurse Examiners; nor shall the provisions of thisAct apply to those personswho have graduated or may hereinaftergraduate from the State Tuberculosis Sanatorium School of Nurses, so long as such persons nurse only tubercularpatients;nor to persons employedby hospitals as maids, porters or orderlies;nor shail the provisions of this Act apply to personswho do not hold themselves out to the public as being LicensedVocational Nurses or using the abbreviationL. V. N." (Emphasisours).
From these two sections above quoted, it is seen thatwe have then a fourth classificationof nurses, they being the ones that do not fall under ,thecategory of a Registered Nurse, a Graduate TuberculosisNurse or a LicensedVocational Nurse. But, nurses of the fourth classification can neither use the title of RegisteredNurse, Graduate TuberculosisNurse or LicensedVocationalNurse, nor hold themselvesout at any time to be in any of the first three categories.

Your letter also concerns the interpretationof Section 7 of Article 4528c, in regard to the intention of the Legislature in granting reciprocity to applicants coming into this State. Said Section reads as follows:

"Anyapplicant of good characterwho holds a license as an AttendantNurse, Nursing Attendant,Honorable George M. Hilliard, page 3 (WW-6%‘)

Nurse Aid, Nursing Aid, PracticalNurse, Technical Nurse, Nurse Technician,Vocational Nurse or any similar title used for a non-professionalnurse unqualified for licensure as a Registered Nurse from another statewhose requirementsare equal to those of Texas, and whose individualqualifications shallbe equivalent to those requiredby this law, may be granted a license to practicenon-professional nursing as a LicensedVocational Nurse in this State without examinationprovided a fee of Ten Dollars ($10) is paid to the Board by such applicant."
It is our opinion that the Legislature Intendedby Section 7 of this Act to provide any applicant outside the State of Texas who holds a licensebelow that of a Registered Nurse and who has completeda course of study and has complied with the general qualifications similar to those, provided for by the Texas law to be given reciprocitywithout an examination regardless of the licensedname used by such applicant.

Your second question is as follows: "Under Section 12a of our law,may the same 'RegisteredNurse' be in charge of nursing at two or more hospitals affiliating in one vocational nursing school?" Section 12a of Article 4528~ reads as follows: "Any general hospital in regular use for patientswhich has a registerednurse in charge of nursing, and whose staff consists of one or more licensedphysicians licensedby the State Board of Medical Examiners,may qualify as an accreditedhospital forVocational Nurse Training, provided it can and will meet requirements of the Board for the training of Vocational Nurses." The above statute requires that a hospitalwhich seeks to come under the provisions of this Act by qualifying as an accreditedhospital forVocational Nurse Training have a RegisteredNurse in charge of nursing.

It is therefore our opinion that under Section 12a of Article 4528c, it is possible that a Registered Nurse may be in charge of nursing at two or more hospitals affiliating in one vocational nursing school.. .

Honorable George M. Hllliard, page 4 (W-697)

SUMMARY
A LicensedVocational Nurse Is equivalent to a Licensed PracticalNurse, as the term is defined and regulatedby statute in other states,where the statutes of other states set out the same general qualifications that the statutes of Texas set out and reciprocity will be given by Texas to an applicantwho holds a license from a statehaving these same general qualificationswithout examinationregardless of the licensedname used by,such applicant. Under Section 12a of Article 4528c, the same RegisteredNurse may be In charge of nursing at two or more hospitals affiliating in one vocational nursing school.
Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas

- ieon F. Pesek Assistant LFP:mg APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Geo. P. Blackburn, Chairman RaymondV. Loftin, Jr. Elmer McVey Robert A. Rowland
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: W. V. Geppert