Pennsylvania Code › Title 49 - PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS › Part I - DEPARTMENT OF STATE › Subpart A - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS › Chapter 21 - STATE BOARD OF NURSING › Subchapter B - PRACTICAL NURSES › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 21.141 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
						  subchapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
						  otherwise:
Act
-The Practical Nurse Law
						  (63
						  P. S. §§
													651-667) which establishes
						  standards for the education of practical nurses and the practice of practical
						  nursing.
Approved
-Approved by the Board.
Board
-The State Board of Nursing of
						  the Commonwealth.
Bolus
-A concentrated medication or
						  solution given rapidly over a short period of time.
Central venous catheter
-An intravenous
						  (IV) catheter, the tip of which terminates beyond the peripheral vasculature
						  and may be either tunneled, implanted or percutaneously inserted.
Examination year
-The period beginning
						  on October 1st of a year through September 30th of the following year.
Focused assessment
-Appraisal of an
						  individual's current status and situation, which contributes to comprehensive
						  assessment by the licensed professional nurse and supports ongoing data
						  collection.
Graduate practical nurse
-An individual
						  who has graduated from an approved program of practical nursing in this
						  Commonwealth or a comparable program in another state.
IV access device
-A centrally or
						  peripherally inserted catheter used for the purpose of intravenous infusion
						  therapy, including peripheral short catheters, peripheral midline catheters,
						  peripherally inserted central catheters and central catheters, including
						  tunneled, nontunneled catheters and implanted ports.
IV therapy
-The administration of
						  fluids, electrolytes, nutrients or medications by the venous route.
LPN
-Licensed practical nurse. A nurse
						  licensed under this subchapter to practice in this Commonwealth.
Oral order
-A spoken order issued by a
						  practitioner authorized by law and by facility policy to issue orders for
						  medical and therapeutic measures.
PICC-Peripherally inserted central
						  catheter
-An IV catheter, the tip of which terminates in the superior
						  vena cava and is confirmed by chest x-ray.
Patient (includes residents and
						  clients)
-A person, other than a spouse or immediate family member, who
						  receives professional services from a licensed practical nurse, regardless of
						  whether or not the nurse receives remuneration for the services.
Peripheral midline catheter
-A
						  peripherally inserted catheter, the tip of which terminates no further than the
						  axilla and is between 3 inches and 8 inches (7.5 cm and 20 cm) in
						  length.
Peripheral short catheter
-A venous
						  access device less than 3 inches (7.5 cm) in length.
Practice of practical nursing
-The
						  performance of selected nursing acts in the care of the ill, injured or infirm
						  under the direction of a licensed professional nurse, a licensed physician or a
						  licensed dentist which do not require the specialized skill, judgment and
						  knowledge required in professional nursing.
Professional relationship
-The
						  relationship which shall be deemed to exist for a period of time beginning with
						  the first professional contact or consultation between a licensed practical
						  nurse and a patient and ending with the final professional contact between
						  them. The administration of emergency medical treatment or transitory trauma
						  care will not be deemed to establish a professional relationship.
Sexual impropriety
-The term includes
						  the following offenses:
(i) Making
						sexually demeaning or sexually suggestive comments about or to a patient,
						including comments about a patient's body or undergarments.
(ii) Unnecessarily exposing a patient's body
						or watching a patient dress or undress, unless for therapeutic purposes or the
						patient specifically requests assistance.
(iii) Examining or touching genitals without
						the use of gloves when performing an otherwise appropriate
						examination.
(iv) Discussing or
						commenting on a patient's potential sexual performance or requesting details of
						a patient's sexual history or preferences during an examination or
						consultation, except when the examination or consultation is pertinent to the
						issue of sexual function or dysfunction or reproductive health care. Discussion
						of a patient's sexual practices and preferences shall be fully documented in
						the patient's chart.
(v) Soliciting
						a date from a patient.
(vi)
						Volunteering information to a patient about one's sexual problems, preferences
						or fantasies.
Sexual violation
-The term includes the
						  following offenses:
(i) Sexual
						intercourse between an LPN and a patient during the professional
						relationship.
(ii) Genital to
						genital contact between a nurse and a patient during the professional
						relationship.
(iii) Oral to genital
						contact between a nurse and a patient during the professional
						relationship.
(iv) Touching
						breasts, genitals or any other body part for any purpose other than appropriate
						examination or treatment, or using prolonged or improper examination
						techniques, or after the patient has refused or withdrawn consent.
(v) Encouraging a patient to masturbate in
						the presence of the nurse or masturbating while the patient is
						present.
(vi) Providing or offering
						to provide drugs or treatment in exchange for sexual favors.
(vii) Using or causing the use of anesthesia
						or any other drug affecting consciousness for the purpose of engaging in any
						conduct that would constitute a sexual impropriety or sexual
						violation.
Titration of IV medications
-A process
						  by which medication is administered and dosages are adjusted through a
						  continuous medication-containing intravenous infusion (such as vasoactive
						  drugs, anticoagulants, psychotropic drugs, neuromuscular drugs, hormones, and
						  the like) to effect a desired state based upon patient assessment data and
						  prescribed parameters.
The provisions of this §
														21.141 amended under section
							 2.1(k) of The
							 Professional Nursing Law (63 P.S. §
															212.1(k)); and section
							 17.6 of the Practical Nurse Law
							 (63
							 P.S. §
															667.6); and amended under
							 sections 2.1(k) and 6.1 of
							 The Professional Nursing Law (63 P.S. §§
															212.1(k) and
							 216.1); and sections 9 and
							 17.6 of the Practical Nurse Law (63 P.S. §§
															659 and
							 667.6).