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 › CURRICULUM › Section 21.203 - Specific curriculum requirements for practical nursing programs

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) The curriculum
						shall be based upon the philosophy and objectives of the program and shall be
						developed, implemented and evaluated by the faculty.
(b) The curriculum shall be organized and
						developed to include the knowledge, attitudes, skills and abilities necessary
						for the specific levels of student achievement.
(c) The curriculum shall be planned to
						promote measurable abilities, as contained in the Test Plan for the Practical
						Nurse Licensing Examination, published by Council of State Boards of Nursing,
						Inc.
(d) The curriculum shall
						provide instruction in the following areas:
(1) Physical and biological sciences,
						including appropriate content from basic human anatomy and physiology as well
						as elementary principles of chemistry, microbiology, physics and normal
						nutrition.
(2) Social and
						behavioral sciences including psycho-social facts and principles basic to
						personal adjustment and to nursing practice as well as appropriate content on
						the family and development stages from birth to senescence.
(3) Concurrent or sequential theory and
						clinical experience in:
(i) The care of
						patients with simple nursing needs.
(ii) The care of patients with short-term
						nursing needs.
(iii) The care of
						patients with long-term nursing needs.
(4) Clinical experience, as provided in
						paragraph (3), in the care of men, women and children in a variety of age
						groups with health problems characteristic of the age group involved.
(5) Theory, as required in paragraph (3),
						including appropriate knowledge from diet therapy and pharmacology, as well as
						scientific facts and selected clinical concepts which are essential as a basis
						for nursing action and are applicable to patient care.
(6) Learning experiences, as required in
						paragraph (3), providing opportunities for the student to:
(i) Develop an awareness of the needs of
						patients.
(ii) Learn to plan and
						give nursing care to selected individuals in various nursing situations that
						are relatively free of complexity.
(iii) Learn to plan and give nursing care to
						a group of selected patients.
(iv)
						Learn to assist the professional nurse in more complex nursing
						situations.
(7) Content,
						as required in paragraph (3), drawn from information about ethical, moral and
						legal responsibilities of the practical nurse, current trends in nursing and
						health delivery systems and vocational development.
(8) Technical and clinical aspects of
						immunization, skin testing, the performance of venipuncture and the
						administration and withdrawal of intravenous fluids to the extent each function
						is an authorized function of an LPN under this chapter. An IV therapy course
						must include instruction in the following topics:
(i) Definition of IV therapy and
						indications.
(ii) Types of vascular
						access delivery devices.
(iii)
						Age-related considerations.
(iv)
						Legal implications for IV therapy.
(v) Anatomy and physiology.
(vi) Fluid and electrolyte balance.
(vii) Infusion equipment used in IV
						therapy.
(viii) Parenteral
						solutions and indications.
(ix)
						Infection control and safety.
(x)
						Insertion of peripheral short catheters.
(xi) Administration, maintenance and
						monitoring of peripheral IV therapy.
(xii) Complications and nursing
						interventions.
(xiii) Central and
						peripheral vascular devices.
(xiv)
						Administration, maintenance and monitoring of central and peripheral IV
						therapy.
(xv)
						Documentation.
(xvi) Patient
						education.