Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 90 - BOARD OF NURSING › Chapter 27 - General Provision › Part II - Initial Approval of a Nursing Education Program › Section 18VAC90-27-100 - Curriculum for direct client care

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. A nursing education program preparing a
				  student for licensure as a registered nurse shall provide a minimum of 500
				  hours of direct client care supervised by qualified faculty. A nursing
				  education program preparing a student for licensure as a practical nurse shall
				  provide a minimum of 400 hours of direct client care supervised by qualified
				  faculty. Direct client care hours shall include experiences and settings as set
				  forth in
				  18VAC90-27-90 B
				  1.
B. Licensed practical nurses
				  transitioning into prelicensure registered nursing programs may be awarded no
				  more than 150 clinical hours of the 400 clinical hours received in a practical
				  nursing program. In a practical nursing to registered nursing transitional
				  program, the remainder of the clinical hours shall include registered nursing
				  clinical experience across the life cycle in adult medical/surgical nursing,
				  maternal/infant (obstetrics, gynecology, neonatal) nursing, mental
				  health/psychiatric nursing, and pediatric nursing.
C. Any observational experiences shall be
				  planned in cooperation with the agency involved to meet stated course
				  objectives. Observational experiences shall not be accepted toward the 400 or
				  500 minimum clinical hours required. Observational objectives shall be
				  available to students, the clinical unit, and the board.
D. Simulation for direct client clinical
				  hours.
1. No more than 25% of direct client
				  contact hours may be simulation. For prelicensure registered nursing programs,
				  the total of simulated client care hours cannot exceed 125 hours (25% of the
				  required 500 hours). For prelicensure practical nursing programs, the total of
				  simulated client care hours cannot exceed 100 hours (25% of the required 400
				  hours).
2. No more than 50% of the
				  total clinical hours for any course may be used as simulation. If courses are
				  integrated, simulation shall not be used for more than 50% of the total
				  clinical hours in different clinical specialties and population groups across
				  the life span.
3. Skills
				  acquisition and task training alone, as in the traditional use of a skills
				  laboratory, do not qualify as simulated client care and therefore do not meet
				  the requirements for direct client care hours.
4. Clinical simulation must be led by faculty
				  who meet the qualifications specified in
				  18VAC90-27-60.
				  Faculty with education and expertise in simulation and in the applicable
				  subject area must be present during the simulation experience.
5. Documentation of the following shall be
				  available for all simulated experiences:
a.
				  Course description and objectives;
b. Type of simulation and location of
				  simulated experience;
c. Number of
				  simulated hours;
d. Faculty
				  qualifications;
e. Methods of
				  pre-briefing and debriefing;
f.
				  Evaluation of simulated experience; and
g. Method to communicate student performance
				  to clinical faculty.