Section 10. Definitions  


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  • Part I. General Provisions

    The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

    "Approved program" means a nurse practitioner education program that is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs/Schools, American College of Nurse Midwives, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, or the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or is offered by a school of nursing or jointly offered by a school of medicine and a school of nursing that grant a graduate degree in nursing and which hold a national accreditation acceptable to the boards.

    "Boards" means the Virginia Board of Nursing and the Virginia Board of Medicine.

    "Certified nurse midwife" means an advanced practice registered nurse who is certified in the specialty of nurse midwifery and who is jointly licensed by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing as a nurse practitioner pursuant to § 54.1-2957 of the Code of Virginia.

    "Certified registered nurse anesthetist" means an advanced practice registered nurse who is certified in the specialty of nurse anesthesia, who is jointly licensed by the Boards of Medicine and Nursing as a nurse practitioner pursuant to § 54.1-2957, and who practices under the supervision of a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, or dentistry but is not subject to the practice agreement requirement described in § 54.1-2957.

    "Collaboration" means the communication and decision-making process among members of a patient care team related to the treatment and care of a patient and includes (i) communication of data and information about the treatment and care of a patient, including exchange of clinical observations and assessments, and (ii) development of an appropriate plan of care, including decisions regarding the health care provided, accessing and assessment of appropriate additional resources or expertise, and arrangement of appropriate referrals, testing, or studies.

    "Committee" means the Committee of the Joint Boards of Nursing and Medicine.

    "Consultation" means the communicating of data and information, exchanging of clinical observations and assessments, accessing and assessing of additional resources and expertise, problem solving, and arranging for referrals, testing, or studies.

    "Licensed nurse practitioner" means an advanced practice registered nurse who has met the requirements for licensure as stated in Part II (18VAC90-30-60 et seq.) of this chapter.

    "National certifying body" means a national organization that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or deemed acceptable by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and has as one of its purposes the certification of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives or nurse practitioners, referred to in this chapter as professional certification, and whose certification of such persons by examination is accepted by the committee.

    "Patient care team physician" means a person who holds an active, unrestricted license issued by the Virginia Board of Medicine to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine.

    "Practice agreement" means a written or electronic statement, jointly developed by the collaborating patient care team physician(s) and the licensed nurse practitioner(s) that describes the procedures to be followed and the acts appropriate to the specialty practice area to be performed by the licensed nurse practitioner(s) in the care and management of patients. The practice agreement also describes the prescriptive authority of the nurse practitioner, if applicable. For a nurse practitioner licensed in the category of certified nurse midwife, the practice agreement is a statement jointly developed with the consulting physician.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR495-02-1 and VR465-07-1 § 1.1, eff. June 22, 1989; amended, Volume 12, Issue 01, eff. November 1, 1995; Volume 15, Issue 07, eff. January 20, 1999; Volume 19, Issue 19, eff. July 2, 2003; Volume 21, Issue 11, eff. March 9, 2005; Volume 24, Issue 10, eff. February 20, 2008; Volume 25, Issue 05, eff. December 25, 2008; Volume 31, Issue 21, eff. July 15, 2015; Volume 33, Issue 01, eff. October 5, 2016.

Statutory Authority

§§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-2957 of the Code of Virginia.