Section 17-5499. DEFINITIONS

 

5499.1As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings ascribed:

 

Act - Health Occupation Revision Act of 1985 ("Act"), effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C. Official Code §§ 3-1201.01 et seq.).

 

Administrator for Nursing Services - the licensed registered nurse responsible for planning, directing and controlling the operation of nursing service within an agency, health care facility, or setting in which nursing care is being offered or provided.

 

Activities of Daily Living (ADL) - the basic tasks of everyday life, such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, eating, walking, toileting, transferring to and from one's wheelchair, and taking medications prescribed for self-administration.

 

Agency - any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other business entity engaged in the business of referring nursing personnel, as employees or independent contractors, to a health care facility for the purpose of rendering temporary nursing services.

 

Applicant - person applying for a license to practice registered nursing under this chapter.

 

Board - the Board of Nursing, established by § 204 of the Act, D.C. Official Code § 3-1202.04.

 

Complex Interventions - those interventions that require nursing judgment to safely alter standard procedures in accordance with the needs of the client; require nursing judgment to determine how to proceed from one step to the next, or require implementation of the nursing process.

 

Delegation - the transference from the registered nurse to another individual within the scope of his or her practice, the authority to act on behalf of the registered nurse in the performance of a nursing intervention, while the registered nurse retains the accountability and responsibility for the delegated act.

 

Educational Program - a program accredited by a recognized nursing body approved by the Board that leads to a diploma, associate degree, or baccalaureate degree in nursing.

 

General Supervision - supervision in which the supervisor is available on the premises or within vocal communication either directly or by a communication device at the time the unlicensed personnel, student, graduate nurse, or other licensed nurse is practicing.

 

Graduate Nurse - an individual who has graduated from a nursing program for registered nursing, who has never taken the NCLEX-RN exam, and whose application for a license by examination in the District of Columbia is pending.

 

Health Professional - a person who holds a license, certificate, or registration issued under the authority of this title or the Act.

 

Immediate Supervision - supervision in which the supervisor is with the unlicensed personnel, student, graduate nurse, or other licensed nurse and either discussing or observing the person's practice.

 

NCLEX-RN - National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses.

 

Nursing Intervention - the initiation and completion of a client focused action necessary to accomplish the goal(s) defined in the client-centered plan of care.

 

Practical Nurse - a person licensed to practice practical nursing under the Act and chapter 55 of this title.

 

Re-entry program - a formal program of study with both didactic and clinical components, designed to prepare a nurse who has been out of practice to re-enter into nursing practice at the registered nurse level.

 

Registered Nurse - a person licensed to practice registered nursing under the Act and this chapter.

 

Remedial Course - an organized and planned program of study which provides a review of basic preparation and current developments in the practice of registered nursing.

 

Review Course - a course of study providing review of basic preparation for the NCLEX-RN examination.

 

Supervisor - a registered nurse licensed under the Act who is responsible and accountable for assigning, directing, evaluating and managing a unit, service, or program that offers or provides nursing care or who is responsible for the supervision of trained unlicensed personnel, students, graduate nurses, or other licensed nurses.

 

Trained Unlicensed Personnel - an individual, other than a licensed nurse, who has received appropriate training or instruction to function in a complementary or assistant role to a licensed nurse in providing direct patient care or in carrying out common nursing tasks. The term includes, but is not limited to, nurses' aides, orderlies, assistant technicians, attendants, home health aides, personal care aides, trained medication employees, geriatric aides, or other health aides.

 

5499.2The definitions in § 4099 of Chapter 40 of this title are in incorporated by reference into and are applicable to this chapter.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 51 DCR 8613 (September 3, 2004).