Nebraska Administrative Code
Topic - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SYSTEM
Title 172 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE
Chapter 97 - APPROVAL OF BASIC NURSING PROGRAMS IN NEBRASKA
Section 172-97-002 - DEFINITIONS

002.01 ACCREDITATION. A status bestowed by a national nursing accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

002.02 ADJUNCT FACULTY. Persons who are employed by a program, but not on a fulltime basis, or who are not employed by a program, who supervise and instruct students in a specific area of expertise. Adjunct faculty work under the supervision and guidance of faculty. Adjunct faculty must meet the educational qualifications of faculty. Adjunct faculty are to supplement and complement the nursing faculty. Staff Nurse Clinical Instructors working on Dedicated Education Units (DEUs) are exempt from faculty qualifications as outlined in 172 NAC 97-003.

002.03 ANNUAL REPORT. A document that each nursing program is to submit at the end of each calendar year to maintain ongoing program approval and to keep the Board informed of the status of the program's administration and organization, clinical resources, curriculum, faculty and preceptors, program evaluation, students, and student services.

002.04 APPROVED. A program has been approved by the Board after it has met the requirements of Nebraska Revised Statute (Neb. Rev. Stat.) §§ 38-2232 to 38-2234 and the requirements of the Board as set out in this chapter.

002.05 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. The registered nurse who is assistant to the director in administration of the educational program in nursing regardless of the official title in any specific institution. The assistant director has the administrative responsibility for a specific program or site and must meet the same qualifications as those specified in this chapter for the director.

002.06 CLINICAL EXPERIENCE. Faculty-planned and guided learning activities designed to assist students to meet the stated program and course outcomes. Learning activities should be designed to assist students to safely apply knowledge and skills to clients across the lifespan and must be appropriate to the expectations of the graduates according to the program type.

002.07 CONTROLLING INSTITUTION. An established organization or institution which applies for approval and actually administers and controls the program of registered or practical nursing in its entirety after approval is received from the Board.

002.08 COURSE. An instructional unit of the curriculum with defined objectives and methods of evaluation.

002.09 CURRICULUM. The total learning experiences of the program organized in a systematic manner.

002.10 DEBRIEFING. An activity that follows a clinical lab, classroom or simulation experience, is led by a facilitator, encourages participants' reflective thinking, and provides feedback regarding participants' performance.

002.11 DEDICATED EDUCATION UNIT (DEU). Nursing units in which designated staff nurses become the clinical instructors to the students. Staff nurse clinical instructors work closely with nursing faculty and have received education about teaching, learning and evaluation in clinical nursing education.

002.12 DIPLOMA, DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE. The formal document showing that the student has completed the prescribed program.

002.13 DIRECTOR. The registered nurse administratively in charge of an educational program in nursing regardless of the official title in any specific institution.

002.14 DISTANCE LEARNING. A mode of delivering education and instruction to students who are not physically present in the same location.

002.15 GOVERNING BODY. The body of a controlling institution that sets the policies for the institution.

002.16 INNOVATIVE APPROACH. A creative nursing education strategy that departs from the current rule structure and requires Board approval for implementation.

002.17 NURSING FACULTY. Individuals employed full- or part-time by an academic institution who drive nursing education based on national standards, reflect the parent institution's mission, and facilitate the development of clinical judgment necessary for safe and effective practice.

002.18 OBSERVATIONAL EXPERIENCE. An assignment to a facility or unit where students observe the role of the facility and the role of nursing within the facility, but where students do not participate in direct patient or client care. Direct faculty or preceptor supervision is not required for an observational experience outside the clinical facility. Observational experiences may be used to supplement, but not replace direct patient care experiences.

002.19 PRECEPTOR. An experienced registered nurse who provides direct supervision of a formal student clinical learning experience at a clinical agency where the preceptor is employed. A preceptor acts as a facilitator of student learning and serves as a teacher, mentor, role model or supervisor who is immediately available in a clinical setting. Preceptors are employed by the agency where the student is placed for clinical experience.

002.20 PRELICENSURE NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAM. An educational program approved by the Board which prepares the registered or practical nursing graduates to qualify for the license of registered nurse or licensed practical nurse upon passing the required licensing examination, and meeting other licensure requirements.

002.21 PROGRAM STATUS. A designation assigned to a nursing education program by the Board which may include approval, warning, suspension or revocation.

002.22 PURPOSE. A statement which identifies the reason for the existence of a program.

002.23 RECOMMENDATIONS. Advice of what must be done to ensure that the entire program or program components have met the requirements of the law and the requirements of the Board as set out in this rule. All recommendations must be considered and implemented by the program and the program must keep the Board informed of the implementation of the recommendations.

002.24 SIMULATION. A technique to replace and or amplify patient care experiences with guided experiences that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive manner.

002.25 STAFF NURSE SUPPORTED EXPERIENCE. A clinical experience, which is 3 days or less, where a student is assigned 1:1 to a staff nurse in a specialty setting for a hands on clinical experience at the direction of the staff nurse. Faculty should provide indirect supervision for the experience as defined in 172 NAC 99.

002.26 STAFF NURSE CLINICAL INSTRUCTOR. A registered nurse with 12 months or more experience who receives orientation and training from nursing programs and is employed in a clinical setting at sites using the Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) model of clinical instruction. A staff nurse instructor will supervise no more than 2 students at 1 time and is exempt from faculty qualifications as outlined in 172 NAC 97-007.03.

002.27 SUGGESTIONS. Proposals for the program to consider that may enhance the program or program components. Suggestions are to be considered by the program, but may be accepted and implemented, modified and implemented, or rejected and not implemented. No follow-up communication with the Board is required.

002.28 SUPPORT COURSE. A non-nursing course in the areas of the biological, physical, or behavioral sciences, for which the content is essential to the application of nursing knowledge.

002.29 WAIVER. A provisional document that allows temporary suspension of 1 element of this chapter, such as faculty education or preceptor education.