Ariz. Admin. Code § 4-19-301

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 35, August 30, 2024

Section R4-19-301 - Licensure by Examination

A. An applicant for licensure by examination shall:

1. Submit a verified application to the Board on a form furnished by the Board that provides the following information about the applicant:

a. Full legal name and all former names used by the applicant;

b. Address of Record, including declared primary state of residence, e-mail address, and telephone number;

c. Place and date of birth;

d. Ethnic category and marital status, at the applicant's discretion;

e. Social Security number for an applicant who lives or works in the United States;

f. Post-secondary education, including the names and locations of all schools attended, graduation dates, and degrees received, if applicable;

g. Current employer or practice setting, including address, position, and dates of service, if employed or practicing in nursing or health care;

h. Information regarding the applicant's compliance with the practice or education requirements in R4-19-312;

i. Any state, territory, or country in which the applicant holds or has held a registered or practical nursing license and the license number and status of the license, including original state of licensure, if applicable;

j. The date the applicant previously filed an application for licensure in Arizona, if applicable;

k. Responses to questions regarding the applicant's background on the following subjects:

i. Current investigation or pending disciplinary action by a nursing regulatory agency in the United States or its territories;

ii. Action taken on a nursing license by any other state;

iii. Undesignated offenses, felony charges, convictions and plea agreements, including deferred prosecution;

iv. Misdemeanor charges, convictions and plea agreements, including deferred prosecution, that are required to be reported under A.R.S. § 32-3208;

v. Unprofessional conduct as defined in A.R.S. § 32-1601;

vi. Substance use disorder within the last 5 years;

vii. Current participation in an alternative to discipline program in any other state;

l. Explanation and supporting documentation for each affirmative answer to questions regarding the applicant's background; and.

m. Certification in nursing including category, specialty, name of certifying body, date of certification, and expiration date.

2. Submit proof of United States citizenship or alien status as specified in A.R.S. § 41-1080;

3. Submit a completed fingerprint card on a form provided by the Board or prints for the purpose of obtaining a criminal history report under A.R.S. § 32-1606 if the applicant has not submitted a fingerprint card or prints to the Board within the last two years; and

4. Pay the applicable fees.

B. If an applicant is a graduate of a pre-licensure nursing program in the United States that has been assigned a program code by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing during the period of the applicant's attendance, the applicant shall submit one of the following:

1. If the program is an Arizona-approved program, the transcript required in subsection (B)(2) or a statement signed by a nursing program administrator or designee verifying that:

a. The applicant graduated from or is eligible to graduate from a registered nursing program for a registered nurse applicant; or

b. The applicant graduated from or is eligible to graduate from a practical nursing program or graduated from a registered nursing program and completed Board-prescribed role delineation education for a practical nurse applicant; or

2. If the program is located either in Arizona or in another state or territory and meets educational standards that are substantially comparable to Board standards for educational programs under Article 2 when the applicant completed the program, an official transcript sent directly from one of the following as:

a. Evidence of graduation or eligibility for graduation from a diploma registered nursing program, associate degree registered nursing program, or baccalaureate or higher degree registered nursing program for a registered nurse applicant.

b. Evidence of graduation or eligibility for graduation of a practical nursing program, associate degree registered nursing program, or baccalaureate or higher degree registered nursing program for a practical nurse applicant.

C. If an applicant is a graduate of a pre-licensure international nursing program and lacks items required in subsection (B), the applicant shall comply with subsection (A), submit a self report on the status of any international nursing license, and submit the following:

1. To demonstrate nursing program equivalency, one of the following:

a. If the applicant graduated from a Canadian nursing program, evidence of a passing score on the English language version of either the Canadian Nurses' Association Testing Service, the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination, NCLEX or an equivalent examination;

b. A Certificate or Visa Screen Certificate issued by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), or a report from CGFNS that indicates an applicant's program is substantially comparable to a U.S. program; or

c. A report from any other credential evaluation service (CES) approved by the Board.

2. If a graduate of an international pre-licensure nursing program subsequently obtains a degree in nursing from an accredited U.S. nursing program, the requirement for a CES equivalency report may be waived by the Board, however the applicant is not eligible for a multi-state compact license.

3. If an applicant's pre-licensure nursing program provided classroom instruction, textbooks, or clinical experiences in a language other than English, a test of written, oral, and spoken English is required. Clinical experiences are deemed to have been provided in a language other than English if the principal or official language of the country or region where the clinical experience occurred is a language other than English, according to the United States Department of State.

4. An applicant who is required to demonstrate English language proficiency shall ensure that one of the following is submitted to the Board directly from the testing or certifying agency:

a. Evidence of a minimum score of 84 with a minimum speaking score of 26 on the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL),

b. Evidence of a minimum score of 6.5 overall with minimum of 6.0 on each module of the Academic Exam of the International English Language Test Service (IELTS) Examination,

c. Evidence of a minimum score of 55 overall with a minimum score of 50 on each section of the Pearson Test of English Academic exam.

d. A Visa Screen Certificate from CGFNS,

e. A CGFNS Certificate,

f. Evidence of a similar minimum score on another written and spoken English proficiency exam determined by the Board to be equivalent to the other exams in this subsection, or

g. Evidence of employment for a minimum of 960 hours within the past five years as a nurse in a country or territory where the principal language is English, according to the United States Department of State.

D. An applicant for a registered nurse license shall attain one of the following:

1. A passing score on the NCLEX-RN;

2. A score of 1600 on the NCLEX-RN, if the examination was taken before July 1988; or

3. A score of not less than 350 on each part of the SBTPE for registered nurses.

E. An applicant for a practical nurse license shall attain:

1. A passing score on the NCLEX-PN;

2. A score of not less than 350 on the NCLEX-PN, if the examination was taken before October 1988; or

3. A score of not less than 350 on the SBTPE for practical nurses.

F. The Board shall grant a license to practice as a registered or practical nurse to any applicant who meets the criteria established in statute and this Article. An applicant who is denied a license by examination may request a hearing by filing a written request with the Board within 30 days of service of the Board's order denying the license. Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 10.

G. If the Board receives an application from a graduate of a nursing program and the program's approval was rescinded under R4-19-212 at any time during the applicant's nursing education, the Board shall ensure that the applicant has completed a basic curriculum that is equivalent to that of a Board-approved nursing program and may do any of the following:

1. Grant licensure, if the program's approval was reinstated during the applicant's period of enrollment and the program provides evidence that the applicant completed a curriculum equivalent to that of a Board-approved nursing program;

2. By order, require successful completion of remedial education while enrolled in a Board approved nursing program which may include clinical experiences, before granting licensure; or

3. Return or deny the application if the education was not equivalent and no remediation is possible.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-19-301

Former Section II, Part I; Amended effective January 20, 1975 (Supp. 75-1). Amended effective December 7, 1976 (Supp. 76-5). Former Section R4-19-24 repealed, new Section R4-19-24 adopted effective February 20, 1980 (Supp. 80-1). Former Section R4-19-24 repealed, new Section R4-19-24 adopted effective May 9, 1984 (Supp. 84-3). Former Section R4-19-24 renumbered as Section R4-19-301(Supp. 86-1). Section repealed, new Section adopted effective July 19, 1995 (Supp. 95-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 6 A.A.R. 4819, effective December 7, 2000 (Supp. 00-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 10 A.A.R. 792, effective April 3, 2004 (Supp. 04-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 13 A.A.R. 1483, effective June 2, 2007 (Supp. 07-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 1308, effective July 6, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 23 A.A.R. 1420, effective 7/1/2017. Amended by final rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 3289, effective 12/2/2020.