24 Del. Admin. Code § 1900-3.0

Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 5, November 1, 2024

Section 1900-3.0 - Nursing Refresher Courses

3.1 Statement of Purpose.

A nursing refresher course is required for Registered and Licensed Practical Nurses who are presently ineligible for endorsement or reinstatement of licensure because they fail to satisfy the active employment requirement of a minimum of 1000 practice hours in the past five years or 400 nursing practice hours in the past two years.

3.1.1 Nurses successfully completing an approved refresher course may apply for licensure by endorsement, reinstatement, or renewal and may resume practice with an active license.

3.1.2 An orientation program does not take the place of a refresher course.

3.2 Course Content

3.2.1 In accordance with the Nurse Practice Act, the design of the course for the Registered and the Licensed Practical Nurse shall incorporate evidence based practice and adult teaching/learning methods appropriate to meet program outcomes.

3.2.2 Course content for both Registered and Licensed Practical Nurses shall include a review of the curriculum content in Section 2.0 under subsection 2.4.1.7.5.3.

3.2.3 The Registered and the Licensed Practical Nurse refresher course content will be presented at the appropriate level of practice and shall include:

3.2.3.1 Infectious disease/blood borne pathogens;

3.2.3.2 Informatics;

3.2.3.3 Bioterrorism response and disaster planning;

3.2.3.4 Current professional/practical nursing trends;

3.2.3.5 Legal and ethical aspects of professional/practical nursing;

3.2.3.6 The nursing process;

3.2.3.7 Communication skills;

3.2.3.8 Pharmacology;

3.2.3.9 Fluid and electrolytes;

3.2.3.10 Diagnostic tests and commonly used lab test values;

3.2.3.11 Nutrition;

3.2.3.12 Basic Life Support; and

3.2.3.13 Basic nursing procedures.

3.2.4 The refresher course for the Registered and the Licensed Practical Nurse shall have a minimum of 40 hours of theory and a minimum of 80 hours of clinical practice.

3.2.5 Each course shall include sufficient theory and supervised clinical practice to meet the course objectives.

3.3 Clinical Facilities

3.3.1 The clinical facilities shall be:

3.3.1.1 Able to support the necessary clinical practice.

3.3.1.2 Licensed by the State and/or accredited by a national accrediting agency where the course is being conducted.

3.3.1.3 An acute and/or long-term care facility.

3.4 Director and Faculty Qualifications

3.4.1 The course director shall be a Registered Nurse licensed in Delaware or a compact state with a minimum of a Master's of Science in Nursing degree.

3.4.2 The faculty and preceptors shall be Registered Nurses licensed in Delaware or a compact state with a minimum of a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree or have completed all requirements for a BSN in an RN-to-MSN Program.

3.5 Evaluation

3.5.1 There shall be an evaluation that will measure the application of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to return to active nursing practice.

3.5.2 Evaluation tools that may be used include:

3.5.2.1 Evaluation of clinical competence for safe nursing practice

3.5.2.2 Written assignments

3.5.2.3 Examination

3.5.3 The course director shall verify to the Board of Nursing in writing that each nurse participant has successfully completed the refresher course.

3.6 Procedure for Approval and Continuing Approval

3.6.1 Refresher courses offered to meet requirements for Registered and Licensed Practical Nurse licensure, renewal, endorsement, or reinstatement must be approved by the Board.

3.6.2 Applications for course approval shall be approved by the Board prior to student enrollment.

3.6.3 Applications for approval shall include:

3.6.3.1 Name of the entity offering the course

3.6.3.2 Type of course:

3.6.3.2.1 Registered Nurse refresher program

3.6.3.2.2 Licensed Practical Nurse refresher program

3.6.3.3 The course director, faculty and preceptors must submit their curriculum vitae to the Board and meet all requirements as identified in Section 2.0.

3.6.3.4 Course outline, including:

3.6.3.4.1 Theoretical and clinical objectives

3.6.3.4.2 Course content

3.6.3.4.3 Hours of theory and practice

3.6.3.4.4 Facilities used for clinical practice

3.6.3.4.5 Assignments

3.6.3.4.6 Evaluation procedures

3.6.4 Approval shall be considered after the program has been reviewed and has met the standards of the Board. Written notification of the action taken at a regularly scheduled board meeting, including any recommendations, shall be sent to the director of the course.

3.6.5 When any course change is projected, such as, but not limited to, course hours, faculty or facility, a plan shall be submitted to the Board including:

3.6.5.1 Proposed change

3.6.5.2 Rationale for the change

3.6.5.3 Relationship of the proposed change to the present courses

3.6.5.4 Five copies of the proposed changes shall be submitted to the Board at least 14 days prior to the Board meeting at which the request will be considered.

3.6.6 The entity offering the course shall submit a copy of an Annual Report every year prior to December 1 using a format supplied by the board.

3.6.7 A site visit may be made at the Board's discretion.

24 Del. Admin. Code § 1900-3.0

15 DE Reg. 685 (11/01/11)
19 DE Reg. 432 (11/1/2015)
27 DE Reg. 61 (7/1/2023) (Final)