VOLUME 48, ISSUE 11
June 6, 2016 Rule Proposals
Law and Public Safety
Division of Consumer Affairs New Jersey Board of Nursing
Proposed Repeal: N.J.A.C. 13:37-7.3
Practice Prior to Passing the Examination for Certification
Authorized By: State Board of Nursing, Joanne Leone, Acting Executive Director.
Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:11-24.
Proposal Number: PRN 2016-086.
Submit written comments by August 5, 2016, to:
Joanne Leone, Acting Executive Director
State Board of Nursing
PO Box 45010
Newark, New Jersey 07101
The agency proposal follows:
Summary
N.J.A.C. 13:37-7.3 allows individuals who have submitted applications for advanced practice nurse certification, but who have not passed the certification examination, to apply to the Board for a work permit letter. This letter authorizes an individual to practice as an advanced practice nurse, as long as he or she does not engage in prescriptive practice. When this rule was adopted, certification examinations were offered a few times a year, typically no more than four. An applicant could wait several months after completing his or her education before being able to sit for an examination and there was a length of time before examination results were available. Today certification examinations are offered on computers, applicants can take the examination at almost any time, and examination results are available almost immediately after completing the examination. Given that there is significantly less time between completing an education and finding out the results of an examination, it is no longer necessary or appropriate to permit applicants to obtain work permit letters. The Board proposes to repeal N.J.A.C. 13:37-7.3, so that applicants for certification will no longer be able to obtain work permit letters.
The Board has determined that the comment period for this notice of proposal will be 60 days; therefore, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement.
Social Impact
The Board does not anticipate that the rule proposed for repeal will have any social impact.
Economic Impact
The rule proposed for repeal will not have any economic impact.
Federal Standards Statement
A Federal standards analysis is not required because there are no Federal laws or standards applicable to the rule proposed for repeal.
Jobs Impact
The Board does not believe that the rule proposed for repeal will increase or decrease the number of jobs in New Jersey.
Agriculture Industry Impact
The Board does not believe that the rule proposed for repeal will have any impact on the agriculture industry of this State.
Regulatory Flexibility Statement
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq., requires the Board to give a description of the types and an estimate of the number of small businesses to which the rule proposed for repeal will apply. A regulatory flexibility analysis is not required because the rule proposed for repeal only applies to applicants for certification who cannot be considered "small businesses" because they do not yet have a certification to practice as an advanced practice nurse.
Housing Affordability Impact Analysis
The rule proposed for repeal will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the rule would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the rule proposed for repeal concerns work permit letters for individuals who have applied for certification as advanced practice nurses.
Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis
The rule proposed for repeal will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the rule would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the rule proposed for repeal concerns work permit letters for individuals who have applied for but not yet received certification as advanced practice nurses.
Full text of the proposal follows (additions indicated in boldface thus; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):
13:37-7.3 [Practice prior to passing the examination for certification] (Reserved)
[(a) Prior to passing the examination for certification as an advanced practice nurse, an individual who has submitted an advanced practice nurse application to the Board may apply to the Board for a work permit letter authorizing the applicant to practice pursuant to this subchapter, except that no holder of a work permit letter shall engage in prescriptive practice. An applicant seeking a work permit letter shall submit to the Board proof that:
1. The applicant has completed the educational requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:37-7.2 or 7.5; and
2. The applicant has applied to take the examination required by N.J.A.C. 13:37-7.4.
[page=947] (b) An applicant who engages in advanced practice nursing pursuant to a work permit letter shall indicate that he or she is an "applicant advanced practice nurse" whenever the applicant identifies himself or herself either in person, on a chart, on a report or on any other document.
(c) An applicant who engages in advanced practice nursing pursuant to a work permit letter shall take the first examination for which the applicant is eligible. If the applicant fails the first examination, the applicant shall take the next examination for which he or she is eligible. If the applicant fails the second examination, the applicant shall surrender the work permit letter to the Board and shall not practice as an applicant advanced practice nurse until he or she passes the examination.] |
