Nursing: distance education nursing program students.

Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, establishes the Board of Registered Nursing to license and regulate the practice of nursing. The act prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of nursing without an active license but authorizes a student to render nursing services incidental to the student's course of study, as specified. The act punishes a violation of its provisions as a misdemeanor. This bill would additionally authorize a student to render nursing services if the student is a resident of the state and enrolled in a prelicensure distance education nursing program based at an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution, as defined, for the purpose of gaining clinical experience in a clinical setting that meets certain criteria, including that the program is accredited by a programmatic accreditation entity recognized by the United States Department of Education. The bill would require a student described above to be supervised by a registered nurse licensed by the board while rendering nursing services and would prohibit a clinical agency or facility from scheduling a clinical experience placement with an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution if the placement is needed to fulfill the clinical experience requirements of an in-state student enrolled in a board-approved nursing program.