5610.1 This section shall apply to advanced practice nursing education programs that prepare students for practice as nurse-anesthetists, nurse-midwives, nurse-practitioners, or clinical nurse specialists.

5610.2 An advanced practice registered nursing education program shall operate within, or be affiliated with an accredited college or university that is authorized to award graduate degrees or post-graduate certificates.

5610.3 To be eligible for approval, the advanced practice program shall be at the graduate or post-graduate level and have pre-accreditation or accreditation status.

5610.4 A college or university desiring initial approval of an advanced practice nursing education program shall submit a proposal to the Board as set forth in § 5601.1(b) to establish an advanced practice nursing education program that prepares students for practice as nurse-anesthetists, nurse-midwives, nurse-practitioners, or clinical nurse specialists.

5610.5 The nursing education program coordinator shall:

1. (a) Be academically and experientially qualified in the role of the program offered;
2. (b) Have a minimum of two (2) years of clinical experience as an advanced practice nurse;
3. (c) Have a District of Columbia advanced practice registered nurse license in good standing;
4. (d) Have a minimum of a doctoral degree in nursing and a current certification in the role and a population of the program; and
5. (e) Have educational preparation and experience, in teaching and curriculum development or program administration at the graduate level.

5610.6 The faculty shall:

1. (a) Be registered nurses licensed and in good standing in the District of Columbia;
2. (b) Have a minimum of a master's degree in nursing; and

(c) Meet the following additional qualification when teaching courses with associated clinical:

(1) Be academically and experientially qualified in the role and population of the program offered;

(2) Have a minimum of two (2) years of clinical experience as an advanced practice nurse; and

(3) Have a District of Columbia advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) license in good standing.

5610.7 Preceptors, when used for clinical in the District of Columbia, shall:

(a) Hold an active license to practice as an APRN or physician that is not encumbered and practices in a comparable practice focus; and

(b) Function as a supervisor and teacher and evaluates the individual's performance in the clinical setting.

5610.8 The program of study shall:

(a) Be comprehensive and prepare the graduate with the core competencies for one (1) of the four (4) APRN roles and at least one of the six (6) foci;

(b) Prepare the graduate to assume responsibility and accountability for health promotion and maintenance, as well as the assessment, diagnosis, and management of patient problems, including the use and prescription of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions;

(c) Include a minimum of three (3) separate core graduate-level courses in the following:

(1) Advanced physiology/pathophysiology, including general principles that apply across the lifespan;

(2) Advanced health assessment, which includes assessment of all human systems, advanced assessment techniques, concepts and approaches; and

(3) Advanced pharmacology, which includes pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics of all broad categories of agents.

(d) Include a minimum of five hundred (500) hours of supervised direct care clinical, with a minimum of fifty (50) minutes constituting one (1) hour.

5610.9 A certification program preparing an APRN specialty practice shall:

1. (a) Build upon and in addition to, the education and practice of the APRN role and population focus;
2. (b) Not prepare beyond the scope of practice of the role or population;
3. (c) Address a subset of the population-focus; and
4. (d) Be accredited by the nursing education accreditation organization.

5610.10 APRN students shall be currently licensed to practice as a registered nurse in the District of Columbia prior to participation in clinical practice as a student.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 51 DCR 7190 (July 23, 2004); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 54 DCR 2116 (March 9, 2007); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 16319 (December 25, 2015).