1. (a) The registered professional nurse who seeks authorization to practice as an advanced practice nurse must:

   1. (1) hold a current, valid, unencumbered license as a registered nurse in the State of Texas or reside in any party state and hold a current, valid, unencumbered registered nurse license in that state;
   2. (2) submit to the Board such evidence as required by the Board to insure compliance with §221.3 of this chapter (relating to Education);
   3. (3) attest, on forms provided by the Board to having met the minimum of 400 hours of current practice within the preceding biennium unless the applicant has completed an advanced educational program within the preceding biennium;
   4. (4) attest, on forms provided by the Board, to having obtained 20 contact hours of continuing education in the advanced specialty and role recognized by the Board every two years. Continuing education in the advanced specialty and role must meet the requirements of Chapter 216 of this title (relating to Continuing Education). The 20 contact hours required for RN licensure may be met by the 20 hours required by this subsection; and
   5. (5) submit the required credentialing fee, which is not refundable.
2. (b) The applicant for advanced practice nurse authorization who completed an advanced educational program on or after January 1, 1996 must submit to the Board such evidence as required by the Board to ensure the applicant holds current certification in an advanced nursing role and specialty recognized by the Board. Such certification must be granted by a national certifying body recognized by the Board. The applicant for advanced practice nurse authorization shall obtain national certification in the advanced role and specialty within two years of his/her program completion date. The applicant shall present such evidence as is required by the Board to document his/her original date of certification when requested to do so by the Board. The Board reserves the right to designate an available national examination in a closely related specialty which must be taken in lieu of an examination specifically related to the specialty. If an appropriate certification examination is not available and the Board has not designated an alternate examination, the applicant may petition the Board for waiver from the certification requirement, according to §221.7(c) of this chapter (relating to Petitions for Waiver).
3. (c) Advanced practice nurse applicants who wish to be authorized by the Board for more than one designation shall complete additional education in the desired area(s) of approval in compliance with §221.3 of this chapter and obtain national certification in the advanced role and specialty from a national certifying body recognized by the Board. To apply for authorization for more than one designation, the applicant shall submit a separate application and fee for each desired designation.
4. (d) After review by the Board, notification of acceptability of credentials and a certificate verifying approval shall be sent to the advanced practice nurse.

Source Note:The provisions of this §221.4 adopted to be effective February 25, 2001, 26 TexReg 1509; amended to be effective March 14, 2002, 27 TexReg 1736.