The Board of RN or registered nursing regulates the practice of registered nurses to protect the public’s health. The Board is mostly made up of nurses, public members or physicians. Whether registered nurses practice independently or in collaboration with other medical professionals, it is the role of the Board to define the scope of practice for registered nurses and to ensure that the nurse complies with all rules and regulations.
The Board of Registered Nursing protects consumers by way of setting educational standards for their nursing programs for nurses becoming licensed registered nurses. When you think that there are some 150 pre-license nursing programs and over fifty practice programs, you realize the work of the Board to ensure they all meet educational standards. The Board also issues certificates to eligible nursing midwives, public health nurses, clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists, and they also maintain a list of eligible medical and nursing specialists.
The Board Of Registered Nursing’s Role Is To Protect The Public
Ultimately, the Board’s focus is on protecting the public and not the nurse. Ardor Health Solutions: ardorhealth.com has a list of all the licensing Boards with their contact details to make it easy for you to find your nursing board if you have any queries. The care a RN gives takes place in a variety of settings and will depend on their educational preparation and practice experience. Registered nurses are responsible for ensuring all health services they provide are in accordance with their training, and to this end they have to meet legislative requirements. 
Avoiding Lawsuits
To protect yourself, you as a registered nurse must be alert to the rules and regulations that govern the nursing practice. You need to think carefully about your scope of practice in order to avoid lawsuits. Lawsuits can be pretty expensive, but the bigger concern is the reality of realizing that the Board can actually have a terrible impact on your ability to practice nursing. Nurses who assume responsibility for health care roles which are outside their scope of practice stand to be guilty of misconduct. The Council or Board’s role is to protect public safety and to enable the expansion of nursing practice while also ensuring that appropriate standards and education are put in place to protect the public.
Nurses Have A Set Of Guidelines
The Board has developed a set of guidelines for nurses to use when making decisions about practice roles. Their mission is to ensure that patients are nursed and treated by competent and skilled nurses. For more information on the Board you can go to the Board of Registered Nurses website: ca.gov.
The requirements for getting a license to practice as a nurse also differs in every US state and sometimes they just change without notice. You can contact the Board of Nursing in the state where you you intend practising to verify their license requirements.
The Ohio Board of Nursing for instance knows too well about the confusion regarding the difference between the Boards and nursing organizations . They are a regulatory board made up of individuals as well as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses as well as a consumer appointed by the governor.
Who Are The Board Members?
Board members in Ohio as well as other states are public officials, and their meetings are open to the public. Health care practitioners must pay fees to the regulatory body in order to be able to practice legally in the state of Ohio for instance. The Board exists to enforce the law and rules regulating practice of registered nurses and they have the authority to establish requirements which nurses must meet to get a license in order to practice nursing. As always each Board of Nursing differs from state to state but qualifications to be a member of the board are much the same:
- the member must be a citizen of the United States of America
- the member must be actively involved in the practice of nursing as a registered nurse at the time of appointment to the Board
- the member must hold a current unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse
- have had at least three of of experience in the particular field of practice they are in
The Board
- approves pre-licensure nursing education programs
- keeps a record of all board proceedings
- approves dialysis training programs and all nursing education programs
- publishes an annual report with all the activities of the Board included
- maintains a roster of all the licensed member and review it each year
- oversees the licensure examination of nurses. Renews and reinstates licences
- takes disciplinary action when a licensee violates the law
- adopts and revises rules and regulations
- appoints an attorney at law to represent the Board
The Board of RN wants to make sure that only qualified nurses are providing care to the public. They may deny or restrict any license to practice as a registered nurse. When regulatory boards like the Board of Nursing enforce the law, they also impose penalties on those nurses who fail to practice in accordance with the law.
What Are The Penalties?
Penalties may include suspension from practice, a reprimand, a fine or even permanent revocation of the right to practice. The type of action taken will depend on the severity of the charge. The Board of Nursing enforces the laws regulating the practice of nursing the way the law is stated, so they don’t deviate from the law to suit the person receiving disciplinary action.
The Boards of Nursing in the different states have the authority to take disciplinary action against those who are regulated by the Board .
Who Is Regulated By The Board?
Those who are regulated by the Board are licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and dialysis technicians and the board investigates activities of those who are not RNs, LPNs or dialysis technicians.
Who Files Complaints With The Board Of Registered Nursing?
A complaint can be filed by anyone who thinks that a licensee of the Board has engaged in illegal activities. Allegations may include things like:
- unprofessional conduct
- incompetence
- license application fraud
- substance abuse
All complaints put before the Board are reviewed to establish if the board has the authority to investigate the complaint. Complaints involving allegations which are not within the jurisdiction of this Board will be referred to other agencies. If anyone has a complaint, they can be filed by completing a complaint form and submitting it to their particular Board of RN. After about a week of the complaint being lodged, the Board will send a written notification of receipt to the complainant. The complaint will be investigated and if nothing untoward can be found, the case is closed. Where there is evidence of a violation, prosecution may follow. The details of the investigation are kept confidential, but if there is disciplinary action, some information may become public. Where a nurse has a mental illness or has been involved in drug abuse, a rehabilitation program is offered. The program monitors the nurse, and this program replaces disciplinary action..
The NCLEX Exam
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing develop and administer national nurse licensure exams: the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, known as NCLEX-RN and the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses, known as NCLEX-PN. The exams are used by the Boards of Nursing to test competence of entry-level nursing for licensure as registered nurses and as Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses. You must submit an application for licensure to the board of nursing where you want to be licensed. You will also need to meet the Board of Nursing’s eligibility requirements to take the NCLEX examination.
Conclusion
The board of RN is responsible for the registration of all nurses and they regulate nurses for the welfare of the public. Their goal is to make sure that practicing nurses have the skills, knowledge and competence to nurse and they will investigate any misconduct or incompetence. The US has many registration boards and you need to be registered in the state where you intend working. Registered nurses are inclined to think about the Board of Nursing only when they want to get their nursing license, but the Board has many other tasks. Most nurses don’t realize that having to relinquish their license is not only for retirement, but because the Board revokes their license. On top of that if the Board opts not to revoke a license, they can still impose restrictions and this can make it difficult to get work in the future.
Yes, there are many nurses who happen to be excellent nurses, and who have simply made an error because they may have been unaware of the laws governing the practice. Ignorance is bliss doesn’t apply when you are dealing with the lives of people who have put their health into the hands of people they believed to be competent and caring.