An Act Regarding Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Requirements
Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §2101, as amended by PL 1993, c. 600, Pt. A, §108, is further amended to read:
§ 2101. Purpose
The State Board of Nursing is the state regulatory agency charged with protection of the public health and welfare in the area of nursing service. In order to safeguard the life and health of the people in this State, an individual who for compensation practices or offers to practice professional nursing or , practical nursing or advanced practice registered nursing in this State shall submit evidence that the individual is qualified so to practice and that individual must be licensed. It is unlawful for an individual not licensed under this chapter to practice or to offer to practice advanced practice registered nursing, professional nursing or practical nursing in this State; to use a sign, card or device to indicate that the individual is an advanced practice registered nurse, a professional registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse; or to hold oneself out to the public as a professional registered nurse or , a licensed practical nurse or an advanced practice registered nurse.
Sec. 2. 32 MRSA §2102, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 316, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
Sec. 3. 32 MRSA §2102, sub-§5-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 498, §2 and affected by §3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
An advanced practice registered nurse may use the abbreviation "A.P.R.N." or the title or abbreviation designated by a national certifying body.
An advanced practice registered nurse has at least one population focus and may serve as a primary or acute care provider of record.
An advanced practice registered nurse is a licensed independent practitioner in accordance with standards established or recognized by the board.
Sec. 4. 32 MRSA §2102, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 316, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 5. 32 MRSA §2102, sub-§11 is enacted to read:
Sec. 6. 32 MRSA §2106, sub-§§3 and 4, as amended by PL 1993, c. 600, Pt. A, §117, are further amended to read:
Sec. 7. 32 MRSA §2106, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1991, c. 797, §15, is further amended to read:
Sec. 8. 32 MRSA §2111 is enacted to read:
§ 2111. Rules
The board may adopt rules to implement this chapter. Rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 9. 32 MRSA §2201-A, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 379, §7 and affected by §11, is amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
This section is repealed January 1, 2016.
Sec. 10. 32 MRSA §2201-B is enacted to read:
§ 2201-B. Qualifications for advanced practice registered nurse
An applicant for approval to practice advanced practice registered nursing shall submit to the board a completed written application, the appropriate application fees established by the board and written evidence verified by oath that the applicant:
A registered professional nurse who is approved by the board to practice in accordance with former section 2102, subsection 2, paragraph B on the effective date of this section is considered to have met the requirements of subsections 2 and 3.
Sec. 11. 32 MRSA §2205-B, as amended by PL 2009, c. 512, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 12. 32 MRSA §2205-C is enacted to read:
§ 2205-C. Licensure as advanced practice registered nurse
An applicant for an advanced practice registered nurse license may not have committed an act or omission that is grounds for disciplinary action in another state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Sec. 13. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that repeal and replace the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, section 2102, subsections 2-A and 5-A; that enact Title 32, section 2102, subsection 11 and Title 32, sections 2201-B and 2205-C; and that repeal Title 32, section 2102, subsection 10 and Title 32, section 2205-B take effect January 1, 2016.
SUMMARY
This bill revises statutory language regarding advanced practice registered nursing. The bill provides for prescriptive authority for all 4 roles of advanced practice, including certified nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist and clinical nurse specialist. Currently, nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives have prescriptive authority. The bill also requires population-specific practice to prevent the proliferation of specialties within the nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist categories. The bill includes a grandfather provision.