The Nursing Regulatory Bodies, or NRBs, are governmental organizations that are prevalent in 50 states, four US territories and the District of Columbia. Their main practice is involved in the regulation of nursing practices all over the country. Within the last century, both state and territorial government authorities formed NRBs with the goal to preserve public health and welfare through managing and observing responsible nursing practices. In the current day, NRBs have the authority to provide licenses to individuals that practice nursing and to monitor the practicing individuals according to jurisdictional law. If necessary, they can take legal action against nurses performing unsafe practices.
There are a variety of regulations being upheld by the NCSBN through cooperation with nursing educational agencies, educators, and other stakeholders that are a part of national nursing education programs, events, and initiatives. A primary task of NRBs includes the approval of different educational nursing curriculums. This compromises proposals to establish new vocational programs and installations of nursing units within school structures, incorporating colleges, universities, military complexes, hospitals, or career schools (Texas Board of Nursing, 2018). The NRBs currently offer two methods that must be used to acquire a license. The first curriculum requires students to graduate from a board-approved program. The second allows the participants to take the NCLEX. The U.S. nursing regulatory model instructs that the new nurses must have evidence of graduating from a nursing regulatory body that has been approved to partake. This affects nurses according to the state in which they practice nursing, as many states do not require pre-licensure curriculum accreditation while others do.
According to the Texas Nurse Practitioners, current regulatory commissions uphold a multitude of responsibilities before nurses within the educational programs and those that have graduated. Every two years, the Texas legislature contemplates and passes bills that make changes to Texas laws with connection to nursing education programs or general nursing practice in the state (Texas Nurse Practitioners, 2020). Commission agencies such as the Texas Board of Nursing or the Texas Medical Board lead the process by which nurse-practicing laws become more cohesive and can be implemented. Both students and graduated nurses have the obligation to know the Nursing Practice Act and the regulations of their specific practice but also to understand added rules that form their career or education.
The guidelines which define the programs and curriculums must be endorsed by the medical boards within the State of Texas. The policy concerning vocational nursing educational programs was determined to be of didactic and clinical learning experiences (Texas Board of Nursing, 2018). The curriculums are guided by the Board’s philosophy, mission, objectives, and outcomes. For instance, nursing students would be offered a balanced curriculum of non-nursing and nursing courses throughout their programs. Over the past years, pre-licensure programs and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, APRN, curriculums have become prevalent in distant learning methods. This allows future nurses to study courses that are available either in their home state or territory. However, because the rules and policies in the home state may be different than those that are offering the distant learning programs, the nursing students need to be aware of the laws from the state that provides the curriculum as well as from their own.
It is vital to keep in mind the different regulations that are upheld by different states and territories as well as the requirements for graduating from certain programs or exams. Additionally, I find it personally important to adhere to the regulations of my specific scope of practice and study when following a nursing program. I also find it essential to check journals that update on the regulations that have been implemented into my sphere of practice.
Reference
Texas Board of Nursing. (2018) Program Development, Expansion and Closure. Web.
Texas Nurse Practitioners. (2020). Rules & Regulations.