Definitions
Pursuant to the California Code of Regulations (CCR) § 1480 the California Board of Registered Nursing has established the following definitions:
(a) “Nurse practitioner” means an advanced practice registered nurse who meets board education and certification requirements and possesses additional advanced practice educational preparation and skills in physical diagnosis, psycho-social assessment, and management of health-illness needs in primary care, and/or acute care.
(b) “Primary care” means comprehensive and continuous care provided to patients, families, and the community. Primary care focuses on basic preventative care, health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, patient education and the diagnoses and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses
(c) Clinically competent” means the individual possesses and exercises the degree of learning, skill, care and experience ordinarily possessed and exercised by a certified nurse practitioner providing healthcare in the same nurse practitioner category. The clinical experience must be such that the nurse received intensive experience in performing the diagnostic and treatment procedures essential to the provision of primary care.
(d) “Acute care” means restorative care provided by the nurse practitioner to patients with rapidly changing, unstable, chronic, complex acute and critical conditions in a variety of clinical practice settings.
(e) “Category” means the population focused area of practice in which the certified nurse practitioner provides patient care.
(f) “Clinical practice experience” means supervised direct patient care in the clinical setting that provides for the acquisition and application of advanced practice nursing knowledge, skills, and competencies.
(g) “Direct supervision of students” means a clinical preceptor or a faculty member is physically present at the practice site. The clinical preceptor or faculty member retains the responsibility for patient care while overseeing the student.