by Each US state and territory has its Board of Nursing (BON).
Board of Nursing regulates nursing practice.
There are 59 BONs and all make the National Council of State Board of Nursing (NCSBN).
Each BON directs nursing practice based on nursing standards.
Also, every BON has the authority to create its version of the Standards of Nursing Practise.
BONs exists to improve healthcare systems and to make sure that public health is protected.
They also take care of licensing and provide licenses only to competent individuals.
BONs define and outline all standards and requirements for nursing care, and administer licenses according to them.
Each state Board of Nursing has four nursing discipline to regulate.
Those are education, practice, licensure, and discipline.
BONs regulate nursing education through accreditation and nursing curriculum approval.
They are in charge of approving online nursing programs, CEU (continuous education unit), for implementing evidence-based nursing education and for simulation of the schools.
BONs also have their publication.
By directing the nursing practice, each BON assures that there are strictly defined standards of nursing care, delegation, and scope on nursing practice.
BONs write standards of nursing practice according to the Nurse Practice Act.
The licensure procedure under the BONs jurisdiction, as each BON grants permission to individuals.
Only those individuals who meet all education and skill requirements can get licenses.
In most of the states, the licensure procedure consists of three steps.
The first one is the verification of graduation, but only Board-approved programs are considered.
Next, the Board verifies whether the candidate has passed the National Council License Exam (NCLEX).
The third step is common in some states, but not all of them.
To get a license, nurses have to pass a criminal check.
Boards of Nursing regulate the licensure procedure for international nurses as well.
The nursing discipline process is also under the jurisdiction of BONs, and the BONs make sure that the process is thorough and formal.
Because the purpose of the BONs is to protect public health, each BON needs to guard the public against nurses who violate nursing laws and regulations.
Nursing laws are compatible with Nurse Practice acts.
BONs have the legal authority to issue levels of discipline, and even terminate the nursing license in severe misdemeanor cases.
Before the discipline is issued, BON starts the investigation and review all complaints.
If the BON finds that violation of laws has occurred, it can issue discipline to provide a reasonable outcome.
BONs are authorized to issue several disciplinary actions, as light as monetary fine or civil action, and as severe as revocation of license.
The disciplinary levels between these two actions are alternative discipline in case of drug dependency, public reprimand, reduction and remediation, license restriction, and license suspension.
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