HOUSE BILL 380

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Danice Picraux

AN ACT

RELATING TO LICENSING; CREATING A STATEWIDE PROGRAM FOR CERTIFICATION OF CERTIFIED NURSE TECHNICIANS; EXEMPTING RELIGIOUS PRACTITIONERS FROM THE NURSING PRACTICE ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. A new section of the Nursing Practice Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CERTIFIED NURSE TECHNICIAN PROGRAM.--

          A. A statewide program for certification of nurse technicians is created under the board.

          B. For the purposes of this section, "certified nurse technician" means a person who, under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, is permitted to provide direct, hands-on nursing care to a person according to rules adopted by the board.

          C. Unless certified as a nurse technician under the Nursing Practice Act, a person shall not:

                (1) practice as a certified nurse technician; or

                (2) use the title "certified nurse technician" or other title, abbreviation, letters, figures, signs or devices to indicate or imply that the person is a certified nurse technician.

          D. The board shall:

                (1) maintain a permanent register of all certified nurse technicians;

                 (2) adopt rules for certified nurse technicians and certification requirements, including standards and curricula;

                (3) adopt rules governing the supervision of certified nurse technicians by licensed practical nurses, including standards and performance evaluations of certified nurse technicians; and

                (4) conduct disciplinary hearings of certified nurse technicians or hearings on the denial, suspension or revocation of certified nurse technician certificates in accordance with the Uniform Licensing Act.

          E. An applicant for certification as a certified nurse technician shall pay the required application fee, submit written evidence of having completed a board-approved training program for certified nurse technicians and successfully complete a board-approved examination. The board shall issue a certificate to a person who fulfills the requirements for certification.

          F. A certificate issued by the board to practice as a certified nurse technician shall be renewed every two years."

     Section 2. Section 61-3-29 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1968, Chapter 44, Section 25, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 303, Section 2 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 307, Section 8) is amended to read:

     "61-3-29. EXCEPTIONS.--The Nursing Practice Act shall not apply to or affect:

          A. gratuitous nursing by friends or members of the family;

          B. nursing assistance in case of emergencies;

          C. nursing by students when enrolled in approved schools of nursing or approved courses for the education of professional or practical nurses when such nursing is part of the educational program;

          D. nursing in this state by a nurse licensed in another state whose employment requires the nurse to transport a patient or who is a camp nurse who accompanies and cares for a patient temporarily residing in this state if the nurse's practice in this state does not exceed three months and the nurse does not claim to be licensed in this state;

          E. nursing in this state by a person employed by the United States government, while in the discharge of the person's official duties;

          F. the practice of midwifery by a person other than a registered nurse who is certified or licensed in this state to practice midwifery;

          G. a person working as a home health aide, unless performing acts defined as professional nursing or practical nursing pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act;

          [H. a nursing aide or orderly, unless performing acts defined as professional nursing or practical nursing pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act;

          I.] H. a registered nurse holding a current license in another jurisdiction who is enrolled in a professional course requiring nursing practice as a part of the educational program; [or

          J.] I. performance by a personal care provider in a noninstitutional setting of bowel and bladder assistance for an individual whom a health care provider certifies is stable, not currently in need of medical care and able to communicate and assess the individual's own needs; or

          J. nursing or caring for the sick provided in accordance with a religious practice so long as the caregiver does not claim to be a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse."