A. NEW APRN PROGRAM LEADING TO LICENSURE a. An institution, seeking to establish a new APRN nursing education program leading to licensure, shall submit a letter of intent to the Board.
(1) An applicant for an Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) program shall comply with the “Criteria and Procedures for Preparing Proposals for New Programs,” established by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
(2) Appropriate professional accreditation (nursing accrediting organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation) of the new APRN program is considered to be deemed status as approved by the Board.
b. The institution shall submit:
(1) A copy of the curricula plan and course descriptions for Board review within thirty (30) days of sending the information to the accrediting body;
(2) Other accreditation materials as requested by the Board; and
(3) Documentation of accreditation within thirty (30) days of receipt of the report from the accrediting body.
B. ESTABLISHED PROGRAM THAT PREPARES GRADUATES FOR LICENSURE 1. Continued Full Approval -- an established graduate program in advanced practice registered nursing shall submit to the Board documentation of the program's continued national nursing accreditation status within thirty (30) days of receipt from the accrediting body. Receipt of the documentation shall serve as deemed status for approval by the ASBN.
1. The education program for advanced practice nursing shall meet the nursing accrediting body standards for advanced practice registered nursing.
2. The curriculum plan for advanced practice registered nursing shall include:
a. Preparation in one of the four identified APRN roles (CRNA, CERTIFIED NURSE MIDWIFE, CNS, and CNP); and
b. Preparation in at least one of the approved population foci:
(1) Family/Individual Across the Lifespan
(5) Women's Health/Gender-Related
(6) Psychiatric/Mental Health; and
c. Three separate graduate level courses (the APRN Core):
(1) Advanced physiology and pathophysiology
(2) Advanced health assessment
(3) Advanced pharmacology
a. All graduate or post-graduate programs leading to advanced practice licensure shall have a minimum of 500 supervised clinical hours in direct clinical practice during the program.
b. APRN programs preparing for two population foci shall have a minimum of 500 supervised clinical hours for each population focus.
c. Clinical supervision must be congruent with current national professional organizations and nursing accrediting body standards applicable to the APRN role and population focus.
d. Student clinical experiences shall be congruent with the population focus of the role.
Credits
Amended Jan. 20, 2013; March 26, 2016; Oct. 1, 2017; Dec. 29, 2017; Dec. 29, 2018; July 24, 2020; May 15, 2022.
Current with amendments received through February 15, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credit for details.
Ark. Admin. Code 007.34.1-4-XII, AR ADC 007.34.1-4-XII
