OAR 851-021-0045
Standards for Approval: Nursing Faculty
(1)
Nursing program faculty must include a sufficient number of qualified Nurse Educators and Nurse Educator Associates to meet the identified learning outcomes of the nursing education program.(2) The Nurse Administrator and each nurse faculty member must hold a current, unencumbered license to practice as a registered nurse in Oregon, maintain current knowledge of nursing practice for the registered nurse and the licensed practical nurse, and be academically and experientially qualified for the level of appointment.
(3) Qualifications for practical nurse programs:
(a) The Nurse Administrator must:
(A) Hold at least a master’s degree in nursing with documentation of preparation or experience in curriculum and teaching; and,
(B) Have at least four years of full-time nursing experience or the equivalent, of which two years must have been in patient care, and two years must have been as a Nurse Educator or administrative position in a nursing education program.
(b) Each Nurse Educator must:
(A) Hold at least a baccalaureate degree in nursing; and,
(B) Have at least three years of full-time patient care nursing experience.
(c) Each Nurse Educator Associate must:
(A) Hold at least a baccalaureate degree in nursing; and,
(B) Have at least two years of full-time patient care nursing experience.
(d) If the institutional program in practical nursing is embedded within a program in registered nursing, all faculty member appointments must meet the qualifications required for registered nurse programs.
(4) Qualifications for registered nurse programs:
(a) The Nurse Administrator must:
(A) Hold at least a master’s degree in nursing with documentation of preparation and experience in curriculum and teaching in a nursing program. In addition, for baccalaureate degree nursing programs, the Nurse Administrator must hold an earned doctorate degree; and,
(B) Have at least five years of full-time nursing experience. At least two of these must have been in patient care nursing and at least three of these years must have been in a Nurse Educator or administrative position in a PN or RN nursing education program.
(b) Each Nurse Educator must:
(A) Hold at least a master’s degree in nursing or a baccalaureate degree in nursing and master’s in a related field with a post-master’s certificate in nursing from a program that is at least two semesters or three quarters in length;
(B) Have at least three years of full-time nursing experience in patient care ; and,
(C) Document or demonstrate competency in education through experience, educational preparation or continuing education.
(c) Each Nurse Educator Associate must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing with no less than two years of full-time nursing experience in patient care.
(5) In a nursing program where there is no parent institution, non-nurse faculty members who teach non-nursing didactic courses in that nursing program must be educationally and clinically prepared in the same specialty area(s) as the theory they teach and must show evidence of at least two years of professional experience in that specialty.
(a) If currently or previously professionally licensed, each faculty member must provide evidence of an unencumbered license in their specialty at the time of most recent licensure.
(b) A faculty appointment form must be completed by the nurse administrator and approved by the Board representative before such faculty assumes program responsibilities.
(c)
No exceptions will be granted for non-nurse faculty members.(6) Faculty appointments for faculty without exception are made at the discretion of the Nurse Administrator and do not require Board approval or notification. However, the Board maintains the authority to conduct audits of a program’s faculty education and experience at any time to confirm compliance with standards.
(a) When a program is found to be non-compliant with required faculty education and experience, monitoring may be necessary.
(b) Monitoring may require the program to notify the Board in writing within 30 days of appointment of all new faculty members for up to twelve months or until a pattern of compliance is demonstrated in the opinion of the Board.
(7) Appointment by Exception is required for nursing faculty teaching in a nursing program when indicated:
(a) Such request for appointment by exception must include rationale for the request and describe recruitment efforts; and,
(b) As established in OAR 851-021-0025 (Reports and Approvals) (4)(f), exception request must be approved by the Board representative before the faculty member assumes the program assignment.
(c) No more than 25% of the total faculty that includes both part-time and full-time, may be approved by exception;
(d) Any exceptions to the minimum qualifications for nursing program faculty appointments as indicated in subsections (3) and (4), and all faculty appointments as indicated in subsection (5) of this rule must be submitted in writing to the Board representative;
(8) Following evidence that substantial effort has been made to recruit a qualified faculty member without success, the Board representative may grant exceptions to nursing faculty for any of the following circumstances:
(a) The education and experience qualifications are deemed equivalent to the requirements; or,
(b) The individual has a baccalaureate in nursing, a masters or doctorate in a related field, and relevant nursing experience, and the background of the individual is related to the teaching assignment and is complementary to the faculty mix; or,
(c) The appointed individual is pursuing the needed qualifications. Reports on progress toward meeting the minimum qualifications must be provided as requested by the Board representative; or,
(d) The individual without full qualification is appointed for one year. The exception may be extended annually for a maximum of two times, with documentation of either continued and unsuccessful recruitment for a qualified replacement, or a plan to establish eligibility under exception (c) above.
(9) Special Provision for Nursing Faculty: Nurse Administrators and faculty members employed as such in Oregon during the 1984-85 academic year may be appointed after September 1, 1985 without meeting new requirements under paragraphs (3) and (4) of this rule.
(10) Nursing program faculty may include full-time and part-time faculty members. Faculty must participate in curriculum implementation and program evaluation.
(11) Nurse faculty members must have the authority and responsibility to:
(a) Maintain documentation of professional development activities that demonstrate links between annual evaluation of competency, professional goals, planned professional development activities, and completion of these activities;
(b) Determine student admission, progression, and graduation eligibility;
(c) Provide feedback to students with timely posting of assignment grades;
(d) Implement formal clinical evaluation tools at mid-term and at the completion of each clinical course;
(e) Define expected levels of performance for students in each clinical term;
(f) Develop, implement, and evaluate the curriculum and learning outcomes;
(g)
Provide opportunity for students to evaluate teaching effectiveness;(h) Collaborate with other nursing programs and agencies to develop appropriate and equitable access to clinical sites; and,
(i) Provide mechanisms for student input into and/or participation in decisions related to the nursing program.
(12) Faculty Operations must show the following:
(a) A standard format for faculty meeting minutes to capture meaningful discussions, decision-making, and follow-up; and,
(b) Policy and evidence indicate a timetable for regular review of nursing program policies, as well as student, program, and course outcomes, with curriculum evaluations that include faculty input.
(13) The Nurse Administrator and each nurse faculty member must demonstrate professional competence and continued development in nursing, nursing education, and assigned teaching responsibilities.
(a) The Nurse Administrator and each faculty member must periodically review assigned teaching responsibilities, evaluating and revising professional development plans as indicated;
(b) The institution and Nurse Administrator must support faculty in developing and maintaining competence in assigned teaching responsibilities; and,
(c) Links between evaluation of competency, professional goals, planned professional development activities, and completion of these activities must be evident in the Faculty Academic Performance Evaluation form for the Nurse Administrator and for each faculty member.
(14) Faculty providing oversight in clinical settings must also hold a registered nurse license to practice and meet requirements in the state in which the clinical experience is occurring.
(15) Policy and student evaluation forms indicate that nursing faculty have ultimate responsibility for student evaluations and progression in the program following clinical experiences, with input from clinical preceptors, clinical nurses, and agency staff as appropriate. In the final clinical practicum experience, clinical preceptor input is documented as informational only.
(16) Faculty Member-to-Student Ratio in Faculty-led Clinical Experiences:
(a) Faculty-led clinical practice must include development of skills in direct patient care and may include mid-fidelity or high-fidelity simulation substitutions per Board rules as established in OAR 851-021-0050 (Standards for Approval: Curriculum)(5).
(b) The number of faculty members appointed for oversight of direct patient care must be not less than one faculty member to every eight students having experience in one or more clinical units in the same facility at any given time. A lower ratio may apply when nursing faculty determine that student and client safety and learning effectiveness warrant.
(c) Recommended ratios must include consideration for the clinical faculty to adequately perform the responsibilities noted in sub section (e)(G) of this rule.
(d) For simulated clinical practice, program policy must define the ratio of nursing faculty members and staff-to-active student participants to follow the program’s adopted simulation professional standards. The number of active student participants must allow for appropriate evaluation by the nurse faculty member.
(e) Nursing program policy must include factors to be considered in determining the faculty member-to-student ratio in each clinical setting, such as:
(A) Objectives to be achieved;
(B) Preparation and expertise of faculty member;
(C) Level of students;
(D) Simulation (low fidelity, mid fidelity, high fidelity);
(E) Number, type and condition of clients;
(F)
Number, type, and location of clinical sites; and,(G) Adequacy of the ratio for nurse faculty to:
(i) Assess students’ capability to function safely within the clinicasituation;
(ii) Select and guide student experience; and,
(iii) Evaluate student performance.
(f) Faculty must provide students with a written plan for the clinical learning experience to enhance communication with clinical partners and bridge the gap between education and practice as established in OAR 851-021-0050 (Standards for Approval: Curriculum)(4)(d);
(g) Faculty must remain in the same facility as the student group throughout the clinical shift and must maintain a meaningful presence, as defined in program policy, with Clinical Nurses and students at the practice site.
(h) Rotate-out or observation experiences that involve 4 to 24 hours away from the primary faculty-led clinical group to other clinical units or areas within the same facility (e.g surgical suite) are those required as part of the curriculum. This does not include students who rotate to campus-based simulation lab or skills lab.
(17) Faculty Member-to-Student Ratio in Dedicated Education Units (DEU):
(a) The faculty member-to-student ratios may be modified in the DEU with the use of DEU-specific clinical preceptors.
(b) Clinical Preceptors may be used within a DEU as described by the following guidelines:
(A) There must be a written plan for the clinical learning experience consistent with these rules;
(B) Faculty must orient and provide on-going guidance for Clinical Preceptors in practice sites related to the program goals, teaching strategies, learning outcomes, and expected competencies of the students;
(C) Clinical Preceptors must be selected according to written criteria developed by faculty and agreed to by responsible person(s) in the practice site;
(D) Faculty are not required to remain in the same facility as the student group throughout the clinical shift, but must maintain a meaningful presence with Clinical Preceptors and students at the practice site, as described in the curriculum;
(E) The faculty member must confer with each Clinical Preceptor and student (individually or in groups) regularly during the clinical learning experience as described in the curriculum; and,
(F) Each Clinical Preceptor in the DEU may have oversight of two students. The ratio may be modified for final clinical practica.
(18) Faculty Member-to-Student Ratio in the Community Health Nursing Experiences:
(a) The number of faculty members appointed must be at least one faculty member to every eight students having experience in community health settings. A lower ratio may apply when nursing faculty determine that student and client safety and learning effectiveness warrant. The program must establish reasonable faculty-student ratios to:
(A) Allow for appropriate supervision and evaluation of the learning experience; and,
(B) Support student achievements of course outcomes.
(b) The faculty member of record is not required to be consistently on-site, but must provide meaningful presence and appropriate, in-person participation with the student and agency staff member or clinical nurse, as described in the curriculum.
(c) A faculty member must be readily available to the agency staff or clinical nurse while students are involved in the clinical learning experience.
(19) Faculty Member-to-Student Ratio in the Final Clinical Practicum Experience:
(a) The program must establish reasonable faculty-to-student ratios to:
(A)
Allow for appropriate supervision and evaluation of the learning experience; and,(B) Support student achievements of course outcomes.
(b) Each Clinical Preceptor may have oversight of one student.
(c) The faculty member of record is not required to be consistently on-site, but must provide meaningful presence and appropriate, in-person participation in the student-preceptor-faculty triad as described in the curriculum;
(d) A faculty member must be readily available to the Clinical Preceptor(s) while students are involved in the clinical learning experience; and,
(e) Clinical evaluation checklists for each student provide evidence that final student evaluation is completed by the faculty member in consultation with the Clinical Preceptor.
Source:
Rule 851-021-0045 — Standards for Approval: Nursing Faculty, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=851-021-0045.