Advanced Nurse Practice means advanced nursing care provided in one of the following areas of practice:
- Family practice nursing
- Pediatric nursing
- Women’s health nursing
- Nurse midwifery
- Gerontology nursing
- Adult nursing
- Nurse anesthesia
- Nursing administration
- Psychiatric or mental health nursing
- Acute care nursing
- Community or public health nursing
- Nursing education
Arkansas Department of Health refers to employment as an advanced practice nurse or nurse administrator in any unit or area of the ADH.
Advanced Nurse Practice occurs in the context of practice by a registered nurse who has met the following:
1. Completed a master’s degree or doctoral nursing educational program in Arkansas, and
2. Met the requirements for
- national certification; or
- teaching in an Arkansas-accredited school of nursing; and/or
- is prepared to serve as a nurse administrator in an Arkansas complex health care agency.
Advanced practice nursing includes the roles of
- Clinical nurse specialist
- Nurse practitioner
- Nurse administrator
- Nurse educator
- Nurse midwife
- Nurse anesthetist
Arkansas school of nursing means a school or school’s department of nursing located in Arkansas.
Board means the Graduate Nurse Educator Loan and Scholarship Board.
Complex Arkansas health care agency means any hospital, long-term care facility, large hospital-based clinic, large medical practice, or the Department of Health.
Department of Health means the Department of Health and any of Arkansas’ public health units.
Master’s or doctoral nursing education program means Arkansas nursing education programs located in an Arkansas public or private institution of higher education that has a master’s nursing program accredited by a recognized national nursing accreditation organization or a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing program accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
Nurse administrator means a student enrolled in an Arkansas master’s nursing education program or doctoral program who will serve as a nurse administrator in an Arkansas health care agency, including, but not limited to:
- A hospital
- A long-term care facility
- A large hospital owned clinic
- A large medical clinic
Nurse educator means a student enrolled in an Arkansas master’s nursing education program or doctoral nursing education program who will prepare to teach nursing in an Arkansas school of nursing;
Primary care occurs in the context of the community and is characterized by long-term, close relationships between practitioner and patient, in which the primary care provider treats common and episodic illnesses. Patients with more complex problems are referred to specialists.