PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
(Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission)
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Amending WAC 246-840-500 through 246-840-575, rules governing approval of registered nurse and practical nurse education programs.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 18.79.110.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: These amendments are needed to clarify the present rule, to update curricula requirement changes, to change faculty requirements and site visit survey time-frames. A title for this section is needed. The format may need to be changed to reflect the same style throughout the rules, differentiating RN and PN program criteria shown in columns rather than sequential text.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The Federal Department of Education approves national certifying/accrediting bodies for nursing education programs; currently one of those bodies gives accreditation for eight years and another gives full accreditation for ten years; our state approval is on an eight year cycle, but the intent is to make our state survey visits in conjunction with the national accrediting body.
Process for Developing New Rule: Collaborative rule making, members of the public, in particular the deans and directors of nursing programs in the state, and other interested parties will be invited to attend public meetings to review and present comment on these WACs.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Maura G. Egan, Ph.D, RN, Nursing Education Program Manager, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47864, Olympia, WA 98504-7864, phone (360) 236-4709, fax (360) 236-4738, e-mail maura.egan@doh.wa.gov.
May 7, 2000
Paula R. Meyer, RN, MSN
Executive Director