# Title 54 — Board of Nursing

## Article 54-01 — General Administration

## Chapter 54-01-03 — Definitions

### § 54-01-03-01. Definitions.

The terms used in this title have the same meaning as in North Dakota Century Code chapter
43-12.1 and apply to North Dakota Administrative Code title 54 unless the context indicates otherwise.
1. "Abandonment" means accepting the client assignment and disengaging the nurse and client
relationship without giving notice to a qualified person.
2. "Abuse" means any behavior that is designed to harass, intimidate, or injure another human
being through the use of verbal, sexual, emotional, or physical harm.
3. "Accreditation" means the official authorization or status granted by a nationally recognized
agency other than a state board of nursing.
4. "Activities of daily living" includes interventions associated with nutrition and hydration,
elimination, maintaining mobility, assistance with self-administration of routine regularly
scheduled medications, and personal cares. Personal care includes bathing, hair care, nail
care, shaving, dressing, oral care, and supporting a safe and healthy environment.
5. "Acts or omissions" means patterns of unsafe behavior, nursing practice deficits, failure to
comply with acceptable standards of nursing practice, or grounds for discipline identified in
North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-12.1 or these rules.
6. "Advanced assessment" means the collection of the history, physical and psychological
assessment data of a client's signs, symptoms, pathophysiologic status, and psychosocial
variation in the determination of differential diagnoses and treatment by the advanced practice
registered nurse.
7. "Applicant" means an individual seeking official action by the board.
8. "Approved" means that the standards established by the board are met.
9. "Assign" means a licensed nurse designates the responsibility for performance of nursing
interventions to another licensed nurse.
10. "Assignment" means the distribution of work that each staff member is to accomplish.
11. "Assisting with self-administration of routine, regularly scheduled medications" means helping
the client with one or more steps in the process of taking medications. Examples of "assisting"
include opening the medication container or reminding the client of the proper time to take the
medication. Assisting with the administration of medication may be a delegated intervention.
12. "Authority" means legal authority to provide nursing care granted through licensure as a
registered nurse, licensure as a practical nurse, or through delegation of nursing interventions
from the licensed nurse.
13. "Certification" means a process of voluntary recognition by a national nursing organization or
other entity of the person's specialty knowledge, skills, and abilities in a defined area of
nursing practice. The certification process measures the theoretical and clinical content
denoted in the specialty areas or scope of practice and is developed in accordance with
generally accepted standards of validity and reliability.

14. "Client" means the recipient of nursing care, which may include an individual, family, group, or
a community.
15. "Clinical learning experiences" means the planned, faculty-guided learning experiences that
involve direct or indirect contact with clients.
16. "Competence" means the application and integration of knowledge, skills, ability, and
judgment necessary to meet standards.
17. "Compliance" means the act of adhering to or conforming to the terms, conditions, or
restrictions specified in a consent agreement by the alternative to discipline program or
disciplinary order by the board.
18. "Comprehensive nursing assessment" means analysis and synthesis of data collected by a
registered nurse, which is used to establish a health status baseline, establish a plan of care,
and address changes in a client's condition.
19. "Consultative nurse" means a licensed nurse who provides guidance and information related
to nursing procedures and interventions to the facility or agency but is not individually
responsible to direct the plan of care for the client.
20. "Continuing education" means planned, organized learning experiences designed to augment
the knowledge, skills, and abilities for the delivery of safe and effective nursing care for the
citizens of North Dakota which meets the criteria and reporting requirements established by
the board.
21. "Controlled substance" means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in schedules I
through V as set forth in North Dakota Century Code chapter 19-03.1 and any other drugs
required by law to be monitored by the prescription drug monitoring program.
22. "Criminal history record information" shall have the same meaning as defined in North Dakota
Century Code section 12-60-16.1.
23. "Delegation" means the authorization for the performance of selected nursing interventions
from a licensed nurse to an unlicensed assistive person.
24. "Denial" means the board's refusal to issue or renew a current license or registration.
25. "Direction" means the provision of written or verbal guidance, or both, and supervision by a
licensed nurse who is responsible to manage the provision of nursing interventions by another
person.
26. "Distance nursing education program" means a program that is approved by the board of
nursing of the jurisdiction in which the program is headquartered, and is equivalent to an
"instate nursing program".
27. "Diversion" means illegal use, distribution, or abuse of controlled substances or use of
prescription drugs for purposes not intended by the prescriber.
28. "Emergency suspension" means action by the board when there are reasonable grounds to
believe the licensee, registrant, applicant, or any individual with authority to practice nursing
under any privilege has violated a statute or rule the board is empowered to enforce and
continued practice would constitute a continuing and imminent threat to the public welfare.
29. "Encumber" means to place on probation.
30. "Evidence-based practice" means integration of research findings with clinical expertise and
client values for optimum care.

31. "Focused nursing assessment" means the collection and recording of baseline assessment
data by a licensed practical nurse, which is used to observe, monitor, and report signs,
symptoms, and changes in client condition in an ongoing manner. The licensed practical nurse
reports to the supervising registered nurse or licensed practitioner.
32. "Impaired" means the ability to practice nursing safely has been affected by the use or abuse
of alcohol or other drugs, psychiatric or physical disorders, or practice deficiencies.
33. "Inactive license or registration" means a license or registration which is not renewed.
34. "Incompetence" means conduct that deviates from either standards of nursing practice
approved by the board or the definition of competence in this section.
35. "Instate nursing program", "nursing program", or "nursing education program" means a nurse
program with faculty or facilities located in North Dakota and approved by the board.
36. "Interdisciplinary team" means a group of health care professionals currently licensed under
North Dakota Century Code title 43.
37. "Internationally educated" means educated outside the United States.
38. "Jurisdiction" means a state, territory, or country that administers the national council licensure
examination for the purpose of licensure.
39. "Licensed nurse" means a person licensed pursuant to North Dakota Century Code chapter
43-12.1 and North Dakota Administrative Code title 54.
40. "Licensed practitioner" means a person lawfully authorized to prescribe medications or
treatments under North Dakota Century Code title 43.
41. "Licensee" means a person who has met all the requirements to practice as a licensed nurse
pursuant to North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-12.1 and has been issued a license to
practice nursing.
42. "Licensure" means the process by which the board grants legal authority privilege to an
individual to engage in the practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse,
advanced practice registered nurse, or specialty practice registered nurse upon finding that
the individual has attained the essential degree of education and competence necessary to
ensure that the public health, safety, and welfare will be protected.
43. "Limit" means to restrict, qualify, or otherwise modify the license or registration.
44. "Major incident" means an act or omission in violation of North Dakota Century Code chapter
43-12.1 or this title which indicates an applicant licensee's or registrant's continuing to practice
poses a high risk of harm to the client or another person.
45. "Medication administration" means the delivery of medication by a licensed nurse or an
individual delegated to and supervised by a licensed nurse, to a client whose use of that
medication must be monitored and evaluated applying specialized knowledge, skills, and
abilities possessed by a licensed nurse.
46. "Medication assistant III" means an individual who has a current registration as an unlicensed
assistive person, has had additional training in administration of medication, and possesses a
current registration from the board.
47. "Medical assistant student" means an individual who is currently enrolled in an approved
medical assistant program.

48. "Minor incident" means an act or omission in violation of North Dakota Century Code chapter
43-12.1 or this title which indicates an applicant licensee's or registrant's continuing to practice
poses a low risk of harm to the client or another person.
49. "Misappropriation of property" means the patterned or knowing, willful, or intentional
misplacement, exploitation, taking, or wrongful, temporary, or permanent use of a client's,
employer's, or any other person's or entity's belongings, money, assets, or property without
consent.
50. "NCLEX-PN®" means the national council licensure examination for practical nurses.
51. "NCLEX-RN®" means the national council licensure examination for registered nurses.
52. "Neglect" means a disregard for and departure from the standards of care which has or could
have resulted in harm to the client.
53. "Noncompliance" means the failure to adhere to the terms, conditions, or restrictions specified
in an alternative to discipline consent agreement or disciplinary order by the board.
54. "Nurse administrator" means a person responsible for organized nursing services and who
manages from the perspective of the organization as a whole.
55. "Nurse faculty" means individuals employed by an academic institution who are responsible
for developing, implementing, teaching, evaluating, and updating nursing program curricula.
56. "Nursing intervention" means the initiation and completion of client-focused actions necessary
to accomplish the goals defined in the plan of care which may include activities of daily living.
57. "Participant" means a nurse who has voluntarily agreed to enter an agreement with the
alternative to discipline program or a licensee or registrant who is encumbered through a
disciplinary order by the board.
58. "Practice deficiency" means a practice activity that does not meet the standards of nursing
practice.
59. "Practice site" means a facility that signs a written agreement with the nursing education
program to provide practice experiences for students.
60. "Preceptor" means an individual at or above the level of licensure that an assigned student is
seeking who may serve as a teacher, mentor, role model, or supervisor for the assigned
student in a clinical setting.
61. "Prelicensure program" means a board-approved program of study that meets the
requirements for nursing licensure.
62. "Probation" means restrictions, requirements, or limitations placed against a licensee or
registrant through monitoring for a prescribed period of time.
63. "Professional-boundary crossing" means a deviation from an appropriate boundary for a
specific therapeutic purpose with a return to establish limits of the professional relationship.
64. "Professional-boundary violation" means a failure of a licensee or registrant to maintain
appropriate boundaries with a client, client family member, or other health care provider.
65. "Professional boundaries" means the provision of nursing services within the limits of the
nurse and client relationship which promote the client's dignity, independence, and best
interests and refrain from inappropriate involvement in the client's or client's family personal
relationships.

66. "Professional misconduct" means any practice or behavior that violates the applicable
standards governing the individual's practice necessary for the protection of the public health,
safety, and welfare.
67. "Reactivation" means issuance of a previously active license or registration in the absence of
disciplinary action.
68. "Registrant" means an unlicensed assistive person as defined in North Dakota Century Code
section 43-12.1-02.
69. "Reinstatement" means activation of a board-sanctioned license or registration from a
surrendered, suspended, or revoked status.
70. "Reissuance" means issuance of a license from probationary status to full licensure status.
71. "Relicensure" means renewal, reinstatement, reactivation, or reissuance of a license or
registration.
72. "Reprimand" means action of the board stating the board's concerns regarding the
professional conduct of the licensee or registrant.
73. "Revocation" means the withdrawal by the board of the license or registration of the right to
practice nursing or assist in the practice of nursing for a specified length of time of no less
than one year. If no specified length of time is identified by the board, revocation is permanent.
74. "Scope of practice" means the delineation of the nature and extent of practice.
75. "Sponsor institution" means the governing organization that provides necessary administrative
and fiscal resources for a nursing program.
76. "Stable" means a situation in which the client's clinical and behavioral status and nursing care
needs are determined by the registered nurse or licensed practitioner to be predictable,
nonfluctuating, and consistent or in which the fluctuations are expected and the interventions
are planned.
77. "Stay" means the action of the board that does not immediately take place and may not take
place if other conditions, such as probation terms, are met. Violations of the terms and
conditions may result in lifting of the stay and imposition of the sanction.
78. "Supervision" means maintaining accountability to determine whether or not nursing care is
adequate and delivered appropriately. Supervision includes the assessment and evaluation of
the client's condition and responses to the nursing plan of care and evaluation of the
competence of the person providing nursing care.
a. "Condition of supervision" means the method of supervision as direct or indirect, the
identification of the persons to be supervised as well as the nursing interventions being
provided, and the stability or predictability, or both, of the client's condition.
b. "Direct supervision" means that the responsible licensed nurse or licensed practitioner is
physically present in the client care area and is available to assess, evaluate, and
respond immediately. Direct supervision does not mean that the responsible licensed
nurse or licensed practitioner must be in the same room or "looking over the shoulder" of
the persons providing nursing care.
c. "Indirect supervision" means that the responsible licensed nurse or licensed practitioner
is available through periodic inspection and evaluation or by telecommunication, or both,
for direction, consultation, and collaboration.

79. "Surrender" means an agreement by a licensee or registrant, approved by the board, to
relinquish the license or registration to the board.
80. "Survey" means an onsite visit or a paper review of a program approved by the board of
nursing.
81. "Suspension" means withholding by the board of the license or registration of the right to
practice nursing or assist in the practice of nursing for a specified or indefinite period of time.
82. "Technician" means an unlicensed assistive person who may perform limited nursing functions
within the ordinary, customary, and usual roles in the person's field. Examples may include
surgical and dialysis technicians and medical assistants.
83. "Temporary permit" means the authority to practice nursing for a limited time period.
84. "Unlicensed assistive person registry" means a listing of all persons who are authorized by the
board or included on another state registry, which has been recognized by the board to
perform nursing interventions delegated and supervised by a licensed nurse.
85. "Work authorization" means the issuance of an authorization to practice nursing between the
dates of graduation and notification of the results of the licensure examination.
History: Effective June 1, 2002; amended effective April 1, 2004; August 1, 2005; July 1, 2008; April 1,
2011; October 1, 2011; April 1, 2014; October 1, 2016; April 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 43-12.1-08(2)
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-12.1-08
