(a) “Administration of medications” means a process whereby a single dose of a prescribed drug or biological is given to a patient by an authorized licensed person by 1 of several routes, oral, inhalation, topical, or parenteral. The person verifies the properly prescribed drug order, removes the individual dose from a previously dispensed, properly labeled container (including a unit dose container), assesses the patient’s status to assure that the drug is given as prescribed to the patient for whom it is prescribed and that there are no known contraindications to the use of the drug or the dosage that has been prescribed, gives the individual dose to the proper patient, records the time and dose given, and assesses the patient following the administration of medication for possible untoward side effects.
(b) “Advanced practice registered nurse” (“APRN”) means an individual with knowledge and skills in basic nursing education; licensure as a registered nurse (“RN”); and graduation from or completion of a graduate-level APRN program accredited by a national accrediting body and current certification by a national certifying body in the appropriate APRN role and at least 1 population focus. “Advanced practice registered nurse” includes certified nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, or clinical nurse specialist. Advanced practice nursing is an expanded scope of nursing licensed as an independent licensed practitioner in a role and population focus approved by the Board of Nursing, with or without compensation or personal profit, and includes the RN scope of practice. The scope of an APRN includes performing acts of advanced assessment, diagnosing, prescribing, and ordering. Advanced practice nursing is the application of nursing principles, including those described in subsection (t) of this section.
(c) “Compact Administrator” means the Executive Director of the Delaware Board of Nursing who is designated as the compact Administrator under Chapters 19A and 19B of this title.
(d) “Conversion therapy” means any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, as “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined in § 710 of Title 19, including any effort to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. “Conversion therapy” does not mean any of the following:
(1) Counseling that provides assistance to an individual who is seeking to undergo a gender transition or who is in the process of undergoing gender transition.
(2) Counseling that provides an individual with acceptance, support, and understanding without seeking to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
(3) Counseling that facilitates an individual’s coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including counseling in the form of sexual orientation-neutral interventions or gender identity-neutral interventions provided for the purpose of preventing or addressing unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, without seeking to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
(e) “Dispensing” means providing medication according to an order of a practitioner duly licensed to prescribe medication. The term includes both the repackaging and labeling of medications from bulk to individual dosages.
(f) “Division” means the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation.
(g) “Electronic prescription” means a prescription that is generated on an electronic application and transmitted as an electronic data file.
(h) “Full-practice authority,” as granted to an advanced practice registered nurse, means the collection of state practice and licensure laws that allow APRNs to evaluate patients, diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, initiate and manage treatments, including prescribing medications, under exclusive licensure authority of the Delaware Board of Nursing and includes:
(1) Practicing within standards established or recognized by the Board of Nursing.
(2) Being accountable to patients, the nursing profession, and the Board of Nursing for complying with the requirements of this chapter and the quality of advanced nursing care rendered.
(3) Recognizing limits of knowledge and experience.
(4) Planning for the management of situations beyond the APRN’s expertise.
(5) Consultation with or referring patients to other health-care providers as appropriate.
(i) “Head of the Nursing Licensing Board” means the President of the Delaware Board of Nursing.
(j) “Licensure” means the authorization to practice nursing within this State granted by the Delaware Board of Nursing and includes the authorization to practice in Delaware under the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact [Chapter 19A of this title].
(k) “Limited lay administration of medications (LLAM)” means a process by which LLAM trained unlicensed assistive personnel, functioning in a setting authorized by § 1932 of this title, give a prescribed medication to clients, patients, residents, or students as ordered by a licensed practitioner authorized to prescribe medications or gives a nonprescription medication pursuant to the Delacare regulations.
( l ) “LLAM trained unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)” means an individual who has successfully completed the Board of Nursing approved LLAM course, including the core course and any program specific specialized training modules required.
(m) “Nurse educator” means a registered nurse who is a faculty member or director of a Delaware board-approved nursing education program preparing individuals at the registered nurse entry level.
(n) “Nursing diagnosis” means the description of the individual’s actual or potential health needs which are identified through a nursing assessment and are amenable to nursing intervention. The focus of the nursing diagnosis is on the individual’s response to illness or other factors that may adversely affect the attainment or maintenance of wellness. These diagnostic acts are distinct from medical, osteopathic, and dental diagnosis.
(o) “Nursing education program” means a course of instruction offered and conducted to prepare persons for licensure as a registered or licensed practical nurse, or a course of instruction offered and conducted to increase the knowledge and skills of the nurse and leads to an academic degree in nursing, or refresher courses in nursing.
(p) “Reproductive health services” means as defined in § 1702 of this title.
(q) “Standards of nursing practice” means those standards of practice adopted by the Board that interpret the legal definitions of nursing, as well as provide criteria against which violations of the law can be determined. Such standards of nursing practice may not be used to directly or indirectly affect the employment practices and deployment of personnel by duly licensed or accredited hospitals and other duly licensed or accredited health-care facilities and organizations. In addition, such standards may not be assumed the only evidence in civil malpractice litigation, nor may they be given a different weight than any other evidence.
(r) “Substantially related” means the nature of the criminal conduct, for which the person was convicted, has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform 1 or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the practice of nursing.
(s) “The practice of practical nursing” as a licensed practical nurse means the performance for compensation of nursing services by a person who holds a valid license pursuant to the terms of this chapter and who bears accountability for nursing practices which require basic knowledge of physical, social, and nursing sciences. These services, at the direction of a registered nurse or a person licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or dentistry, include:
(1) Observation;
(2) Assessment;
(3) Planning and giving of nursing care to the ill, injured and infirm;
(4) The maintenance of health and well-being;
(5) The administration of medications and treatments prescribed by a licensed physician, dentist, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse; and
(6) Additional nursing services and supervision commensurate with the licensed practical nurse’s continuing education and demonstrated competencies;
(7) Dispensing activities only as permitted in the Board’s Rules and Regulations. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to permit acts of surgery or medical diagnosis; nor shall it be deemed to permit dispensing of drugs, medications, or therapeutics independent of the supervision of a physician who is licensed to practice medicine and surgery, or those licensed to practice dentistry or podiatry; and
(8) [Repealed.]
(t) “The practice of professional nursing” as a registered nurse means the performance of professional nursing services by a person who holds a valid license pursuant to the terms of this chapter, and who bears primary responsibility and accountability for nursing practices based on specialized knowledge, judgment, and skill derived from the principles of biological, physical, and behavioral sciences. The registered nurse practices in the profession of nursing by the performance of activities, among which are:
(1) Assessing human responses to actual or potential health conditions;
(2) Identifying the needs of the individual or family by developing a nursing diagnosis;
(3) Implementing nursing interventions based on the nursing diagnosis;
(4) Teaching health-care practices. Nothing contained in this subsection limits other qualified persons or agencies from teaching health-care practices without being licensed under this chapter;
(5) Advocating the provision of health-care services through collaboration with other health service personnel;
(6) Executing regimens, as prescribed by a licensed physician, dentist, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse, including the dispensing or administration of medications and treatments;
(7) Administering, supervising, delegating, and evaluating nursing activities;
(8) [Repealed.]
(9) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to permit acts of surgery or medical diagnosis; nor shall it be deemed to permit dispensing of drugs, medications, or therapeutics independent of the supervision of a physician who is licensed to practice medicine and surgery, or those licensed to practice dentistry or podiatry.
A registered nurse shall have the authority, as part of the practice of professional nursing, to make a pronouncement of death; provided, however, that this provision shall only apply to attending nurses caring for terminally ill patients or patients who have “do not resuscitate” orders in the home or place of residence of the deceased as a part of a hospice program or a certified home health-care agency program; in a skilled nursing facility; in a residential community associated with a skilled nursing facility; any licensed assisted living community; in an extended care facility; or in a hospice; and provided that the attending physician of record has agreed in writing to permit the attending registered nurse to make a pronouncement of death in that case.
(u) “The profession of nursing” is an art and process based on a scientific body of knowledge. The practitioner of nursing assists patients in the maintenance of health; the management of illness, injury, or infirmity; or the achievement of a dignified death.
