| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to clinical nurse specialists; amending |
| 3 | s. 464.0115, F.S.; revising requirements for |
| 4 | certification as a clinical nurse specialist; providing |
| 5 | an effective date. |
| 6 |
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| 7 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Section 1. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 464.0115, |
| 10 | Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) and (4), |
| 11 | respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to that |
| 12 | section to read: |
| 13 | 464.0115 Certification of clinical nurse specialists.-- |
| 14 | (1) Any nurse seeking certification as a clinical nurse |
| 15 | specialist must apply to the department and submit proof that |
| 16 | he or she holds a current license to practice professional |
| 17 | nursing, a master's degree in a clinical nursing specialty, |
| 18 | and current certification in a specialty area as a clinical |
| 19 | nurse specialist from a nationally recognized certifying body |
| 20 | as determined by the board. |
| 21 | (2) A clinical nurse specialist may petition the board |
| 22 | for a waiver from the certification requirements of subsection |
| 23 | (1) if the clinical nurse specialist is academically prepared |
| 24 | as a clinical nurse specialist in a specialty area for which |
| 25 | no certification examination exists within the clinical nurse |
| 26 | specialist role. The board may determine that a clinical nurse |
| 27 | specialist must obtain certification in an available specialty |
| 28 | area in lieu of the specific specialty or subspecialty for |
| 29 | which no certification examination exists. The petitioner must |
| 30 | be academically prepared as a clinical nurse specialist in a |
| 31 | specific specialty area of clinical nurse specialist practice, |
| 32 | have a master's degree in nursing that includes clinical |
| 33 | experience in that specialty area, and have 1,000 hours of |
| 34 | supervised clinical experience in that specialty area, |
| 35 | including a minimum of 500 hours of supervised clinical |
| 36 | practice after graduation. The board may grant a nonrenewable |
| 37 | certificate for no longer than 12 months for the supervised |
| 38 | postgraduate clinical experience. The board may renew a waiver |
| 39 | granted under this subsection for 2-year periods provided the |
| 40 | clinical nurse specialist continues to be ineligible for |
| 41 | certification as a clinical nurse specialist by an |
| 42 | organization acceptable to the board. |
| 43 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |