I intend to practice in California after completing my nursing and receiving the necessary licensure. The California Board of registered nursing licenses and certifies nurses for practice in the state. To qualify for the licensure and certification to practice in California, one must have completed the relevant level of nursing training and passed the relevant nursing council examination.
For certification as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), the applicants must submit copies of their transcripts electronically and only through the nursing school, college, university, or the organization providing the transcripts. Most importantly, the applicant must first be licensed as a registered nurse (RN) in the state of California.
Applying for certification and licensure as an APRN is entirely done online through the board’s website and the board’s email (California Board of Registered Nursing, n.d.). Various documents required are stated and submitted through email. The website defines the scope of practice for various APRNs and public health nurses (Huynh & Haddad, 2021). The state of California has multiple regulations that define the nursing practice.
The California Nursing Practice Act defines these regulations as well as the bruising scope for licensed nurses in the state (California Board of Registered Nursing, 2013). The Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) certification application is made through the United States Department of Justice. What surprised me from my research was that California is one of the few states that grant nurses full practice authority.
Physical supervision and collaboration are not required for independent practice. However, this authority is only granted to these registered APRNs who have completed at least 4600 hours of practice under physician supervision before the transition to full authority. The timeline restriction is one of the barriers that I expect to meet during practice. However, I hope it is for the best. This law was passed and will be applied into practice from 2023 (Nurse.org, n.d.). California is a state that I cherish, and can wait to practice and enjoy the full authority of practice.
California Board of Registered Nursing. (n.d.). Advanced practice and certification. Rn.ca.Gov. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://www.rn.ca.gov/applicants/ad-pract.shtml
California Board of Registered Nursing. (2013). California nursing practice act. Board of Registered Nursing. https://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/regulations/npr-i-15.pdf
Huynh, A. P., & Haddad, L. M. (2021). Nursing Practice Act. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
Nurse.org. (n.d.). California grants Nurse Practitioners full practice authority by 2023. Nurse.Org. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://nurse.org/articles/california-nurse-practitioners-full-practice/
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