The following words and terms as used in this subchapter have the following meanings:

(1) "Accountability" means the responsibility of the delegating nurse for the decision to delegate, for verifying the competency of the UAP delegatee, and for supervising the performance of the delegated task.

(2) "Acute care" means health care received in response to a particular episode of illness or injury, delivered in a licensed healthcare facility that has an organized medical staff, which may include advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) providers, and provides care by licensed registered nurses.

(3) "Advanced delegation" means delegation of specified advanced nursing tasks to specified UAPs only as allowed in ARM 24.159.1630, 24.159.1631, 24.159.1636, and 24.159.1640 and under immediate supervision.

(4) "Assignment" means giving to a UAP or licensee a specific task that the UAP or licensee is competent to perform and which is within the UAP's area of responsibility or a licensee's area of accountability or scope of practice.

(5) "Chief nursing officer" means the nurse who:

(a) directs the facility's nursing services;

(b) establishes nursing policies and procedures; and

(c) establishes nursing standards of patient care, treatment, and services specific to the facility.

(6) "Community based residential setting" means a setting in which the client lives in the client's own home or apartment, home of a relative, foster home, or group home.

(7) "Competency" means performance standards including demonstrated skills, knowledge, abilities, and understanding of specific tasks that are required in a specific role and setting.

(8) "Delegatee" means the UAP receiving the delegation.

(9) "Delegation" means the act of authorizing and directing a UAP to perform a specific nursing task in a specific situation in accordance with these rules.

(10) "Delegator" means the nurse who makes the decision to delegate and thereby assumes accountability as defined in this rule. The term "delegator" has the same meaning as the term "delegating nurse".

(11) "Direct supervision" means the nurse delegator is on the premises, and is quickly and easily available to the UAP.

(12) "Fundamentals of nursing course" means a nursing course that provides an introduction to the art and science of nursing practice and human care. Introduction to the concepts of clinical judgment, nursing principles, nursing process, communication skills, and the role of the nurse are included.

(13) "Good academic standing" means a student nurse who is currently enrolled and not on academic probation.

(14) "Immediate supervision" means the nurse delegator is on the premises and is within audible and visual range of the patient that the UAP is attending.

(15) "Indirect supervision" means the nurse delegator is not on the premises but has previously given written instructions to the UAP for the care and treatment of the patient and is readily available to the delegatee either in person or by telecommunication.

(16) "Nursing assessment" means an ongoing process of determining nursing care needs based upon collection and interpretation of data relevant to the health status of the patient.

(17) "Nursing judgment" means the intellectual process that a nurse exercises in forming an opinion and reaching a clinical decision based upon analysis of the evidence or data.

(18) "Nursing student" means a person currently enrolled and studying in a state nursing board-approved or state nursing commission-approved nursing education program.

(a) Enrollment includes all periods of regularly planned educational programs and all school scheduled vacations and holidays.

(b) Enrollment does not include any leaves of absence or withdrawals from the nursing program, or enrollment solely in academic nonnursing course work.

(19) "Nursing task" means an activity that requires judgment, analysis, or decision-making based on nursing knowledge or expertise and one that may change based on the individual client or situation.

(20) "Pharmacology course" means a nursing course that introduces the student to the basic principles of pharmacology in nursing practice and the skills necessary to safely administer medications. Students will be able to demonstrate accurate dosage calculations, correct medication administration, knowledge of drug classifications, and therapeutic and nursing implications of medication administration.

(21) "Stable" means a state of health in which the prognosis indicates little, if any, immediate change.

(22) "Supervision" means the provision of guidance or direction, evaluation and follow-up by the licensed nurse for accomplishment of a nursing task delegated to a UAP.

(23) "Unlicensed assistive person" or "UAP" means any person, regardless of title, who is not a licensed nurse and who functions in an assistive role to the nurse and receives delegation of nursing tasks and assignment of other tasks from a nurse.