152.1 Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

1. “Advanced registered nurse practitioner” means a person who is currently licensed as a registered nurse under this chapter or chapter 152E who is licensed by the board of nursing as an advanced registered nurse practitioner.

2. “Board” means the board of nursing, created under chapter 147.

3. As used in this section, “nursing diagnosis” means to identify and use discriminatory judgment concerning physical and psychosocial signs and symptoms essential to determining effective nursing intervention.

4. “Physician” means a person licensed in this state to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or a person licensed in this state to practice dentistry or podiatry when acting within the scope of the license. A physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in a state bordering this state shall be considered a physician for purposes of this chapter unless previously determined to be ineligible for such consideration by the board of medicine.

5. The “practice of a licensed practical nurse” means the practice of a natural person who is licensed by the board to do all of the following:

a. Perform services in the provision of supportive or restorative care under the supervision of a registered nurse or a physician.

b. Perform additional acts under emergency or other conditions which require education and training and which are recognized by the medical and nursing professions and are approved by the board, as being proper to be performed by a licensed practical nurse.

c. Make the pronouncement of death for a patient whose death is anticipated if the death occurs in a licensed hospital, a licensed health care facility, a Medicare-certified home health agency, a Medicare-certified hospice program or facility, or an assisted living facility or residential care facility, with notice of the death to a physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.

6. The “practice of nursing” means the practice of a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, or an advanced registered nurse practitioner. It does not mean any of the following:

a. The practice of medicine and surgery and the practice of osteopathic medicine and surgery, as defined in chapter 148, or the practice of pharmacy as defined in chapter 155A, except practices which are recognized by the medical and nursing professions and approved by the board as proper to be performed by a registered nurse.

b. The performance of nursing services by an unlicensed student enrolled in a nursing education program if performance is part of the course of study. Individuals who have been licensed as registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, or advanced registered nurse practitioners in any state or jurisdiction of the United States are not subject to this exemption.

c. The performance of services by unlicensed workers employed in offices, hospitals, or health care facilities, as defined in section 135C.1, under the supervision of a physician or a nurse licensed under this chapter, or employed in the office of a psychologist, podiatric physician, optometrist, chiropractor, speech pathologist, audiologist, or physical therapist licensed to practice in this state, and when acting while within the scope of the employer’s license.

d. The practice of a nurse licensed in another state and employed in this state by the federal government if the practice is in discharge of official employment duties.

e. The care of the sick rendered in connection with the practice of the religious tenets of any church or order by the adherents thereof which is not performed for hire, or if performed for hire by those who depend upon prayer or spiritual means for healing in the practice of the religion of their church or denomination, so long as they do not otherwise engage in the practice of nursing as practical nurses.

7. The “practice of the profession of a registered nurse” means the practice of a natural person who is licensed by the board to do all of the following:

a. Formulate nursing diagnosis and conduct nursing treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems through services, such as case finding, referral, health teaching, health counseling, and care provision which is supportive to or restorative of life and well-being.

b. Execute regimen prescribed by a physician, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant.

c. Supervise and teach other personnel in the performance of activities relating to nursing care.

d. Perform additional acts or nursing specialties which require education and training under emergency or other conditions which are recognized by the medical and nursing professions and are approved by the board as being proper to be performed by a registered nurse.

e. Make the pronouncement of death for a patient whose death is anticipated if the death occurs in a licensed hospital, a licensed health care facility, a correctional institution listed in section 904.102, a Medicare-certified home health agency, a Medicare-certified hospice program or facility, an assisted living facility, or a residential care facility, with notice of the death to a physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.

f. Apply to the abilities enumerated in paragraphs “a” through “e” of this subsection scientific principles, including the principles of nursing skills and of biological, physical, and psychosocial sciences.

[S13, §2575-a28, -a31, -a32; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §2561, 2562; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, §152.1, 152.2; C77, 79, 81, §152.1]

87 Acts, ch 215, §41; 91 Acts, ch 100, §1; 95 Acts, ch 108, §12; 2001 Acts, ch 113, §2 – 4; 2003 Acts, ch 78, §4, 5; 2004 Acts, ch 1168, §8; 2007 Acts, ch 10, §126; 2007 Acts, ch 159, §29, 30; 2008 Acts, ch 1088, §101, 102; 2015 Acts, ch 56, §4 – 8; 2017 Acts, ch 96, §1

Referred to in §509.3, 514.7, 514B.1