Director of Nurses Requirements for the State of Arkansas
510 NURSING
511 PROFESSIONAL NURSE
SUPERVISION
511.1 A licensed registered
nurse shall be employed full-time as the Director of
Nursing Services and normally work on the day shift.
In skilled nursing facilities registered nurse
relief shall be provided for the off days of the
Director of Nursing Services. If the Director of
Nursing Services has other institutional
responsibilities in addition to written job
description, a licensed registered nurse shall serve
as assistant so that there is the equivalent of a
full-time Director of Nursing Services on duty.
511.2 In Intermediate Care
Facilities the registered nurse must work forty (40)
hours per week, normally on the day shift. An LPN
may serve as relief on the Director of Nursing
Services' days off.
511.3 The Director of Nursing
Services shall be responsible for the development
and maintenance of nursing service objectives,
standards of nursing practice, nursing policy and
procedures manuals, written job descriptions for
each level of nursing personnel, scheduling of daily
rounds to see all patients, methods for coordination
of nursing service with other patient services, for
recommending the number and levels of nursing
personnel to be employed to meet the needs of the
patients, nursing staff development, and supervision
of nursing documentation.
511.4 The Director of Nursing
Services can serve as Director of Nursing Services
in only one facility.
512 CHARGE NURSE
512.1 In Skilled nursing
Facilities, the Director of Nursing Services shall
designate as charge nurse for each shift a
registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, or a
licensed psychiatric technician nurse.
Responsibilities of the charge nurse shall include
supervision of the total nursing activities in the
facility during his/her assigned tour of duty.
512.2 In Intermediate Care
Facilities, the Director of Nursing Services shall
designate as charge nurse for each shift a
registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, or a
licensed psychiatric technician nurse. In facilities
admitting or retaining patients requiring
medications or treatments on the night shift, the
charge nurse designated on the night shift must be a
licensed nurse.
512.3 The charge nurse's duties shall
include as a minimum:
• Responsibility for observation of work
performance of aides in delivery of direct care.
• Administration of medication if there is
no assigned medication nurse.
• Ordering medications from the pharmacy.
• All direct observations of patients to
observe and evaluate physical and emotional status.
• Delegate responsibility for the direct
care of specific patients to the nursing staff based on the need
of the patients.
• Taking phone orders from physicians or
dentists.
• Giving shift report to the next shift.
• Shift count of control drugs.
• Dietary observations.
512.4 The Director of Nursing Services
shall not serve as charge nurse in a Skilled Nursing Facility
with an average daily total occupancy of seventy-one (71) or
more patients. Waivered Licensed Practical Nurses shall not
serve as charge nurse unless they have passed the State Pool
Examination or Public Health Proficiency Examination. |
