1. Home
2. Education
3. Continuing Education
4. Refresher Course Guidelines

Refresher Course Guidelines

1. The purpose of the refresher course is:
   1. To provide exposure to current nursing theory and practice related to the role of the registered nurse or licensed practical nurse as a member of today’s health care system.
2. The refresher course is approved by the Board of Nursing prior to implementation and every four years thereafter unless changes are made in the faculty/coordinator or curriculum.
3. The professional nurse and/or practical nurse refresher course includes:
   1. Syllabus which clearly states:
      1. course description
      2. course objectives (including   theory /practice)
      3. content in outline form
      4. requirements for nursing practice experiences
   2. teaching/learning methods
   3. formative and summative evaluation methods for the student
   4. methods to evaluate course, faculty/coordinator, and preceptor(s)
   5. bibliography of instruction/reference materials.
4. The faculty responsible for writing the course is composed of currently licensed registered nurse(s) who has/have a master's degree in nursing.  The faculty must have two years of current nursing experience and competency in teaching/learning from academics or work experience.
5. The coordinator of the course must be a currently licensed registered nurse who has a minimum of a baccalaureate degree in nursing with a master's degree, preferably in nursing and must have two years of current nursing experience.
6. The nursing practice preceptor must be a currently licensed registered nurse with two years of current nursing practice experience.  The preceptor must be approved by the agency and prepared to act as a preceptor in a one-to-one nursing practice experience. The registered nurse preceptor(s) may delegate portions of the learning experience as appropriate.
7. The theory instruction must be appropriate to the scope of practice for the registered nurse and licensed practical nurse, includes but is not limited to:
   1. Practice Competency
      1. NDAC Chapter 54-05-01 Standards of Practice for Licensed Practical Nurses
      2. NDAC Chapter 54-05-02 Standards of Practice for Registered Nurse
      3. NDAC Article 54-07 Unlicensed Assistive Person
      4. Pharmacotherapy
   2. Leadership
   3. Professional Values
   4. Critical Thinking
   5. Communication
   6. Evidence Based Practice
   7. Information Management
   8. Genetics/Genomics (Professional nurse course only)
8. Identified strategies to present opportunities for student application of theory to practice, as appropriate to the scope of practice for the registered nurse and the licensed practical nurse.
9. Clinical practice instruction must occur in a manner in which the theory and/or practice objectives can be met. Listed below are the minimum standard:
   1. The supervised clinical practice and instruction for the professional nurse and the practical nurse refresher course student must include a minimum of 120 clock hours. 
   2. Two-thirds of the student's total clinical practice time must be consistent with the definition of nursing NDCC 43-12.1-02(5). Prior to clinical experiences, the student should be afforded the opportunity to practice skills in a lab environment in preparation for patient care.
   3. The performance of practice skills is demonstrated as appropriate to the scope of practice for the registered nurse and the licensed practical nurse. 
   4. The student demonstrates the ability to utilize the standards for quality practice as defined in NDAC 54-05-01 and NDAC 54-05-02 as appropriate for the licensed practical nurse and registered nurse. 
   5. The refresher course student shall not be assigned to function in clinical leadership roles or in a position that requires the student to supervise other nursing personnel.  However, the student must have the opportunity to observe or participate with the preceptor in delegation of nursing interventions to unlicensed assistive personnel. 
   6. The title to be used by the refresher course student is Nurse Refresher Student (NRS) or Practical Nurse Refresher Student (PNRS).
   7. Nursing practice must be under the direct supervision of a registered nurse preceptor.  “Direct supervision of a registered nurse” means that a registered nurse must be assigned to observe, direct, and evaluate the refresher student’s performance.  The supervising registered nurse preceptor must be:
      1. Authorized by the facility offering the clinical experience to the refresher course student.
      2. Prepared for the role of preceptor through self-learning modules prepared by the course or facility delivered courses.
      3. On the unit when the student is assigned responsibilities that include nursing abilities which the student has not acquired and/or if the clients assigned to the student have severe or urgent conditions or are unstable. 
      4. Within the facility if the student is assigned responsibilities that include nursing abilities that the student has acquired and the care required is simple and routine and within the appropriate scope of practice.

Reviewed/Revised 11/18