(1)(a) A transition-to-practice agreement shall be a formal written agreement that provides that the nurse practitioner and the supervising provider practice collaboratively within the framework of their respective scopes of practice.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 38-2322

  • Collaboration: means a process and relationship in which a nurse practitioner, together with other health professionals, delivers health care within the scope of authority of the various clinical specialty practices. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2308
  • Consultation: means a process whereby a nurse practitioner seeks the advice or opinion of a physician or another health care practitioner. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2309
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Nurse practitioner: means a registered nurse certified as described in section 38-2317 and licensed under the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Practice Act to practice as a nurse practitioner. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2312
  • Referral: means a process whereby a nurse practitioner directs the patient to a physician or other health care practitioner for management of a particular problem or aspect of the patient's care. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2314
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Transition-to-practice agreement: means a collaborative agreement for two thousand hours of initial practice between a nurse practitioner and a supervising provider which provides for the delivery of health care through a collaborative practice and which meets the requirements of section 38-2322. See Nebraska Statutes 38-2314.01

(b) The nurse practitioner and the supervising provider shall each be responsible for his or her individual decisions in managing the health care of patients through consultation, collaboration, and referral. The nurse practitioner and the supervising provider shall have joint responsibility for the delivery of health care to a patient based upon the scope of practice of the nurse practitioner and the supervising provider.

(c) The supervising provider shall be responsible for supervision of the nurse practitioner to ensure the quality of health care provided to patients.

(d) In order for a nurse practitioner to be a supervising provider for purposes of a transition-to-practice agreement, the nurse practitioner shall submit to the department evidence of completion of ten thousand hours of practice as a nurse practitioner which have been completed under a transition-to-practice agreement, under a collaborative agreement, under an integrated practice agreement, through independent practice, or under any combination of such agreements or practice, as allowed in this state or another state.

(2) A nurse practitioner who was licensed in good standing in Nebraska on or before August 30, 2015, and had attained the equivalent of an initial two thousand hours of practice supervised by a physician or osteopathic physician shall be allowed to practice without a transition-to-practice agreement.

(3) For purposes of this section:

(a) Supervising provider means a physician, osteopathic physician, or nurse practitioner licensed and practicing in Nebraska and practicing in the same practice specialty, related specialty, or field of practice as the nurse practitioner being supervised; and

(b) Supervision means the ready availability of the supervising provider for consultation and direction of the activities of the nurse practitioner being supervised within such nurse practitioner’s defined scope of practice.