Sec. 10.27.03.08. Nurse Faculty and Clinical Nurse Faculty

A. Qualifications of Nurse Faculty.

(1) Nurse faculty shall:

(a) Be currently licensed as a registered nurse in Maryland or have a multistate licensure privilege to practice registered nursing;

(b) Be academically and professionally qualified;

(c) Maintain expertise appropriate to their teaching responsibilities; and

(d) Have a minimum of 2 years of clinical experience as a registered nurse.

(2) Except as provided under §B of this regulation, nurse faculty shall have a graduate degree in nursing.

(3) Non-nurse faculty, or nurses not meeting the requirements for nurse faculty, may teach selected portions of the nursing curriculum that relate to their areas of expertise.

B. Waiver of Graduate Degree in Nursing Requirement for Nursing Faculty.

(1) A program experiencing a faculty shortage may petition the Board for a waiver of the graduate degree in nursing required by §A(2) of this regulation.

(2) The petition for a waiver of the graduate degree in nursing shall include documentation that the institution has attempted to hire nurse faculty with graduate degrees and a summary of those efforts.

(3) The petition in §B(1) of this regulation shall include documentation verifying that the nurse faculty applicant for whom the waiver is requested has:

(a) A baccalaureate degree in nursing and a graduate degree in another field; or

(b) A baccalaureate degree in nursing and:

(i) Is enrolled as a student in an approved graduate study program in nursing; and

(ii) Will complete the graduate study program in nursing within 36 months.

(4) If the graduate degree in nursing is waived by the Board:

(a) The nurse faculty member for whom a waiver has been granted shall complete a minimum of 9 graduate credits in nursing within 24 months of the issuance of the waiver; and

(b) The program shall submit documentation to the Board of completion of the required credits by the nurse faculty member within 24 months of the date when the waiver was granted.

(5) If the nurse faculty member fails to complete the 9 graduate credits required in nursing within 24 months of the granting of the waiver, the Board may withdraw the waiver.

(6) If the waiver has been withdrawn, the program shall require that the nurse faculty member cease functioning as nurse faculty. If the program fails to do so, the Board may take action under Regulation .17 of this chapter.

(7) Once the nurse faculty member for whom the waiver was granted has met the 9 graduate credit waiver requirements, that nurse faculty member is considered to have met the educational requirements of §A(2) of this regulation.

(8) The Board shall grant a waiver for a nurse faculty member:

(a) With experience in teaching; and

(b) Who is within a semester of graduation with a graduate degree in nursing.

C. Qualifications of Clinical Nurse Faculty.

(1) A clinical nurse faculty member shall:

(a) Be currently licensed as a registered nurse in Maryland or have a multistate licensure privilege to practice registered nursing;

(b) Have a degree in nursing at or above the baccalaureate level;

(c) Have a minimum of 2 years of clinical experience as a registered nurse; and

(d) Have the clinical experience necessary to function effectively and safely in the clinical nurse faculty's area of responsibility.

(2) A program may not, in any academic year, fill more than 25 percent of the program’s full-time nurse faculty equivalent positions with clinical nurse faculty whose highest nursing degree is at the baccalaureate level.

D. Responsibilities of Nurse Faculty and Clinical Nurse Faculty.

(1) Responsibilities of the nurse faculty include participation in the planning, implementation, evaluation, and revision of the educational program.

(2) Nurse faculty shall:

(a) Develop and implement standards for admission, progression, and graduation of students;

(b) Participate in academic advisement and guidance of students;

(c) Evaluate student performance;

(d) Maintain clinical skills in the nurse faculty’s area of responsibility;

(e) Develop and implement a plan to assure that all instructional materials are accessible, current, and relevant to the curriculum;

(f) Participate in the recruitment, selection, and promotion of nurse faculty and the recruitment and selection of clinical nurse faculty;

(g) Participate in peer evaluation of nurse faculty and clinical nurse faculty performance; and

(h) Elicit student evaluation of teaching effectiveness.

(3) Clinical nurse faculty shall:

(a) Provide clinical instruction and supervision of students; and

(b) Evaluate student performance in clinical learning experiences.