Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 718 amends provisions of the Occupations Code relating to the regulation of registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses. The bill includes provisions relating to restricting the use of certain nursing titles, peer review determination requirements, evaluation guidelines for the nurse peer review committee, and determining the extent to which a deficiency in care by a registered nurse was the result of factors beyond the nurse's control. It adds a provision specifying that a registered nurse may report situations of substandard care to the nurse's employer or another entity at which the nurse is authorized to practice. The bill authorizes the Board of Nurse Examiners to approve pilot programs for innovative applications in the practice and regulation of nursing and requires the board before January 1, 2004, to solicit proposals for pilot programs to evaluate elements of certain nurse reporting systems. Senate Bill 718 authorizes the board to recognize, prepare, or implement continuing competency programs, rather than continuing education programs, to allow nurses to demonstrate competency through various methods. The bill exempts certain minor incidents from mandatory reporting requirements, lists information required to be contained on insignia identifying a person as a registered nurse, adds licensed vocational nurses to standards of conduct requirements related to a nurse's duty to a patient, and prohibits reporting of certain conduct by a member of a peer review committee. The bill amends the Health and Safety Code to require the governing body of a hospital to adopt policies and procedures related to workplace safety for nurses not later than January 1, 2004.