Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

This chapter of the Business and Professions Code constitutes the chapter on vocational nursing and may be cited as the Vocational Nursing Practice Act.

(a) The Legislature hereby declares the practice of licensed vocational nursing to be a profession. (b) This section shall not be construed to affect the laws relating to the practice of registered nursing, including the provisions of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2700), nor…

(a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California, which consists of 11 members. (b) As used in this chapter, “board” means the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the Sta…

Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions. Whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with other …

Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of Section 2841 renders the successor entity to the board in Section 2841 subject to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.

If the board is made inoperative or is repealed, the director may, until December 31, 2024, assume the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the board and its executive officer that are not otherwise repealed or made inoperative.

(a) Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of California. The board shall have the following composition: (1) Two members shall be duly licensed vocational nurses who have been licensed for a period of not less than three year…

Members of the board shall be appointed for a term of four years. Vacancies occurring shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. Appointments to the office shall be for a term of four years expiring on June 1st. The Governor shall appoint four of the public members an…

The Governor has the power to remove any member of the board from office for neglect of any duty required by law, or for incompetency, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.

The board at its first meeting after appointment, and biennially thereafter at its first meeting in every second year, shall elect from its members a president, vice president, and such other officers as it may deem necessary. The officers of the board shall hold their respective…

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (f), the board shall select an executive officer who shall perform duties as are delegated by the board and who shall be responsible to it for the accomplishment of those duties. (b) The executive officer shall not be a member of the board. (…

The board shall submit written reports to the director and the Legislature no later than April 1, 2018, July 1, 2018, October 1, 2018, January 1, 2019, July 1, 2019, and January 1, 2020, demonstrating its progress in implementing the administrative and enforcement program monitor…

The board for the purpose of transacting its business shall meet at least twice each year, at times and places it designates by resolution.

Special meetings may be held at such times as the board may elect, or on the call of the president of the board, or of not less than five members thereof. A written notice of the time, place, and object of any special meeting shall be mailed by the executive officer to all member…

Meetings may be held at any time and place by the written consent of all members of the board.

Six members of the board constitute a quorum for transaction of business at any meeting.

The board shall keep a record of all its proceedings, including a register of all applicants for licenses under this chapter and the action of the board upon each application.

The office of the board shall be in the City of Sacramento. Suboffices may be established in Los Angeles and San Francisco and such records as may be necessary may be transferred temporarily to them. Legal proceedings against the board may be instituted in any county in which any…

The board shall prosecute all persons guilty of violating the provisions of this chapter. It may employ such clerical assistance as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter. The board may fix the compensation to be paid for such services and may i…

Each member of the board shall receive a per diem and expenses as provided in Section 103.

The board shall issue a license designated as a vocational nurse license.

The board shall accept in payment of any fee required by this chapter cash or any customary or generally accepted medium of exchange, including check, cashier’s check, certified check or postal money order. For the purposes of this section, customary or generally accepted medium …

(a) The practice of vocational nursing within the meaning of this chapter is the performance of services requiring those technical, manual skills acquired by means of a course in an approved school of vocational nursing, or its equivalent, practiced under the direction of a licen…

(a) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) “Naturopathic doctor” means a person who holds a current, active, and unrestricted license pursuant to the Naturopathic Doctors Act (Chapter 8.2 commencing with Section 3610). (2) (A) “Supervision” or “supervi…

(a) This chapter confers no authority to practice medicine or surgery, to provide respiratory care services and treatment, or to undertake the prevention, treatment, or cure of disease, pain, injury, deformity, or mental or physical condition in violation of any provision of law.…

(a) Subject to subdivision (b), a licensed vocational nurse when directed by a licensed physician and surgeon or naturopathic doctor may do all of the following: (1) Administer medications by hypodermic injection. (2) Withdraw blood from a patient, if the licensed vocational nurs…

(a) (1) A licensed vocational nurse, acting under the direction of a licensed physician and surgeon or naturopathic doctor may perform any of the following: (A) Tuberculin skin tests, coccidioidin skin tests, and histoplasmin skin tests, providing such administration is within th…

This chapter does not prohibit the performance of nursing services by any person not licensed under this chapter; provided, that such person shall not in any way assume to practice as a licensed vocational nurse.

A person licensed under this chapter who in good faith renders emergency care at the scene of an emergency which occurs outside both the place and the course of his employment shall not be liable for any civil damages as the result of acts or omissions in rendering the emergency …

Vocational nursing services may be rendered by a student enrolled in an approved school of vocational nursing when these services are incidental to the student’s course of study.

This chapter does not prohibit vocational nursing or the care of the sick, with or without compensation or personal profit, when done by the adherents of and in connection with the practice of the religious tenets of any well recognized church or denomination, so long as they do …

Every licensee under this chapter may be known as a licensed vocational nurse and may place the letters “L.V.N.” after the licensee’s name.

An applicant for a vocational nurse license shall comply with each of the following: (a) Be at least 17 years of age. (b) Have successfully completed at least an approved course of study through the 12th grade or the equivalent thereof as specified by the board. (c) Have successf…

An applicant for a license authorizing the practice of vocational nursing in this state under this chapter, upon the filing of an application for a vocational nurse license on a form prescribed by the board, shall pay the fee required by this chapter.

Every person to whom a license is issued shall, as a condition precedent to its issuance and in addition to any other fee that may be payable, pay the initial license fee prescribed by this chapter.

After receiving the results of having passed the examination and upon receipt of the initial license fee required by subdivision (h) of Section 2895, the board shall issue a receipt or temporary certificate which will serve as a valid permit for the licensee to practice under thi…

The board shall hold not less than two examinations each year for applicants desirous of practicing vocational nursing in this State, at such times and places as the board may determine.

Examinations shall be written, but in the discretion of the board may be supplemented by an oral or practical examination in such subjects as the board determines. All examinations shall be conducted by such persons and in such manner and under such rules and regulations as the b…

Any applicant who fails to pass the first examination may take a second examination upon payment of the fee required by this chapter.

The board shall issue a license to each applicant who passes the examination. The form of the license shall be determined in accordance with Section 164.

The board upon written application and receipt of the required application fee may issue a license without examination to any applicant who possesses a valid, unrevoked license as a vocational nurse or practical nurse issued by any other state or a foreign country, and who in the…

(a) An applicant for license by examination shall submit a written application in the form prescribed by the board. (b) If the application for licensure by examination is received by the board no later than four months after completion of a board-approved nursing program and appr…

(a) Applicants and licensees shall provide the board a physical mailing address. (b) Applicants and licensees shall provide the board an electronic mail address no later than July 1, 2022. Unless an applicant specifies in writing a preference for regular mail, the board shall dir…

Any person possessing either the education or the experience, or any combination of both the education and the experience, equivalent to that acquired in an approved school of vocational nursing may be licensed as a vocational nurse under the provisions of this chapter, provided …

Any person who has served on active duty in the medical corps of any of the armed forces, in which no less than an aggregate of 12 months was spent in rendering bedside patient care, and who has completed the basic course of instruction in nursing required by the person’s particu…

(a) Any person who on the effective date of this section is employed as a medical technical assistant or as a senior medical technical assistant by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who served on active duty in the medical corps of any of the Armed Forces of the U…

Every licensee may be disciplined as provided in this article. The proceedings under this article shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall have all the powers granted therein.

(a) The board shall discipline the holder of any license, whose default has been entered or who has been heard by the board and found guilty, by any of the following methods: (1) Suspending judgment. (2) Placing the licensee on probation. (3) Suspending the licensee’s right to pr…

If the holder of a license is suspended, the licensee shall not be entitled to practice vocational nursing during the term of suspension and shall return the license to the board. Upon the expiration of the term of suspension, the licensee shall be reinstated by the board and sha…

The board may suspend or revoke a license issued under this chapter for any of the following: (a) Unprofessional conduct, which includes, but is not limited to, any of the following: (1) Incompetence, or gross negligence in carrying out usual nursing functions. (2) A conviction o…