H. B. 4495
(By Delegates Martin, DeLong, Armstead, Morgan, Higgins,
Hatfield, Stephens, Perdue, Hrutkay, Border and Reynolds)
[Introduced February 11, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §30-7-10 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to limiting the use of the titles
"registered nurse", "nurse practitioner", and "nurse" to
certain qualified individuals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-7-10 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSES.
§30-7-10. Use of titles "nurse", "nurse practitioner", and
"registered nurse" and abbreviation thereof.
Any person who holds a license to practice registered
professional nursing in this state shall have the right to use the
title "registered nurse" and the abbreviation "R.N." Only a person
who holds a valid and current license to practice professional
nursing in this state pursuant to section seven, article thirty of this code, may use the title "nurse", "nurse practitioner", and
"registered nurse" or the abbreviation "R.N.", unless as indicated
otherwise in this chapter.
No other person shall assume such a
titles or use such abbreviations or any other words, letters,
figures, signs, or devices to indicate that the person using the
same is a registered professional nurse qualified and licensed for
one of these titles without holding a valid license pursuant to the
requirements of this chapter for that specific title.
NOTE: The purpose of this legislation is to limit the use of
the word "nurse" to those who are qualified and licensed to
practice "nursing" by the WV Board of Examiners for Professional
Nurses.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.