Graduate Nurse Status in Indiana

Do you know there is an Indiana hospital allowing a nursing school graduate to practice and function as a RN under the supervision of a RN preceptor? I won't mention the name of the hospital however the student was told that she could function in this capacity until she received her license and she is being paid RN wages. If the nursing student wasn't a client of mine, I would report this Hospital to the appropriate federal and state regulatory authorities for investigation. 

Hint, Hint! There is no graduate nursing student status in Indiana anymore! There used to be several years ago. This was changed I believe ten years ago, around 1996-1997.

As a matter of fact, when I graduated with my ASN in 1993 and took my nursing board exam (it was a full day pencil and paper exam back then), I worked as a graduate nursing student the summer after my graduation at Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Indiana on a adult and pediatric med-surg floor.

The rationale for the graduate nurse designation was that it took several months to receive your results from the nursing boards. This is no longer true as the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN exams are now offered on a computer and students are informed within days of testing of the pass/fail results.

What's the bottom line here? DO NOT assume that your nursing employer including human resources, your immediate nursing supervisor or mid or executive-level nursing management knows the law, regulations, and standards regarding the practice of nursing in your state.

Nursing students who have completed their initial program should not practice nursing or perform nursing tasks (administering medication, perform nursing assessments, etc.) unless this is authorized by the state nursing law and regulations. Nursing students can assist the licensed nurses with delegated functions and perform the same tasks that an unlicensed technician or nursing assistant performs.

Ask questions if a situation doesn't appear normal or doesn't feel right. Trust your gut instincts. Contact your state board of nursing, state nurses professional association, or a licensure defense attorney for clarification.

YOU as a licensed nurse or nursing student who recently tested, awaiting the authorization to test, etc. are legally responsible and accountable for your actions. As you may know practicing nursing without a license is grounds for disciplinary action with a state board of nursing.

Why is the practice still continuing in this Hospital when it violates the Indiana Nurse Practice Act and subjects nursing students to charges of practicing nursing without a license? Why isn't this Hospital updating its policies and procedures, position description, and practices to comport with state nursing law and regulations? Just imagine if this has "slipped through the cracks" at the Hospital, what else is brewing there?

In my opinion, this Hospital needs to hire an attorney with a nursing background to review its nursing policies, procedures, and practices from top to bottom. What do you think?