Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )


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  • - ^ OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Gerald C, Mann, Attorney General Mrs. Eloween Mesch,, R. N. Secretary-Treasurer Board of Nurse Examiners 609 Milam Building San Antonio, Texas Dear Mrs. Mesch. Opinion No. O-882 Re: Authority of the Board of Nurse Examiners to. approve applicants for a certificate as Registered Nurse who have sufXered from tuberculosis; to approve student nwse for entry in approved schools who have gradu- ated from unapproved schools; to issue a special license to applicants for nursing : : tubercutos,is cases only.’ We acknowledge receipt of your inquiry of May 4,. 1939, re&i.idtng the authority of the Board of Nurse Examiners in connec- tion with the following questions: .a 1. Could this Board be compelled to approve as student nurses at accredited nursing schools connected ~witheither special or general hospitals, ..~ ,. persons-whohuve ‘suffereil.fa%m.tuberculosis even though the disease has been decIared to have been arres~ted by a competent physician? “2 . Could this Board be compelled to approve as student nurses at accredited nursing schools in connection with general hospitals, persons who have been graduated from a nursing school in connection with hospitals doing special work only, which latter schools have not been approved or accredited by this Board either as to qualifications of student?,\ nurses or as to courses of study by students or any other matter ? “3 . Would this Board be authorized to issue a special license to applicants for nursfng in tuber- cular cases only, where the applicants have atteade.d a nurs.iag school connected with a hospital accepting as patients only those afflicted with tuberculosis, whether the nursing school was accredited.as a special nursing school or not, when the applicants have not attended for one continuous year an accredited nursing school in connection with a general hospital”‘? We ako have your letter of May 13, 1939. expl&n$t@%he Mrs. Eloween Mesch, R. N., Page 2 opinion of former Attorney General, Dan Moody, referred to in your original inquiry, was not a formal opinion but merely an oral one to the effect that the Board of Nurse Examiners does have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations in its discretion regarding the qualifications of students and hospitals. Quoting from “Policies. Regulations and Recommenda- tions for the Accreditation of Texas Schools of.Nursing” pro- mulgated by the Board of Nurse Examiners, we find the following requirement for students under the title ‘Admission Requirement”; Health: “A health certificate shall be required of al-cants and students who are suffering from organic defects must not be accepted.” We refer you to. articles 4518 and 4518a bearing upon this subject: Article 4518. ‘Qualifications of Nurses’ Training Schools and Applicants. All special hospitals approved -Examiners. and general hospitals. wiiche are equipped with not less than twenty-five (25) beds, and .which have a daily annual average of not less .than fifteen (15) patients, and which teach~the course of study prescribed by the Board of Nurse Examiners of ~. ‘the State of Texas, are hereby constituted duly qualified andacc~dited nursing schools. A general hospitaLas the term is here’ used, is a public or private institution where men,, women, and children are treated for all kinds ‘of diseases, bodily injury, or physical deformity by means of both medical’and surgical treatment, and which maintains an organized staff of physictans and surgeons licensed to practice medicine la the State of Texas .” Article 45 18a. “Certification of Graduates, Exami- nation by State Board of Nurse Examiners. No person shall be certified as a gradu,ate of any such nursing school unless such person has had three (3) full years of work and study in such school under a registered nurse, two (2) years of which must be continuous in the school of nursing from which she has graduated, or two (2) continuous years in a special hospital and one (1) continuous full year in a general hospital. And such graduate upon presenting such certificate to the State Bo,ard of Nurse Examiners shall upon the payment of required fees be entitled to take the examinations prescribed by the State Board; ,and upon making the passing grades prescribed by the Board, shall be entitled to receive from said Board a certificate certifying that such person is a graduate nurse and entitled to practice as a~registered nurse in the State of Texas.” fn re sponse to your first question, it is impossible for us to ,aaswer whether the Board xnay approve a person who has suffered from Mrs;~Eioweeo Mesch, R. N., Page 3 tuberculosis, even though the disease has been declared by competent physicians to have been arrested, in view of the regulation of the Board regarding the exclusion of students who are suffering from organic de- fects. This question can more appropriately be addressed to the State Board of Health. However, from the context of yourletter we understand that it is the desire of the Board to know whether or not the Board has the power to promulgate such a regulation. We agree with what you refer ,to be the oral opinion d the former Attorney General, Dan Moody, that the Board does have this power inasmuch as the regulation seems to be a reasonable one and promulgated pursuant. to the authority conferred upon the Board by article 4514, which, among other things, prescribes: “ * * * The board may ‘make such by-laws and rules as may be, necessary to govern its proceedings and to carry into effect the purpose of this law, * * * ” If we understand your second questioa correctly you wish ~toknow whether or not your Board could be compelled to approve a student nurse, a graduate from an unapproved school, who wishes to eater an approved school operated in conjunction with a general hospital. ,~ We do not understand from an examination of the stat&as that your Board has the authority to approve students for entry into any school. Your Board simply approves the schools~‘snd approves the graduates for iss.uanc4 of a registered nurse ‘certiflcateyto them, Tbre,fore, a graduate from an unapproved school could,‘:if otherwise qualified, enter an apprwed school and on graduation be entitled to a cer~tificate , In reply to your third question ,you asked whether’or not the Board may be authorized to issue a special license to appltcaats:for nursing ~lntubercular cases, where they attended a nursing school in connection with a hospital treating only tuberculosis cases, re- gardless of whether the nursing school is ,accredIted as a special nursing school or not, when the applicants have not ‘atte,nded for one continuous year fan accredited nursing school in ,connectioa with the general hospital. This questlon involves ~anumber of points. We have discussed the matter of applicants having tuberculos~ls that has been arrested in the first question above, The question also necessarily involves whether or not a hospital accepting only patients afflicted with tuberculosis could qualify to -port a collateral aurs- lag school. You have not specifically tasked this question, par do we have the facts before us to determine whether or not such a hospital could qualify. First, we find no authority conferred by the statute upon the ‘Board to issue special licenses for spy purpose, The Board is .au- thorized to issue only A certificate certifying that a person is a grad- uate nurse and entitled to practice as a registered nurse .in the State of Texas. Aside from the provisions autho,rlzing the issuance of a temporary permit and permits to ,persons exempt from examlnatlons, we find no other provisions governing the issuance of licenses and none authorizing the issuance of a. spe.cial ,license based upon the facts thatthe’appllcant has been schooled at a hospital accepting Mrs. Eloween Mesch, R. N., Page 4 only’tuberculosis students. It is our opinion, therefore, that question No. 3 should be answered in the negative. WI,th regard to the latter part ob your third question, it is our opinion that if sir applicant should be in other respects qualified, ~she would be entitled to a certificate, even though she had not attended for ‘one continuous year an accredited nursing school ln connection with a general hospitai. As we interpret the statute, it provides for the issuance of a permit to applicants who have attended a special school as well as a’geaeral school for th~rte’contiauous years. It is to be noted that article 4518 refers to-what are special and general hospi- tals. Then 4518a ,refers to all such nursing schools and provides for the issuance of permits~‘upon the basis of three full years of work and study in such schools, (regardless ,,. of whether such school be general or spe c&al). #.: ,,, ,.~, We tru8.t we h.ave ~s+e’i-eWy~r :.,:<_, ,, question satisfactorily. Yours very Wily .’ ‘. ATTORNEY GENERAL :OF,TEXAS ,. .,.~ ,,,~ .;‘: ,: ,. By. .‘. Hugh &Buck HQB’:omb~:ps ” Assistant ,.APPROVED JUN 22. 1939 ATTORhIE’Y GENERAL OF TEXAS

Document Info

Docket Number: O-882

Judges: Gerald Mann

Filed Date: 7/2/1939

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017