24.159.1029    FOREIGN EDUCATED APPLICANTS FOR PRACTICAL NURSE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS

(1) For purposes of this rule, "foreign educated" applicants are those individuals whose nursing education credential was conferred by an educational institution located outside the United States or its jurisdictions. The term includes, but is not limited to, applicants or candidates who studied nursing in the United States through either a distance learning program offered by or through a foreign educational institution or whose nursing education involved a collaboration between a foreign educational institution and an educational institution in the United States, so long as the credential was conferred by the foreign educational institution.

(2) Foreign educated applicants for practical nurse licensure by examination must:

(a) fulfill the requirements of ARM 24.159.1024;

(b) pass the Montana licensing examination (i.e., NCLEX);

(c) provide a course-by-course evaluation, verifying the applicant's nursing education credentials and comparing the applicant's nursing education with the U.S. nursing education standards. The board may deny licensure to a foreign educated applicant if denial is deemed by the board to be warranted by the course-by-course evaluation report; and

(d) successfully complete an English proficiency examination recognized by the board-approved foreign education evaluator, except as provided in (4).

(3) Foreign educated applicants for practical nurse licensure by endorsement from another state of the United States must:

(a) fulfill the requirements of ARM 24.159.1028;

(b) provide verification of licensure in good standing in the other state;

(c) provide a course-by-course evaluation report prepared by a board-approved foreign education evaluator verifying the applicant's nursing education credentials and comparing the applicant's nursing education with the U.S. nursing education standards. The board may deny licensure to a foreign educated applicant if denial is warranted by the course-by-course evaluation report; and

(d) successfully complete an English proficiency examination recognized by the board-approved foreign education evaluator, except as provided in (4).

(4) The provisions of (2)(d) and (3)(d) do not apply if the foreign educated applicant graduated from a nursing program at a college, university, or professional nurses' training school in one of the following countries:

(a) Australia;

(b) Canada (except Quebec);

(c) Ireland;

(d) New Zealand;

(e) Tobago;

(f) Trinidad; or

(g) United Kingdom.

(5) A foreign education evaluator may apply to the board to become a board-approved foreign education evaluator for purposes of this rule. Approval is left to the sole discretion of the board on a case-by-case basis. If a foreign education evaluator is approved by the board, it will be added to a list maintained at the board office. Each board-approved foreign education evaluator must maintain current contact information at the board office as requested by the board, and is subject to removal by the board upon review.

History: 37-1-131, 37-8-202, MCA; IMP, 37-1-131, 37-8-101, 37-8-405, 37-8-415, MCA; NEW, 2005 MAR p. 1687, Eff. 9/9/05; TRANS, from Commerce, & AMD, 2006 MAR p. 2035, Eff. 8/25/06; AMD, 2010 MAR p. 2651, Eff. 11/13/10.