Indiana Nurse Practice Act: Facility Guide

The healthcare industry is continuously expanding to meet the demand for patient care, offering a diverse range of roles for nursing professionals to pursue. To better define these roles and protect patients from preventable harm, each state has the responsibility of establishing laws that govern everything related to nursing practice. In Indiana, Nurse Practice Act (NPA) provisions serve as legal guidelines that all nursing professionals must follow.

It’s important for healthcare leaders to learn how to apply provisions in the NPA and enforce proper care protocols at the institutional level. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the Indiana NPA and share tips to ensure your staff is practicing safely and appropriately.

Indiana Nursing Practice Act at a Glance

The Indiana NPA outlines a set of provisions that defines what qualifies a nurse to practice, professional standards, and scope of practice guidelines. The table below summarizes key components of the NPA that can help facility leaders support staff compliance.

Indiana Administrative Code:

Steps to Receive Licensure by Examination:

1. Complete an accredited nursing program.
2. Submit an examination application via MyLicense.IN.gov.
3. Submit a background check and fingerprints.
4. Register for and pass the NCLEX exam.

Steps to Receive Licensure by Endorsement:

1. Submit an endorsement application via MyLicense.IN.gov.
2. Sign up for and verify licensure through NURSYS.
3. Submit a background check and fingerprints.

• Assess patients in a systematic, organized manner.
• Formulate a nursing diagnosis based on accessible, communicable, and recorded data.
• Plan care, which includes goals and prioritized nursing approaches or measures derived from the nursing diagnosis.
• Implement strategies to engage patients in health promotion, maintenance, and restoration.
• Initiate nursing actions to assist the patient and to maximize their health capabilities.
• Evaluate patient status and revise nursing care through reassessment, reordering priorities, and new goal setting as necessary.
• Seek educational resources and learning experiences to enhance and maintain current nursing knowledge and skills.

• RNs should delegate and supervise only those nursing measures which the nurse knows, or should know, that another person is prepared, qualified, or licensed to perform; and
• LPNs should accept only those delegated nursing measures which they know they are prepared, qualified, and licensed to perform.

• Performing any nursing procedures for which the nurse is unprepared by education or experience.
• Disregarding a patient’s dignity or right to privacy/confidentiality.
• Abandoning or knowingly neglecting patients requiring care.
• Abusing a patient verbally, physically, emotionally, or sexually.
• Falsifying, omitting, or destroying documentation of nursing actions.

If a nursing professional participates in these behaviors or violates any other aspects of the NPA, the Indiana Board of Nursing can impose penalties as appropriate. According to Indiana Code 25-1-9-9, these penalties may include:

• Permanent license revocation.
• License suspension.
• Censure of the licensee.
• Written reprimand of licensee.
• Probation of the licensee.
• Required participation in the Indiana State Nurses Assistance Program (ISNAP).
• Civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.

Improving NPA Compliance: 3 Tips for Facilities

Enforcing the Indiana Nurse Practice Act is necessary to hold your staff to professional standards and build a better culture of safety. Follow these tips to help your nursing staff deliver appropriate care and stay within their scope of practice.

1. Provide Ongoing Staff Training

Beyond understanding what’s in the Nurse Practice Act, Indiana facility leaders must use these provisions to inform their institutional care protocols. Provide your staff with regular training and resources to help them stay aware of which federal-, state-, and facility-level policies impact their care delivery. This may include assembling a risk management team that can guide staff on scope of practice and delegation rules.

2. Verify Credentials During the Hiring Process

The NPA protects patients from individuals who are not qualified to deliver appropriate nursing care. As such, facility leaders have a responsibility to vet the nursing professionals that they’re hiring. Screening for resume red flags and conducting thorough background checks can help protect your facility and patients from nurses who don’t have appropriate credentials.

3. Stay Informed About Regulatory Updates

Federal and state laws can often change, and it’s important to keep up with amendments to the NPA that can impact your staff. Facility leaders can stay informed about pertinent changes through the Indiana Board of Nursing’s website.

Get The Resources You Need to Maintain Compliance

Keeping up with the Indiana Nurse Practice Act and other regulations can feel overwhelming when you’re busy running a facility. Seeking practical ways to stay informed? IntelyCare’s free newsletter offers dozens of expert-written insights on nurse staffing, state laws, and more.

Legal Disclaimer: This article contains general legal information, but it is not intended to constitute professional legal advice for any particular situation and should not be relied on as professional legal advice. Any references to the law may not be current, as laws regularly change through updates in legislation, regulation, and case law at the federal and state level. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as creating an attorney-client relationship. If you have legal questions, you should seek the advice of an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.