(1) Upon license renewal a nurse shall attest on a form provided by the department of health declaring completion of the required active nursing practice hours and continuing nursing education hours.
(2) A nurse shall complete within a 12-month period prior to the renewal of licensure:
(a) A minimum of 96 hours of active nursing practice; and
(b) A minimum of eight hours of continuing nursing education of which at least two hours must be on health equity training, as specified in WAC 246-840-222.
(3) A nurse shall complete a qualified suicide prevention training as follows:
(a) A registered nurse, except for registered nurses holding an active certified registered nurse anesthetist license, and licensed practical nurses must complete a one-time, six-hour training in suicide assessment, treatment, and management from a qualified suicide prevention training program. The training must be completed by the end of the first full year of licensure.
(b) A qualified suicide training program must be on the department of health model list, required under RCW 43.70.442, to be accepted.
(c) The hours spent completing a qualified training program in suicide assessment, treatment, and management under this section counts toward continuing competency requirements in subsection (2)(b) of this section.
(4) A nurse who is enrolled in, or has completed prerequisite classes for, an advanced nursing education program is exempt from the continuing competency requirements during their current review period.
(5) A nurse providing clinical services through telemedicine shall complete requirements under RCW 43.70.495.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.79.010, 18.79.110, and 43.07.041. WSR 26-02-031, s 246-840-220, filed 12/30/25, effective 1/30/26. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.79.010, 18.79.110, and 43.70.613. WSR 23-23-166, § 246-840-220, filed 11/21/23, effective 12/22/23. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.79.010 and 18.79.110. WSR 21-11-032, § 246-840-220, filed 5/12/21, effective 6/12/21. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.79.110 and 43.70.442. WSR 16-04-097, § 246-840-220, filed 2/1/16, effective 3/3/16.]