New Division 47 RN Delegation Rules –– What You Should Know 

As of September 1, 2024, the Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN) adopted new rules pertaining to Division 47 of the Oregon Nurse Practice Act on Standards for Registered Nurse Delegation Process, also known as RN Delegation. The new Division 47 rules from the OSBN simplify the previous rules on RN Delegation. 

RN Delegation is an essential component of nursing in community-based care (CBC) settings like assisted living, memory care, residential care, in-home care, and adult foster homes. Through the process of RN delegation, nurses have the ability to train care staff to perform certain nursing procedures for residents.  

For more than four decades, Oregon has offered those who require “nursing home level care” access to home and community-based services that allow residents to maintain their autonomy and independence. Oregon has always been a national leader in offering community-based care, and that success is in part due to RN delegation.  

Understanding changes to the Oregon Nurse Practice Act 

As Oregon State Board of Nursing Executive Director Rachel Prusak MSN APRN FNP-C explained during an event with NurseLearn’s Enhanced Program, the Oregon Nurse Practice Act as it currently exists in its piecemeal form can be difficult to decipher. 

Regulations in the Nurse Practice Act are made up of two components that contribute to their intricacies: Oregon Revised Statutes (ORSs), also known as laws which originate in the Oregon Legislature where they are voted on by elected officials, and Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs), also known as rules which are written by the OSBN to further define and implement the legislature’s laws.  

Together, these ORSs and OARs make up the entirety of the Nurse Practice Act, determining what constitutes safe and competent nursing practice in Oregon. But, because laws are not necessarily written in dialogue with the Board and tend to be vague, lawmakers may not fully consider how the language of the law will play out in real-life nursing practice.  

Thus, the OSBN is given the power to use its expertise to create rules with a delicate balance that follows what is written in the law while also maintaining applicability to real-life nursing practice. This back and forth between laws and rules can, in turn, render Divisions in the Nurse Practice Act sometimes convoluted and unintuitive. Hence, the initiative to simplify rules like Division 47. 

How you can review the new Division 47 rules on RN Delegation 

Anyone can view the new rules in plain text on the Secretary of State’s website or watch the recording of the OSBN’s Lunch and Learn event.  

If you are searching for an in-depth understanding of the rules and how they are applied in community-based care settings, look no further than NurseLearn’s four-part series of online modules – free to all Oregon licensed nurses (RNs and LPNs) and licensed administrators (RCFA) in Oregon’s assisted living and memory care communities.  

Modules in this series provide a review of the Division 47 rules and an in-depth exploration of the parts and processes contained in the rules. These are the RN Delegation modules: 

  1. RN Delegation in Oregon (Oregon’s Regulatory History and Practical Application within Community-Based Care Environments) 
  1. Assessment of the Resident, Nursing Procedure, and Environment  
  1. Evaluation, Guidance, Direction, and Competency Validation 
  1. Periodic Inspection, Evaluation, Re-Authorization; and Ending RN Delegation 

New Courses on RN Delegation

Get free access and learn it right, the first time

Gain access to these learning modules and others for FREE by registering for a NurseLearn educational program:  

  • Standard Program––FREE: The NurseLearn Standard Program gives all Oregon-licensed nurses and RCFA Administrators access to 30 online modules that specialize in topics related to community-based care, including:  
  • Significant Change of Condition  
  • Medication System  
  • Care Management  
  • Behavioral and Mental Health  
  • Leadership and Management  
  • RN Delegation 
  • Enhanced Program––FREE: The NurseLearn Enhanced Program is a six-month mentored program for Oregon-licensed nurses in (or interested in) community-based care that includes the same 30 online modules, and provides support through 1:1 nurse mentorship, technical assistance/study sessions, a community discussion board of CBC nurse peers, and guest speaker presentations. The next cohort of the Enhanced Program starts January 3, 2025, and is currently accepting applications.  

Register for either program at nurselearn.com/odhs, and learn it right, the first time.