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Board committee updates policy: IEC told direct-care and narcotics-access requirements should be individualized, not automatic
Summary
At its Nov. 13, 2025 meeting, the California Board of Registered Nursing's Intervention Evaluation Committee was told the board moved in August 2024 to stop blanket requirements that program participants perform direct patient care or pass narcotics to complete the intervention program; Executive Officer Dora Melby said recommendations now must be evidence-based and individualized, and she will ask the full board to transfer routine review duties to the program manager.
The Intervention Evaluation Committee of the California Board of Registered Nursing heard updates Nov. 13 that the board has moved away from blanket completion rules requiring program participants to return to direct patient care or to "pass narcotics" as a condition of successful completion.
Executive Officer Dora Melby told committee members the board in August 2024 "made the motion to stop that practice, to immediately cease the requirement of direct patient care in order to complete the IP program, [and] immediately cease the requirement of passing narcotics in order to complete the program." Melby said those steps followed a board-led review that found many earlier recommendations lacked supporting evidence of a patient-safety concern.
Why it matters: the IEC evaluates registered nurses seeking intervention-program participation and recommends terms for treatment, supervision and monitoring. Melby said shifting away from automatic direct-care or narcotics-access conditions means IEC recommendations must rely on individualized, documented evidence of risk…
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