.06 Education.

A. An applicant certified by a national certifying body before October 1, 2010, who is certified by the Board and in good standing shall be deemed to meet the education requirements under this regulation.

B. An applicant for certification shall be a graduate from a Board-approved nationally accredited education program for nurse practitioners in a school of nursing that:

(1) Provides advanced practice instruction at the Masters’ level or higher in a clinical nursing program;

(2) Is accredited by a nursing accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or any other national accrediting body recognized by the Board;

(3) Follows established educational standards that build upon educational preparation and experience as a registered nurse;

(4) Ensures completion of the advanced practice core, nurse practitioner core, and population specific core competencies;

(5) Has a didactic and clinical curriculum that, at a minimum, includes advanced courses in:

(a) Physiology and pathophysiology;

(b) Physical and health assessment;

(c) Pharmacology; and

(d) Diagnosis and management of health problems and diseases commonly encountered within the respective nurse practitioner’s population focus;

(6) Provides didactic courses and supervised clinical experiences of sufficient depth and breadth in the nurse practitioner role and the specific population focus of the program; and

(7) Ensures that graduates of the program are eligible for national certification and Maryland certification.

C. To be a Board-approved education program the program shall:

(1) Be a nationally accredited education program; and

(2) Ensure ongoing competence and maintenance of certification by:

(a) Providing a mechanism for renewing certification;

(b) Having a renewal of certification process that is acceptable to the Board; and

(c) Developing a mutually agreeable procedure that ensures communication with the Board.