OK Nursing Practice Act
It was in September, 1908, that the nurses of Oklahoma met in Oklahoma City, at the Graduate Nurses Club, and organized the Oklahoma State Association of Graduate Nurses. There were twenty-two nurses present at that meeting, and a Legislative Committee was appointed. The committee chairperson called a meeting of the Legislative Committee for November 15, 1908, and it was during this meeting the original bill was drafted for a proposed law regulating the practice of nurses in the state of Oklahoma. The bill was introduced into both houses of the legislature on January 27, 1909, and passed without opposition. Governor Charles Haskell signed the bill March 2, 1909, and appointed the first Board members to the Oklahoma State Board of Examination and Registration of Nurses.
In April 1991, Governor David Walters signed the bill that incorporated extensive amendments into the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act. This was the first major revision of the act since the 1953 repeal and rewrite. The amendments changed the name of the agency to the Oklahoma Board of Nursing, revised and updated the definition and scope of practice for Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses, and added recognition of the Clinical Nurse Specialist. At this time the composition of the Board was changed to a nine-member Board, with five Registered Nurses, three Licensed Practical Nurses, and added a public member for the first time.
