What can a nursing student do in their job as a nurse tech/medical tech when not functioning as a student in their nursing education program?
The exemption of nursing from the Nursing Practice Act (NPA) 301.004(6) does not apply to jobs in which the nursing student is employed outside of the educational experience. Students functioning as unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs) for compensation may only perform tasks that do not require the use of independent nursing judgment as described in 224.8 (c) Nursing Tasks Prohibited from Delegation. Students employed as UAPs also cannot engage in prohibited tasks “by proxy” for the RN; for example, an RN co-signing a nursing assessment performed by a UAP who is also a nursing student. No student may hold herself/himself out as a “nurse” since this is a protected title (301.351 and 217.10). In order for a person to hold him/herself out as a “nurse,” the person must possess a valid LVN or RN license.
