Licensure in Kansas
An applicant for a license to practice as a registered professional nurse shall:
- Have graduated from a high school accredited by the appropriate legal accrediting agency or has obtained the equivalent of a high school education, as determined by the state department of education;
- Have graduated from an approved school of professional nursing in the United States or its territories or from a school of professional nursing in a foreign country which is approved by the board as defined in rules and regulations;
- Have obtained other qualifications not in conflict with this act as the board may prescribe by rule and regulation; and
- File with the board written application for a license.
The Kansas State Board of Nursing may deny, revoke, limit or suspend any license, certificate of qualification, or authorization to practice nursing as a registered professional nurse...that is issued by the board or applied for under this act or may publicly or privately censure a licensee or holder of a certificate of qualification or authorization, if the applicant, licensee or holder of a certificate of qualification or authorization is found after hearing:
- To be guilty of fraud or deceit in practicing nursing or in procuring or attempting to procure a license to practice nursing;
- To have been guilty of a felony or to have been guilty of a misdemeanor involving an illegal drug offense unless the applicant or licensee establishes sufficient rehabilitation to warrant the public trust, except that notwithstanding K.S.A. 74-120 no license, certificate of qualification or authorization to practice nursing as a licensed professional nurse .... shall be granted to a person with a felony conviction for a crime against persons as specified in article 34 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto;
- To have committed an act of professional incompetency;
- To be unable to practice with skill and safety due to current abuse of drugs or alcohol;
- To be a person who has been adjudged in need of a guardian or conservator, or both, under the act for obtaining a guardian or conservator, or both, and who has not been restored to capacity under that act;
- To be guilty of unprofessional conduct as defined by rules and regulations of the board;
- To have willfully or repeatedly violated the provisions of the Kansas nurse practice act or any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to that act including K.S.A. 65-1114 and 65-1122 and amendments thereto; or
- To have a license to practice nursing as a registered nurse or as a practical nurse denied, revoked, limited or suspended, or to be publicly or privately censured, by a licensing authority of another state, agency of the United States government, territory of the United States or country or to have other disciplinary action taken against the applicant or licensee by a licensing authority of another state, agency of the United States government, territory of the United States or country; or
- To have assisted suicide in violation of K.S.A. 21-3406 and amendments thereto.
Kansas Nurse Practice Act: Laws and Administrative Regulations. Topeka, KS: Kansas State Board of Nursing, Statutes 65-1115 and 65-1120.
Licensure in a state other than Kansas
If a student elects to apply for R.N. licensure in a state other than Kansas, it is essential that the student write to the Board of Nursing in that state and inquire into the unique legal and/or educational requirements for state licensure which may have been established. An address for each State Board of Nursing in the United States may be obtained through the Hesston College Department of Nursing.