A. All applicants for a license to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse shall be subject to Section 567.8 of this title.

B. An applicant for a license to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse shall submit to the Oklahoma Board of Nursing certified evidence that the applicant:

1. Has successfully completed the prescribed curricula in a state-approved program of practical nursing and holds or is entitled to hold a diploma or certificate therefrom, or equivalent courses in a state-approved program of nursing;

2. Has never been convicted of a felony crime that substantially relates to the occupation of nursing and poses a reasonable threat to public safety;

3. Has submitted a criminal history records search that complies with Section 567.18 of this title;

4. Is a minimum of eighteen (18) years of age; and

5. Has met such other reasonable preliminary qualification requirements as the Board may prescribe.

C. The applicant for a license to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse shall be required to pass a written examination in such subjects as the Board may require. Upon the applicant successfully passing such examination the Board may issue to the applicant a license to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse. An applicant who fails such examination shall be subject to reexamination according to the rules of the Board. The passing criteria shall be established by the Board in its rules.

D. The Board may issue a license to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse without examination to any applicant who has been duly licensed or registered as a Licensed Practical Nurse, or is entitled to perform similar services under a different title, according to the laws of another state, territory, the District of Columbia or a foreign country if such applicant meets the requirements for Licensed Practical Nurses in the State of Oklahoma.

E. Any person holding a license to practice as a licensed attendant issued by the Board, which is valid on July 1, 1953, shall be deemed to be a Licensed Practical Nurse under the provisions of this act.

F. Any person who holds a license to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse in this state shall have the right to use both the title "Licensed Practical Nurse" and the abbreviation "L.P.N." No other person shall assume such title or use such abbreviation or any other words, letters, signs, or figures to indicate that the person using the same is a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Any individual doing so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable, upon conviction, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year or by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such imprisonment and fine for each offense.

G. As used in this section:

1. "Substantially relates" means the nature of criminal conduct for which the person was convicted has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform one or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the occupation; and

2. "Poses a reasonable threat" means the nature of criminal conduct for which the person was convicted involved an act or threat of harm against another and has a bearing on the fitness or ability to serve the public or work with others in the occupation.

Added by Laws 1953, p. 267, § 6, emerg. eff. April 13, 1953. Amended by Laws 1981, c. 314, § 4, eff. July 1, 1981; Laws 1991, c. 104, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Laws 2001, c. 254, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2001; Laws 2003, c. 190, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2003; Laws 2011, c. 101, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2014, c. 160, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2014; Laws 2019, c. 363, § 26, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.