California addresses RN moderate sedation in a one-page Board of Registered Nursing policy, NPR-B-06, which uses the term “conscious sedation” throughout and rests on the Nursing Practice Act’s general provisions on medication administration and competence rather than citing any sedation-specific statute or regulation. It opens with the scope statement, “It is within the scope of practice of registered nurses to administer medications for the purpose of induction of conscious sedation for short-term therapeutic, diagnostic or surgical procedures” (p. 1). Everything below is quoted or paraphrased from that policy; the document is a single page, so every citation reads (p. 1).
California at a glance
| Board | California Board of Registered Nursing |
| Document | NPR-B-06, “Conscious Sedation/Moderate Sedation” — a one-page Board of Registered Nursing policy, published as a PDF on rn.ca.gov. |
| Rules it applies | “Section 2725(b)(2) of the Nursing Practice Act (NPA)” (p. 1) for the authority to administer medication; “Business and Professions Code 2761(a)(1); California Code of Regulations 1442, 1443, 1443.5” (p. 1) for competence and the standard of practice. It cites no sedation-specific statute or regulation. |
| Status | Not stated in the policy’s own words; it calls itself “this policy” (p. 1) and grounds the RN’s authority in the Nursing Practice Act sections above. Its competence requirement is stated as a requirement — “the registered nurse must be competent to perform the function, and the function must be performed in a manner consistent with the standard of practice” (p. 1) — and two prohibitions are mandatory in form: RNs “shall not leave the patient unattended” (p. 1), and RN functions “may not be assigned to unlicensed assistive personnel” (p. 1). The sentences on evaluating and documenting competency, by contrast, are advisory in form (“should”). |
| Dates | “NPR-B-06 09/1995” · “REV. 07/1997” · “Practice Committee August 7, 2013” (p. 1). The body dates its own safety list “As of 1995” (p. 1). No review, revision or effective date later than 2013 is printed. |
| Who it covers | Registered nurses administering medications to induce conscious sedation for short-term therapeutic, diagnostic or surgical procedures (p. 1), and “RNs managing the care of patients receiving conscious sedation” (p. 1). CRNAs are mentioned once, as having, by virtue of advanced education and practice, “met requirements to administer safely the class of drugs in question” (p. 1). |
| Who it does not cover | Unlicensed assistive personnel — RN functions “as described in this policy may not be assigned to unlicensed assistive personnel” (p. 1). Licensed vocational nurses are not mentioned. The prescriber is outside the policy except that the drug must “be ordered by one lawfully authorized to prescribe” (p. 1). |
| Settings the document names | None. The policy names no practice setting; it speaks only of procedures, of “agency policies and procedures” and of “The institution” (p. 1). |
| Re-verification interval | None stated. Evaluation and documentation of competency “should occur on a periodic basis” (p. 1); the policy does not define the period. |
| Where the record lives | With the institution — the process is quoted in full below (p. 1). The policy says nothing further about where or how that record is kept. |
| CE hours | Not stated. The policy contains no contact-hour count, no continuing-education requirement and no ACLS/PALS-type prerequisite for the RN; its standard is the same knowledge and skills the RN needs for any other medication (p. 1). |
What the California Board of Registered Nursing says
The operative language is short. In administering sedation medications the RN “is required to have the same knowledge and skills as for any other medication the nurse administers” (p. 1). The knowledge base “includes but is not limited to: effects of medication; potential side effects of the medication; contraindications for the administration of the medication; the amount of the medication to be administered” (p. 1); “The requisite skills include the ability to: competently and safely administer the medication by the specified route; anticipate and recognize potential complications of the medication; recognize emergency situations and institute emergency procedures” (p. 1). On that footing “the RN would be held accountable for knowledge of the medication, and for ensuring that the proper safety measures are followed” (p. 1).
The safety measures are dated by the policy itself. “As of 1995, safety considerations for conscious sedation include continuous monitoring of oxygen saturation, cardiac rate and rhythm, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and level of consciousness, as specified in national guidelines or standards” (p. 1), and national standards commonly include “Immediate availability of an emergency cart which contains resuscitative and antagonist medications, airway and ventilatory adjunct equipment, defibrillator, suction, and a source for administration of 100% oxygen” (p. 1). Paraphrased, the RN would conduct a nursing assessment that giving the drug is in the patient’s best interest and would also ensure that all safety measures are in force, including back-up personnel “skilled and trained in airway management, resuscitation, and emergency intubation” (p. 1); and national guidelines “should be consulted in establishing agency policies and procedures” (p. 1). The two sentences this page turns on come near the end:
“The institution should have in place a process for evaluating and documenting the RNs demonstration of the knowledge, skills, and abilities for the management of clients receiving agents to render conscious sedation. Evaluation and documentation of competency should occur on a periodic basis.”
California Board of Registered Nursing — NPR-B-06, Conscious Sedation/Moderate Sedation (p. 1)
The line the policy draws on medication
NPR-B-06 names no sedative agent, no route and no dose; propofol, anesthetic agents and deep sedation do not appear in it. The statute it relies on, in the policy’s words, “places no limits on the type of medication or route of administration; there is only a requirement that the drug be ordered by one lawfully authorized to prescribe” (p. 1) — but “Other relevant sections of the NPA do impose additional requirements” (p. 1): the competence and standard-of-practice requirements quoted in the Status row above.
What a California facility should be able to show
The policy asks the institution to have a process for evaluating and documenting each RN’s competence, which translates into three records a California facility should be able to produce:
- Sedation policies and procedures established with national guidelines consulted, as the policy asks (p. 1).
- Per-nurse evidence of evaluation — the institution’s process for evaluating and documenting the RN’s demonstration of knowledge, skills and abilities (p. 1), covering the knowledge base and skills quoted above.
- Per-nurse evidence of periodic re-evaluation — evaluation and documentation of competency on a periodic basis (p. 1), on an interval your own process names, since the policy sets none.
The CSRN™ course — 10 CE contact hours developed and delivered by Capt. M. Ron Eslinger, CRNA, with module exams, case studies and a certificate ID your credentialing office can verify — is built to be records 2 and 3 on that list. Facility seats and roster tracking →
Questions California facilities ask
Does California set a renewal interval for sedation competency?
No. NPR-B-06 asks for evaluation and documentation of competency on a periodic basis (p. 1) and does not define the period. The interval belongs in the institution’s own process, and a certificate that carries an expiry date is the simplest way to make it visible on a roster.
Does California require the CSRN™ course specifically?
No. NPR-B-06 names no course, and no state mandates this specific one. What the policy asks for is an institutional process for “evaluating and documenting the RNs demonstration of the knowledge, skills, and abilities” (p. 1); the form of that evidence is left to the institution. CSRN™ is built to be that evidence: a named credential, a competency assessment on the record, and a certificate ID an employer can verify.
Can the RN monitoring a sedated patient also assist with the procedure?
Not where it would compromise monitoring. The policy’s one “shall” is a prohibition: RNs managing these patients “shall not leave the patient unattended or engage in tasks that would compromise continuous monitoring of the patient by the registered nurse” (p. 1) — the continuous monitoring being the 1995-dated list quoted above. Staffing the sedation nurse as a dedicated role is the practical reading; the policy states the principle, not a ratio.
Compliance note (last reviewed September 2026): This page is educational information about California Board of Registered Nursing policy NPR-B-06, Conscious Sedation/Moderate Sedation, not legal advice or a compliance determination. Every quotation was checked word-for-word on 2026-09-01 against the one-page PDF the Board publishes at rn.ca.gov; the document carries the dates 09/1995, revised 07/1997 and Practice Committee August 7, 2013, and prints no later review date. Confirm the current version with the Board and your own facility policy before relying on this summary. No state mandates this specific course.