Louisiana governs RN sedation through a Louisiana State Board of Nursing declaratory statement — the Board’s clarification, on request, of the effect of its rules and of the nursing practice law (p. 1). It sets out provisos for the RN (non-CRNA) who administers non-anesthetic sedation medications or monitors sedated patients. A key principle: “RNs must have documented competency to monitor patients safely and to maintain the patient at the desired level of intravenous conscious/procedural sedation” (p. 2).
Louisiana at a glance
| Board | Louisiana State Board of Nursing |
| Document | Declaratory Statement on the Role and Scope of Practice of the Registered Nurse in the Administration of Medication and Monitoring of Patients During the Levels of Intravenous Procedural/Conscious Sedation (Minimal, Moderate, Deep, and Anesthesia) as Defined Herein — six-page PDF (Declerat18.pdf), last revised 4/09/15; page numbers on this page refer to that PDF. |
| Rule it applies | It is not itself a rule. It is issued under L.R.S. 49:963 and LAC 46:XLVII.3321, which authorize the Board “to issue declaratory statements in response to requests for clarification of the effect of rules and regulations” (p. 1) or of the nursing practice law, L.R.S. 37:911 et seq. It reprints the two statutory anesthetic-agent exceptions, R.S. 37:930.D and R.S. 37:935 (p. 5). |
| Status | Not stated in the document’s own words — it does not say whether it carries the force of law. Its provisos use “shall”: the RN (non-CRNA) “shall have documented education and competency” (p. 3) and the institutional policy “shall include” (p. 3) the items it lists. Its concluding section is framed as what “The Board believes” (p. 5). |
| Dates | Printed history: “Adopted: board 3/17/04; Npop 04:02; Revised (10/27/04) Revised Practice Committee 1/25/05, Board approved 3/16/2005; Revised 4/09/15” (p. 6). The Board first defined RN scope for intravenous conscious/procedural sedation in September 1990, as npop 90.20 (p. 1). No review cycle is stated. |
| Who it covers | The RN who is not a CRNA — “a RN (non-CRNA)” (p. 3) — administering “non-anesthetic medications, up to and including moderate (conscious sedation)” (p. 2) or monitoring “patients in minimal, moderate, and deep sedation levels as defined by TJC” (p. 2), “provided the RN is specifically trained and demonstrated knowledge, skills, and abilities” (p. 2). |
| Who it does not cover | CRNAs — the provisos are written for the “RN (non-Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) (non-CRNA)” (p. 3). Outside the statement’s permission: administering “an anesthetic agent for any of the levels of sedation” (p. 3) and monitoring “general anesthesia as defined by TJC in this document” (p. 3). LPNs are not mentioned anywhere in the document. |
| Settings the document names | “in various settings to include inpatient and outpatient environments” (p. 2). Deep-sedation monitoring is confined to “a controlled environment, as designated by institutional policy” (p. 3). R.S. 37:935 names “intubated patients in critical care settings” (p. 5). The institution itself must be accredited by TJC or by a comparable accrediting body whose sedation and anesthesia standards accord with this statement and TJC definitions (p. 2). |
| Re-verification interval | At least annually: “Competencies will be measured initially during orientation and at least on an annual basis” (p. 3), with review and reaffirmation documented “at least annually” (p. 4). |
| Where the record lives | With the institution: its sedation policy shall include (p. 3) an “educational/credentialing mechanism” (p. 4) with “a process for evaluating and documenting the individual’s competency” (p. 4). |
| CE hours | Not stated — no contact-hour count and no renewal-CE figure. The document specifies content instead: the nine proviso A items (p. 3), including “Advanced Cardiac Life Support and/or Neonatal Resuscitation Program, Pediatric Life Support, Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course based on the patient’s age” (p. 3). |
What the Louisiana State Board of Nursing says
The position is set out as three provisos: A, documented education and competency; B, when it is measured; and C, what the institutional “policy and plan for sedation/analgesia practice shall include” (p. 3) — among them:
“An educational/credentialing mechanism, which includes a process for evaluating and documenting the individual’s competency relating to the management of patients receiving sedation and analgesia. Review and reaffirmation of the RN’s competency to manage patients receiving sedation and analgesia shall occur and shall be documented at least annually.”
Louisiana State Board of Nursing — declaratory statement on intravenous procedural/conscious sedation (revised 4/09/15, p. 4)
What proviso C says the institutional policy shall include
Proviso C is specific. The monitoring RN (non-CRNA) “will have no additional responsibility that would require leaving the patient unattended or would compromise continuous monitoring during the procedure” (p. 3). Physiologic measurements — “blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, cardiac rate and rhythm, and level of consciousness” (p. 4) — “shall be recorded pre-procedure and at least every 5 minutes” (p. 4) during the procedure and “at a minimum every 15 minutes during the recovery period or as deemed appropriate by the authorized prescriber” (p. 4). The emergency plan “must include the immediate availability of emergency equipment and qualified providers skilled in airway management and emergency intubations” (p. 3); “Immediately Available” (p. 5) means a provider “trained in ACLS and resuscitation skills available to assist with patient care within one to five minutes” (p. 5). Where an RN monitors deep sedation, the physician administering it shall be “physically present at the patient’s bedside or within the confines of the patient’s immediate treatment” (p. 4) until the patient has recovered. Institutional policy must also say which situations “require the services of a licensed anesthesia provider” (p. 4). One item is advisory in the statement’s own wording: capnography “should be considered for those patients whose ventilation cannot be directly observed during the procedure” (p. 4).
What a Louisiana facility should be able to show
The provisos translate into three records a Louisiana facility should be able to produce — and “The responsibility of assurance of compliance rests with the institution” (p. 2).
- A sedation policy and plan covering the proviso C items — continuous monitoring with no competing duties, an emergency management and equipment plan, physiologic monitoring at the stated intervals, NPO and venous-access rules, the physician’s history and physical with ASA classification, the deep-sedation limits, and “An educational/credentialing mechanism” (p. 4).
- Per-nurse documented education and competency, measured “initially during orientation” (p. 3), across the nine proviso A areas: sedative drugs and reversal agents; the age-appropriate life-support course; airway skills and rescue; anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and arrhythmia recognition, with complications and interventions; age-specific considerations; pre-, intra- and post-procedure assessment; oxygen delivery devices; standards of practice and licensure; and accurate documentation (p. 3).
- Per-nurse annual reaffirmation of competency, “documented at least annually” (p. 4).
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 Louisiana facilities ask
How often does Louisiana require sedation competency to be re-verified?
At least once a year: competency is measured at orientation and then annually (p. 3), and review and reaffirmation of it must be documented at least annually (p. 4). A certificate with an expiry date makes that clock visible on the roster.
Does Louisiana require the CSRN™ course specifically?
No. The declaratory statement names no sedation course or provider, and no state mandates this specific one. It requires “documented education and competency” (p. 3) across the nine proviso A areas, including the age-appropriate life-support course. CSRN™ is designed to be the documented sedation education and the assessed competency record; the life-support card remains a separate record.
Can a Louisiana RN administer propofol, or monitor deep sedation?
Propofol, no: the statement lists it among the anesthetic agents (p. 2), and administering “an anesthetic agent for any of the levels of sedation” (p. 3) is outside RN scope. The exceptions are statutory — R.S. 37:930.D and R.S. 37:935 (p. 5) — and the Board adds that the statement “is not intended to prohibit RNs from administering Propofol (Diprivan) to intubated, ventilated patients in a critical care setting” (p. 5). Monitoring deep sedation, yes, within limits — in “a controlled environment, as designated by institutional policy” (p. 3) under “the direct supervision of a physician privileged by the institution” (p. 3), and not for an adult above ASA Class III or a child above Class II (p. 4).
Compliance note (last reviewed September 2026): This page is educational information about the Louisiana State Board of Nursing’s declaratory statement on the RN’s role in intravenous procedural/conscious sedation, not legal advice or a compliance determination. Every quotation was checked word-for-word against the Board’s PDF (Declerat18.pdf, revised 4/09/15) on 2026-09-01; page numbers refer to that six-page document. The statement carries no review cycle; confirm the current version with the Board and your own facility policy before relying on this summary. No state mandates this specific course.