supra , at p. 133, definition 4.) Building upon the former definition (“undertake”), the Nurses contend a person “assumes to practice as a . . . nurse” (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2727, subd. (e)) by undertaking to perform — in other words, simply by performing — any of the patient care functions listed in the NPA‟s definition of nursing ( id ., § 2725, subd. (b)(2)). This interpretation, as noted, cannot be correct as it would leave the medical-orders exception without meaning. In contrast, the medical-orders exception does have meaning if one “assume[s] to practice as a . . . nurse” (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2727, subd. (e)) by holding oneself out, explicitly or implicitly, as being a nurse in fact. The broader statutory context supports this interpretation. The list of statuses an unlicensed person who carries out medical orders may not “assume” — “professional, registered, graduate or trained nurse” ( ibid .) —indicates that one may not evade the rule against falsely posing as a registered nurse by substituting a vaguer term such as “professional,” “graduate” or “trained.” A penal provision enacted by the same Legislature in the same bill as the medical-orders exception similarly declared it “unlawful for any person or persons not licensed as provided in this chapter to impersonate in any manner or pretend to be a professional nurse, or to use the title ‘registered nurse,’ the letters ‘R.N.,’ or the words ‘graduate nurse,’ ‘trained nurse,’ or any other name, word or symbol in connection with or following his [or her] name so as to lead another or others to believe that he [or she] is a professional nurse.” ( Id ., former § 2796, added by Stats. 1939, ch. 807, § 2, p. 2356; see Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2796 [current version, adding “nurse anesthetist” to the list of titles one may not falsely assume].) The order in which the bill’s provisions were drafted suggests the Assembly looked to the penal provision, and even borrowed some of its terms, in drafting the floor amendment that added the medical-orders exception. (Compare Assem. Bill No. 620 (1939 Reg. Sess.) § 2, p. 11, as
Chapter 23 – Provision of Healthcare Services, Charter SELPA As of 09/08/2017 CAHELP Governance Council Approved
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