PHARM NR 508 The scope of practice outlines the practice privileges defined by licensure

The scope of practice outlines the practice privileges defined by licensure, accreditation, certification, and education, (LACE), in their practicing state in which an APRN must abide by to practice in that state. Each state has their practice guidelines and how much independence an APRN is allowed. Residing in Florida, applicants must possess a valid RN license, a masters or certificate in a nurse specialty area from a master’s program and complete at least 500 clinical hours. Applicants must complete an electronic background fingerprint and submit them to the Florida Board of Nursing (Florida Board of Nursing 2018). According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), there are three areas of scope of practice for the Nurse Practitioner: practice authority, prescriptive authority and a nurse practitioner as a primary care provider. Practice authority is the nurse practitioners’ ability to practice i ndependently without physician oversight, which often requires having a relationship with a physician that outlines procedures the nurse practitioner may perform and procedures for consulting with the physician. In some states, the policy specifies whether a nurse practitioner must complete a transition to practice period before practicing independently. In other states, nurse practitioners have full independent practice authority. Prescriptive authority refers to a nurse practitioner’s authority to prescribe medications. Some states require a relationship with a physician that outlines the nurse practitioner’s prescribing abilities (AANP,2018). In the state of Florida, NP are considered a primary care provider which means a health care provider licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 464 who provides medical services to patients which are commonly provided without referral from another health care provider, including family and general practice, general pediatrics, and general internal medicine (Fla. Stat. §381.026). According to the Flo