Certification and Licensure Plan-How To Get Certified And Licensed In the State of Florida
Application Process
The application process for certification in Florida State is reviewed within 30 days of receipt and involves submitting an application and a suitable fee. The applicant then gets fingerprinted, sends the Board of Nursing proof of certification, and provides proof of exemption to the board or malpractice insurance. Afterward, an application specialist analyses the materials submitted, and when all necessities are met, an APRN license is given (Florida Board of Nursing, 2019).
Florida Board of Nursing Website
The Florida Board of Nursing website is the Florida Board of Nursing(Links to an external site) (Florida Board of Nursing, 2019).
Scope of Practice of a Nurse Practitioner
The Florida statute states that the scope of practice of an N.P. is the performance of acts that require appropriate nursing skills, knowledge, and judgment based on applied principles of psychological, physical, biological, and social sciences. Activities allowed under this scope include nursing care plans, patient education, medication and treatment administration, and supervision of other professions (Florida Board of Nursing, 2019).
What Is Included in the Florida Practice Agreement
A Florida practice agreement includes general information like names, addresses, signatures, nature of practice, and dates. Also, it includes the responsibilities of the ARNP and physician, the management parts the ARNP is expected to handle, specific procedures and conditions that the physician must be consulted, and annual reviews by the parties (Florida Board of Nursing, 2019).
How to get a DEA License
To get a DEA license, one must fill in an official order form obtained from the official U.S. Department of Justice website (DEA, 2023).
Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP)
In Florida, there is a prescription monitoring program that every prescriber must consult to review a patient’s controlled substance dispensing history (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2019).
Prescriptive Authority
The state of Florida requires registered nurses to prescribe controlled substances; they must have graduated from either a master’s or doctoral degree program in a clinical nursing specialty area and have been trained in particular practitioner skills. Furthermore, the nurses must take at least three hours of continuing education on effective and safe controlled substance prescription. Nurse practitioners are authorized to prescribe patients with controlled substances registered in Schedule II, III, or IV as stated in the Florida Statutes (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2019).
Barriers and Surprises
One regulation that exists and impacts nurse practitioners’ independent practice in my state is the requirement for physician collaboration. Ultimately, this limits the nurse practitioners’ autonomy in making clinical decisions and offering particular services independently. One surprise I encountered in my research is the proposal of legislation changes on the expansion of nurse practitioner autonomy. Given the constant regulation evolution, staying informed on potential changes that may affect nurse practitioners in Florida State is important.
References
DEA. (2023). Registration. Usdoj.gov. https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/index.html
Florida Board of Nursing. (2019). Florida Board of Nursing» Updated Standards for Protocols: Physicians and ARNPs – Licensing, Renewals & Information. Floridasnursing.gov. https://floridasnursing.gov/standards-for-protocols-physicians-and-arnps/