What are the requirements of a physician to collaborate with a Colorado NP?

Physician requirements to collaborate with a Colorado NP center on serving as a prescriptive authority Mentor. A Mentor physician must hold a Colorado medical license (or be exempt), be in good standing, actively practice in Colorado, and have education, training, experience, and an active practice that corresponds to the NP’s role and population focus¹. Colorado APRNs otherwise practice independently; collaboration via a Mentorship Agreement is required only when an NP seeks prescriptive authority²³.

The collaboration must be formalized in a written, mutually structured Mentorship Agreement signed by both the NP and the Mentor. The agreement must outline a process, documentation, and frequency for ongoing synchronous, real-time communication to discuss prescribing and ensure safe practice; secure audio/web/video conferencing is permitted, but email is not⁴⁵.

During the mentorship, the Mentor’s obligations include the following:

• Remote real-time communication with the NP is permitted (synchronous, not email)⁶.
• The Mentor may not require employment or payment as a condition of mentorship, but may receive a reasonable stipend⁶.
• Provide signature and attestation verifying the NP’s successful completion of 750 mentorship hours toward full prescriptive authority⁶.

The NP and Mentor must retain the Mentorship Agreement for three years after completion and make it available to the Board upon request⁷. On completion, the Mentor must provide documentation, as requested by the NP, to support the NP’s application to the Board for full prescriptive authority⁸.