What is a Florida NP's scope of practice?

A Florida NP’s scope of practice includes medical diagnosis, treatment, and prescribing within a supervisory protocol. Florida refers to these clinicians as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), which includes certified nurse practitioners¹². Within that scope, APRNs may prescribe drugs, initiate appropriate therapies, perform functions set by law, order diagnostic tests and physical/occupational therapy, and order medications for administration in facilities³. Within their specialty and under the framework of an established supervisory protocol, they may also manage selected medical problems, initiate/monitor/alter therapies for uncomplicated acute illnesses, manage stable chronic diseases, and establish behavioral diagnoses with treatment recommendations⁴.

APRNs may prescribe or dispense non-controlled and, with required training, controlled substances within the supervisory protocol⁵⁶. Schedule II prescriptions are limited to a seven-day supply except for psychiatric medications⁷. Only psychiatric nurses may prescribe psychiatric mental health controlled substances to children under 18, and a psychiatric nurse may prescribe psychotropic controlled substances only when practicing under a protocol with a psychiatrist⁸⁹.

Florida also permits APRN autonomous practice after completion of at least 3,000 hours within five years under a supervisory protocol and approval by the Board of Nursing¹⁰. Once authorized for autonomous practice, an APRN may perform general primary care functions, acts in their specialty, and provide signatures or certifications otherwise required of physicians¹¹.