APRN bill filed in Florida Senate

Florida Representative Dr. Cary Pigman has filed HB 607: Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Bill. The bill would authorize autonomous practice of licensed Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) only after meeting criteria for autonomous practice and requesting autonomous practice from the Florida Board of Nursing.

Provisions of the bill include a requirement that prior to being granted autonomous practice applicants must complete 2000 hours of supervised practice by an MD or DO.  (Existing APRNs would be grandfathered after demonstrating 2000 hours of previous supervised practiced).  The bill would also require reporting adverse events (as defined by the Board of Nursing) and provides grounds for denial of licensure and disciplinary action.

For bill language visit:

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/607/BillText/Filed/PDF

To date the bill does not have a Senate companion bill filed.

It is anticipated that the bill will receive strong support from the Florida House of Representatives as increasing access to care is a priority of the leadership of the Florida House.

With the recent statement of strong support by President Trump for expanding scope of practice for Advanced Practice Nurses it is hoped that members of the Florida Senate will consider supporting efforts to remove costly and unnecessary barriers for APRNs in Florida.