Editing RN Scope of Practice (section)

=== Nurse practice acts ===

Every state and territory has a nurse practice act, a statute passed by the legislature that defines nursing, establishes licensure requirements, creates the board of nursing, and grants the board authority to write and enforce rules (National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN], 2022). The nurse practice act is the legal ceiling on practice. No employer policy, provider order, or institutional custom can expand it.

Nurse practice acts typically address:

* Definitions of registered nursing, practical or vocational nursing, and advanced practice registered nursing.
* Requirements for licensure by examination and by endorsement.
* Titles and title protection, so that only a licensed person may use the title "registered nurse" or the credential "RN."
* Grounds for discipline, such as practicing beyond scope, diversion of controlled substances, patient abandonment, falsification of records, and practicing while impaired.
* Continuing competence or continuing education requirements.