Nurse practitioners (NPs) are capable of analyzing the regulation of their practice by state authorities. The annotated nursing statute, the medicine and pharmacy statutes, regulations from those three boards and cases noted in the annotated statutes should be read. Nurse practitioner definitions of practice can be broadly written (making relicensure in a state with similar definition easier) or specific (requiring all states to adopt similar qualifications for endorsement, as is done now with basic RN licensure). Requirements for NP credentialing by nonstate entities have advantages and problems too. State-granted monopoly of licensure is good for NP economics and bad for patient economics. Medical practice law is important to the NP. Pharmacy statutes are important even if the NP statute provides for prescribing. Revision of NP pharmacy law is becoming less necessary as more control of prescribing by guidelines is exercised on nurses and physicians alike. Rules for analysis of statutes are given.
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