Florida Nurse Practice Act: Facility Guide
The healthcare industry is constantly growing and adapting to meet patient needs. Consequently, nursing roles and responsibilities always evolve to keep up with changing healthcare systems, which can make it challenging to regulate care quality. It’s the responsibility of each state to enact its own laws that govern nursing practice. In Florida, this legislation is known as the Florida Nurse Practice Act.
For Florida healthcare providers, the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) provides a framework for providing safe and appropriate nursing care. The state’s laws also specify licensure requirements, rulemaking authority, and law violation penalties for nursing professionals practicing in Florida.
In this article, we summarize the contents of Florida’s Nursing Practice Act, outline key components of the NPA that affect a nursing professional’s daily practice, and provide tips for Floridian healthcare leaders looking to promote safe nursing care within their facilities.
The Florida Nurse Practice Act: Laws at a Glance
As nursing roles adapt to staffing challenges and rising patient acuity, it’s essential that treatments are provided according to each clinician’s scope of practice. The Florida Nursing Practice Act holds RNs, LPNs, and CNAs accountable for the care they provide by:
- Establishing Board of Nursing rulemaking authority.
- Describing requirements for Florida nursing education programs.
- Setting minimum care standards that must be met.
- Regulating the maintenance and renewal of a Florida nursing license.
- Outlining disciplinary actions and setting penalties for law violations.
While most state NPAs contain similar content regarding the functioning of their nursing regulatory board and legal requirements for licensure, each state outlines its own specific regulations like delegation rules and penalties for fraudulent practice. In the chart below, we review some of the key components unique to the Florida Nurse Practice Act.
| Legal Authorities | Florida Statutes:
Florida Administrative Code: |
| Florida State Nursing Licensure Requirements | RN licensure applicants must qualify by either passing the NCLEX examination or getting a license endorsed from another state.
The steps for NCLEX exam qualification are as follows:
The steps for endorsement qualification are as follows:
The Florida Board of Nursing website also provides approximate timeframes for application processing and outlines the steps to renew a nursing license. |
| Florida Nurse Practice Act Delegation of Duties | Nursing professionals are allowed to delegate tasks that:
Nursing professionals are prohibited from delegating tasks that:
|
| Penalties | A full list of acts prohibited under the Florida Nurse Practice Act can be found in Section 464.016 of the Florida Statutes. These prohibited acts include but are not limited to:
Violations of the Florida Nurse Practice Act scope of practice rules, along with any of the specific offenses mentioned in Section 464.018, are punishable by law and may result in the revoking or suspending of a nursing professional’s license. |
| Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) State? | Florida is involved in the NLC compact, meaning that its state Nurse Practice Act encompasses rules and guidelines established by the NLC. |
Promoting Safe Nursing Practice: 3 Strategies for Facilities
By adhering to the laws included in the Florida Nurse Practice Act, Florida healthcare employees and facility leaders can ensure their team is able to provide exceptional patient care.
Taking the time to understand these laws can help facilities organize a staffing budget, establish brand reliability, promote patient safety, and improve health outcomes. Here are some strategies facility leaders can utilize to optimize care quality and ensure regulatory compliance.
1. Automate Licensure Renewal Reminders
Nurses are responsible for keeping track of their own professional certifications, including hospital CEU transcripts, BLS certificates, unit competency check-offs, and state license renewal timelines. There’s a lot to remember, and with all of the different expiration dates, it can be tough to stay compliant.
Some healthcare organizations relieve this burden by sending reminder emails for competency and license renewals. For example, employers can send a reminder email that the expiration date is fast approaching, triggering the nurse to pay and renew their state license with plenty of time to spare. This saves them from late fees and unpaid time away from work.
An easy way for facilities to offer this service is to document license expiration dates at every nurse onboarding session. Automated computer programs can distribute reminder emails to staff members who are close to their license expiration date.
2. Provide Annual Staff Training on Florida State Nursing Laws
The key to staying legally compliant with the Florida NPA is educating your employees. Present nurse practice act information upon hire and again annually to update employees on new rules, regulations, and relevant case law.
Distribute informational brochures about the Florida NPA and post FAQ posters in common areas like the cafeteria and employee restroom. It’s important that patients see NPA information as well — knowing that your organization works hard to provide exceptional care while following the required rules and guidelines helps build trust and patient engagement.
3. Partner With a Legal Team to Develop New Nursing Policies
Your clinical guidelines and nursing policies need to align with Florida state nursing laws. Working with your facility’s legal team (or outside counsel) to develop these guidelines can help protect your facility — and employees — from rule violations or accidental misconduct.
When creating new clinical care protocols, make sure to include information about appropriate task delegation to help staff members who may be unaware of which tasks they’re allowed to pass off to other licensed nursing professionals.
Looking for More Ways to Stay Compliant?
After reviewing the Florida Nurse Practice Act, you’re ready to support and empower your team. Want to stay informed on the latest regulatory updates? Our team of experts has crafted hundreds of healthcare resources and tools to help you stay in the know.
Legal Disclaimer: This article contains general legal information, but it is not intended to constitute professional legal advice for any particular situation and should not be relied on as professional legal advice. Any references to the law may not be current, as laws regularly change through updates in legislation, regulation, and case law at the federal and state level. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as creating an attorney-client relationship. If you have legal questions, you should seek the advice of an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.
