A Nurse Practitioner's Guide to Scope of Practice Laws

Understanding scope of practice laws is incredibly important as a Nurse Practitioner looking for travel opportunities across the United States. With a 31% projected job growth for NPs, further autonomy will allow you to treat more patients and improve access to care.

We currently have 24 states where NPs can have a full practice, 16 states with reduced practice and 11 states with restricted practice. With new states loosening laws around NP restrictions each year, it's safe to say that in the future we can predict that the majority of states will grant complete autonomy to NPs.

If I work there, will I be able to practice independently?

Am I allowed to prescribe drugs to my patients?

Where can I travel that I will have the most opportunity for autonomous practice?

We pulled together the Scope of Practice laws for each state to create a quick reference guide for you (click on image to see full size):

Ready to explore your career options as a traveling NP? Search our jobs and filter by the state of your choice.