In Connecticut, in order to practice as a nurse practitioner without a Collaborative Agreement, a Connecticut licensed APRN who has maintained his or her Connecticut license for at least three (3) years and who has performed advanced practice level nursing activities in collaboration with a Connecticut licensed physician for at least three (3) years and for at least two thousand (2,000) hours may practice alone or in partnership with a physician or another licensed health care professional in this state. Any APRN who chooses to practice without a collaborative agreement is required to keep documentation of advanced practice level nursing activities performed in conjunction with a Connecticut licensed physician. Such APRN must keep such documentation for at least three (3) years after fulfilling such requirements and must provide it to the Department of Public Health for examination no later than forty-five (45) days after the department makes a request for such documentation. After fulfilling the criteria outlined above and before to practicing without a collaborative agreement, APRNs must provide written notification to the Department of their intention to practice without one.
In order to practice as a nurse practitioner requiring a Collaborative Agreement an APRN must work in cooperation with a Connecticut-licensed physician for the first three (3) years after receiving their license. “Collaboration” refers to a mutually agreed-upon working relationship between an APRN and a physician who is educated, trained, or has relevant expertise in the advanced practice registered nurse’s field of practice. A fair and adequate degree of consultation and referral, covering for the patient in the absence of an APRN, a means to assess patient outcomes, and a method of disclosing the connection to the patient are all part of the cooperation. The collaboration between such advanced practice registered nurse and a physician, in relation to the exercise of prescriptive authority, shall be in writing and shall address the level of schedule II and III controlled substances that such APRN may prescribe, as well as a method to review patient outcomes, including, but not limited to, the review of medical therapeutics, corrective measures, and diagnostic studies. The Department of Public Health will not collect copies of collaborative practice agreements on a regular basis. APRNs must, however, furnish the Department with a copy of the collaboration agreement upon request (Aprn practice. CT.gov, 2021).
To be eligible for advanced practice registered nurse licensure in Connecticut, a person must have a current Connecticut registered nurse license and hold and maintain current certification as a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse anesthetist from one of the recognized national organizations, such as American Nurses Credentialing Center, National Certification Corporation for the Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing Specialties, Pediatric Nursing Certification Board, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation, or American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (Aprn practice. CT.gov, 2021).
The documents for the APRN application may be found at http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3121&q=389400&dphNav GID=1821 on the Department of Public Health’s website. A number of original source papers will be required by DPH. Official transcripts from the issuing institution must be used to demonstrate post-basic nursing education. The dean or director of the program must verify pharmacology courses; the Board has provided a form for this purpose. Applicants who respond “yes” to any question concerning a negative professional background (for example, suspensions, investigations, or criminal convictions) must provide supporting proof. A personal statement as well as formal documentation such as court records will be requested by the licensing agency. Notarization is required on the application form. A current photograph will be taped to the applicant’s resume. The Commissioner of Public Health must be notified by an advanced practice nurse who has fulfilled the cooperation criteria and desires to practice independently. The Department of Public Health oversees the Connecticut Board of Examiners in Nursing. The Connecticut Department of Health has information on advanced practice nursing at http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3121&q=389400&dphNav GID=1821. The licensing agency can be reached at (860) 509-7603 or through email at dph.nursingteam @ ct.gov (Connecticut APRN LICENSE Requirements: Become a nurse practitioner in CT. NursingLicensure.org – A more efficient way to find nursing license requirements in your state, 2021).
Instead of a licensed physician, NPs practice under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Nursing. The NP must work with a physician for the first three years following first licensure. A fair and acceptable degree of consultation and referral, covering for the patient in the absence of such an advanced practice registered nurse, a means to assess patient outcomes, and a method of disclosing the connection to the patient must all be addressed in the written agreement. The NP can practice independently after three years. Prescriptive authority is given three years following first license, a written cooperation addressing the degree of Schedule II and III restricted drugs that an NP can prescribe is needed. A strategy for reviewing patient outcomes must be included in the partnership. After three years, the NP is free to prescribe on her own. State policy recognizes NPs as primary care professionals. A patient’s main care provider might be a participating, in-network physician or a participating, in-network advanced practice registered nurse (Connecticut scope of Practice policy – State Profile. Scope of Practice Policy, 2021).
Controlled Substance Practitioner Registration allows practitioners to distribute, dispense, conduct research, administer, or purchase restricted drugs in the course of their professional practice if the Department of Public Health or another regulating entity has granted them permission. A valid active registration with the Department of Public Health is required of anybody seeking for this registration. If you have been convicted of a felony or if your license has been surrendered, revoked, suspended, limited, or refused, or if any such action is underway, no further proof is necessary. In Connecticut, licensed medical staff who prescribe restricted drugs must meet this criterion. In order to proceed with the Controlled Substances Registration application, all applicants will be required to have an application on file with the Department of Public Health. The application fee is $40 at first. ALL PRACTITIONERS WHO POSSESS A CONNECTICUT CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE REGISTRATION MUST REGISTER IN THE CONNECTICUT PRESCRIPTION MONITORING AND REPORTING SYSTEM*** at https://connecticut.pmpaware.net (Controlled substance practitioner registration. CT.gov, 2021).
The DEA application is divided into six components. Personal/business information, activity, state license(s), history, payment, and confirmation. The DEA Form-224 is now available online (recommended), or you can fill out and submit a paper version. Other forms for new registration (Forms DEA-225, DEA-363, and DEA-510) are also now accessible online or can be mailed. For assistance with registration, contact the DEA Registration Service Center at 1-800-882-9539 (8:30 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. ET) or send an email to DEA.Registration.Help@usdoj.gov. In your email, be sure to mention your DEA registration number. Alternatively, you may speak with a Local Registration Specialist (Registration, 2021). In CT controlled-substance prescriptive authority and drug schedules nurse practitioners are authorized to prescribe, Dispense, Administer, and procure Schedule II/IIN substances (2/2N), Schedule II/IIN substances (2/2N), Schedule IV substances (4), and Schedule V substances (5) (CSA registration tools, 2021).
Our Regional 1 Director has been honored with the AANP State Advocacy Award for Excellence, which honors committed advocates in each state who have made substantial contributions to raising NP knowledge and recognition. Improving Access for Patients Who Need Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services, Improving Medicare Patient Access to Needed Therapeutic Shoes, and Introducing/Reintroducing ourselves to our Members of Congress to educate them on the high-quality health care that NPs provide are just a few of the activities that our states are involved with (AANP regional directors and state representatives. American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2020).
Reference:
AANP regional directors and state representatives. American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2020).https://www.aanp.org/about/about-the-american-association-of-nurse-practitioners-aanp/your-aanp-region/regional-directors-and-state-representatives.
Aprn practice. CT.gov. (2021). https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Practitioner-Licensing–Investigations/APRN/APRN-Practice.
Connecticut APRN LICENSE Requirements: Become a nurse practitioner in CT. NursingLicensure.org – A more efficient way to find nursing license requirements in your state (2021). https://www.nursinglicensure.org/np-state/connecticut-nurse-practitioner/.
Connecticut scope of Practice policy – State Profile. Scope of Practice Policy. (2021). https://scopeofpracticepolicy.org/states/ct/.
Controlled substance practitioner registration. CT.gov. (2021). https://portal.ct.gov/DCP/License-Services-Division/All-License-Applications/Controlled-Substance-Practitioner-Registration.
CSA registration tools: Login. (2021). https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms2/spring/main?execution=e1s1.
Registration. (2021). https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/index.html#2.