Can a nurse practitioner treat without a supervising physician in Kentucky?
Who treats · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
The cited rules do not settle this — they define nurse practitioner practice as registered nursing plus additional acts, including prescribing drugs and devices subject to board approval, but say nothing about a physician supervision requirement.
"Advanced practice registered nursing" means the performance of additional acts by registered nurses who have gained advanced clinical knowledge and skills through an accredited education program that prepares the registered nurse for one of the four APRN roles; who are certified by the American Nurses' Association or other nationally established organizations or agencies recognized by the board to certify registered nurses for advanced practice registered nursing as a certified nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, or clinical nurse specialist. The additional acts shall, subject to approval of the board, include but not be limited to prescribing treatment, drugs, devices, and ordering diagnostic tests.
Ky. Rev. Stat. §314.011(8) · verified Sep 3, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related Kentucky rules
"Registered nursing practice" means the performance of acts requiring substantial specialized knowledge, judgment, and nursing skill based upon the principles of psychological, biological, physical, and social sciences in the application of the nursing process in the administration of medication and treatment as prescribed by a physician, physician assistant, dentist, or advanced practice registered nurse and as further authorized or limited by the board.
Ky. Rev. Stat. §314.011(6) · verified Sep 3, 2026
An applicant for licensure to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse shall file with the board a written application for licensure and submit evidence, verified by oath, that the applicant has completed an education program that prepares the registered nurse for one of four APRN roles that has been accredited by a national nursing accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education; is certified by a nationally established organization or agency recognized by the board; is able to understandably speak and write the English language; and has passed the jurisprudence examination approved by the board.
Ky. Rev. Stat. §314.042(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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Related Kentucky questions
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← All Kentucky rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).