Can a physician assistant inject or prescribe in North Carolina?
Who treats · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
Yes — a PA may perform medical acts at a physician's direction and under supervision per board rules, and is a practitioner with prescriptive authority who can evaluate the patient and order or prescribe cosmetic injectables for a nurse to perform.
North Carolina names the permitted combinations for a professional corporation: a physician and a physician assistant may co-own one, and a physician may co-own with a nurse practitioner, a psychiatric/mental health clinical nurse specialist or a certified nurse midwife. The section is an enumeration of what is allowed — a combination it does not list is simply not authorized by it.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §55B-14(c)(3) and (c)(5) · verified Sep 1, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
The rest of what North Carolina says on this
It is within the scope of practice of a licensed nurse (RN and LPN) to perform cosmetic and aesthetic dermatological procedures — expressly including neuromodulator and dermal filler injections, chemical peels, sclerotherapy, micropigmentation, light treatments, microdermabrasion and laser for aesthetics and hair removal — when prescribed or ordered by a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or other practitioner with prescriptive authority acting within their legal scope.
NC Board of Nursing, Cosmetic/Aesthetic Dermatological Procedures Position Statement (rev. 9/2022) · verified Aug 17, 2026
The nurse must have documented knowledge, skill and competency to carry out the procedure safely, and the employing agency’s cosmetic procedure and emergency policies must be available in the facility. Nurses are accountable for practicing within the scope of their highest level of active licensure.
NC Board of Nursing, Cosmetic/Aesthetic Dermatological Procedures Position Statement (rev. 9/2022); 21 NCAC 36.0224, 36.0225 · verified Aug 17, 2026
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Related North Carolina questions
- Can a registered nurse inject Botox or filler in North Carolina?
- Can a nurse practitioner treat without a supervising physician in North Carolina?
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