Bill Name: Senate Bill 2996 (S 2996) 

Primary Sponsor: Senator Joseph Vitale, Senator Troy Singleton

Status: 02/09/2024 Hearing scheduled in Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee

AmSpa’s Take: Allowing nurse practitioners and other APRNs to practice to the level of their education and skill, without the need to maintain cumbersome chart review and meeting requirements, frees up time and resources that can be better spent seeing patients, improving their skills and developing their practices. Independence also allows these practitioners to innovate in new practice areas through owning their own practices.

Analysis: Advanced practice nurses (APNs) in New Jersey currently practice in collaboration with a physician. Their ability to prescribe medications is controlled by the written protocol with the physician. S 2996 would remove this requirement once the APN had completed a period of collaboration.

Under S 2996, APNs have the option to continue with the collaborative relationships they currently practice under. In order to practice without a protocol or collaborating provider, the APN would need to complete an additional 6 hours of continuing education on pharmacology and practice with a collaborating provider under a joint protocol for 24 months or 2,400 hours. Once they have completed these requirements, they must inform the board and would need to complete at least 10 continuing education hours for each license renewal period. A collaborating provider can be a physician or another APN who has already completed these steps. S 2996 would also add provisions for APN-Anesthesia nurses to practice without a joint protocol as well.

The majority of states now allow advanced practice nurses such as nurse practitioners the ability to practice independently. If S 2996 passes, New Jersey would become part of this strong trend. While not specifically mentioned in the law, independent practice generally means that an NP can open and own their clinic and provide services within their scope of practice, possibly to include many aesthetic medical spa treatments. If you would like additional information, to read the language of the bill or to contact the sponsors or committee, you can find the information you need through this link: S 2996.