Practice Agreement · RN
Registered Nurse Practice Agreement in District of Columbia
District of Columbia law does not require a Registered Nurse to hold a named agreement with a physician. Practices still use one to define the working relationship; here is what it covers and what the state does require.
RNs (general licensure, not an APRN) are not subject to a physician-supervision or collaborative-practice-agreement requirement in DC. RNs practice under a physician's orders, standing orders, or delegation, consistent with the DC Nurse Practice Act — categorically different from an APRN's (former) collaboration requirement.
What a Registered Nurse practice agreement covers in District of Columbia
Governed by the DC Board of Nursing. Each numbered item is a statutory requirement the agreement must satisfy.
The Registered Nurse ("RN") shall practice under the orders, standing orders, or delegation of the Physician, consistent with the DC Nurse Practice Act, DC Code Title 3, Chapter 12. The District of Columbia does not require a Board-filed agreement for this Registered Nurse's general scope of practice; the Physician shall instead be available to the Registered Nurse for consultation regarding clinical and patient care issues arising under any order or delegation.
- The agreement on file also carries 2 scope, 2 education, 2 registration clauses, generated in the document itself.
Statutes and rules cited
- DC Code § 3-1202.08statute
Authorizes pharmacist-physician collaborative practice agreements to initiate, modify, or discontinue a drug therapy regimen, and directs the Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medicine to jointly issue implementing regulations.
Terms it has to carry
Ratio, proximity, chart review, meeting and prescribing terms the agreement has to carry, from the state's supervision rules.
Proximity
Not codified — left to the agreement
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · no controlled-substance authority
RNs do not have independent prescriptive authority in DC; they administer medications pursuant to the orders of a licensed prescriber.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional — general RN licensure has never been subject to a physician collaboration/supervision agreement in DC.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Non-licensee ownership permitted — General RN licensure does not implicate the § 29-508 physician-only PC/PLLC regime — non-clinical businesses an RN might own fall outside that statute entirely and carry no ownership restriction confirmed in this pass.
For medical-aesthetics (med-spa) businesses performing delegated medical procedures, RN ownership of the business entity doesn't remove the need for physician delegation/oversight of the procedures themselves — this distinction was not separately confirmed against a DC-specific regulation in this pass.
Legal sources for these rules (2)
- D.C. Code Title 3, Chapter 12 — Health Occupations Revision Act (RN scope)
- D.C. Code § 29-508 — Professional corporation ownership requirements (physician-specific)
About District of Columbia's rules
The Health Occupations Revision Amendment Act of 2024 repealed D.C. Code § 3-1206.03, eliminating the collaboration mandate for all APRN categories (NP/PMHNP/CRNA/CNM/CNS) — DC is now a full-practice-authority jurisdiction for APRNs. PAs are NOT covered by that reform and still require a Board of Medicine Delegation Agreement regardless of experience; no autonomous-PA pathway was found in DC as of this pass.
Other clinicians in District of Columbia: see the state overview.