Practice Authority and the Professional Scope and Standards of Practice

Practice authority (legal scope of practice) is granted by the Kentucky General Assembly and is defined by statutes and regulations governing the Board of Nursing

The Board of Nursing

The Board is responsible for regulation of nursing practice. The Board’s Mission is to protect the public from unsafe nursing practice.

The Nurse Practice Act dictates

• Qualifications for licensure,
• Nursing titles that are allowed to be used,
• Scope of practice,
• Consequences for violation of the nursing law
• Safe, competent nursing practice is grounded in the law as written in the state nurse practice and the state rules and regulations.
• Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) Chapter 314; and
• Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR) Title 201, Chapter 20
  

Professional Associations

Nursing professional associations are membership driven organizations that advance the nursing profession by addressing the practice, political and professional issues affecting nurses. They carry out this mission by establishing standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying the legislature and regulatory agencies on behalf of health care issues impacting nurses and the public.​

Determining Scope of Practice​

KBN Advisory Opinion Statements Indexes​

Advisory Opinion Statements Index by number. A link to each AOS is provided in the Advisory Opinion Statements Index​.

Advisory Opinion Statements Index

​ Information on the topics addressed within AOS is listed within the AOS Content Index.​

Kentucky Board of Nursing AOS Content ​Index​​

​When the performance of a specific act is not definitively addressed in the Kentucky Nursing Laws or in an advisory opinion of the Board, the nurse must exercise professional judgment in determining whether the performance of the act is within the scope of practice for which the nurse is licensed.​