Need advice from South Carolina NPs!

[tyzrn]

Help!! I recently graduated from an ANP program in North Carolina, but have accepted a position in South Carolina and now am trying to make sense of the SC Nurse Practice Act. I've contacted the state BON, but have not received the clarification I am seeking. All they did was copy and paste portions of the practice act. Maybe one of you can help.

It appears that new graduates in SC have an entire year to provide proof of certification. Assuming I complete the application, does this mean I can practice an an NP for a year without possesing my certification from the ANCC or AANP? Are there restrictions to what I can do as an uncertified new grad that differ from that of a certified NP? What about prescriptive authority? Is certfication required for this or do I also I have year for this as well?

Also, NC does not use approved written protocols. Can anyone expand on this or perhaps provide a link to a sample protocol?

Thanks in advance for you help!

[Christen, ANP]

I can't speak to the SC Nurse Practice Act or SC in specific, but in general while there are some states that do not require you to be certified, in order to bill and receive compensation from most insurance companies and (most especialy) Medicare / Medicaid, you have to be certified.

[tyzrn]

Good point Christen! Guess I should have mentioned I will be working at a free clinic that only cares for patients who don't have insurance, medicare or medicaid. So there will be no billing/insurance concerns from that perspective. Thanks, though, for the insight.