Scope of Practice

Scope of practice is defined as all the accepted services provided by a particular profession. It provides the parameters within which a profession provides services. A scope of practice may be determined in a number of ways. A recognized professional organization may develop and define the scope of practice for a particular profession. Health care examples would include the various medical specialties with their specialty boards, such as the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists for Nurse Anesthesia. The hospital credentialing process defines the scope of practice for any single individual health care provider within the hospital setting. State statute or law may more rigidly define the scope of medical practice. It is done to specifically separate and define the services provided by nonphysician health care providers (that is, physician assistants and nurse practitioners) from the practice of medicine, which only physicians can perform. This is usually performed through the state licensure boards, which license health care providers to provide services within their scope of practice.