Protocol · RN · District of Columbia
Practice Protocol for Registered Nurses in District of Columbia
Registered Nurses practice independently in District of Columbia. A practice protocol is voluntary; here is what one 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 voluntary Registered Nurse protocol covers in District of Columbia
District of Columbia requires no written protocol for registered nurses. These are the clauses a practice includes when it chooses to put one in writing. The DC Board of Nursing governs registered nurses here.
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.
- A voluntary protocol also carries 2 scope, 2 education and 2 registration clauses, authored in the document itself.
What District of Columbia does require
The supervision and prescribing rules that apply to registered nurses regardless of any protocol.
Proximity
Not codified
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified
Meeting cadence
Not codified
Prescriptive authority
No agreement needed to prescribe · 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; the § 29-508 physician-only PC/PLLC regime does not apply to non-clinical businesses an RN might own
For medical-aesthetics (med-spa) businesses performing delegated medical procedures, RN ownership of the business does not remove the need for physician delegation and oversight of the procedures themselves.
Sources for the supervision 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, removing the collaboration mandate for every APRN category (NP, PMHNP, CRNA, CNM, CNS); DC is now a full-practice-authority jurisdiction for APRNs. PAs are not covered by that reform and still need a Board of Medicine Delegation Agreement regardless of experience.
Other clinicians in District of Columbia: see the state overview.