Applicants for Mississippi Board of Nursing (Board) APRN certification must be currently licensed as a Registered Nurse in Mississippi, or hold an active unrestricted Registered Nurse multi-state Compact license.  APRNs  applying for  RN  endorsement or RN  reinstatement and    APRN certification must  complete the RN  endorsement or RN reinstatement process before APRN certification can be granted.

Instructions for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)

1.    SUBMIT APPLICATION:  Submit online.  Log in to the Nurse Gateway by  clicking on the “Gateway” tab in the middle of the website home page.

2.    First time users- Click the “Register Now” button.   
This will allow you to create a profile, create a new username and password. 
      
3.    Existing nurses- enter the username and password to get entry to Nurse Gateway.
4.    Forgot Username or Password- Click on “Forgot username/password” button.  

5.    After you have login using your username and password select applications located at the 
6.    top to get started with the process.  

7.    FEES: All fees are non-refundable.

APRN Certification- Initial CNP, CRNA, CNW and Reinstatement: $100.00

Criminal Background Check: $ 75.00

Controlled Substance Prescriptive Authority (CSPA):$100.00

Practice Site: $25.00 (each)

Renewal even numbered years: $100.00

8.    PRIMARY STATE OF RESIDENCY: If your primary state of residence is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC), you will need to provide proof of multi-state licensure in that Compact state in order to be granted APRN privilege in Mississippi. A complete listing of eNLC states is available at https://www.ncsbn.org/nurse-licensure-compact.htm

9.    APRN PRACTICE GUIDELINES: Read the Mississippi Nursing Practice Law and 30 Mississippi Administrative Code. APRN guidelines are outlined in §73-15-20 of the Mississippi Nursing Practice Law and 30 Mississippi Administrative Code Part 2840. Accessible at  https://www.msbn.ms.gov/

10.    POPULATION FOCUS: Indicate your area of population focus. Population focus can be family/individual across the life span, adult/gerontology, pediatric, neonatal, women's health, psychiatric/mental health.

11.    EVIDENCE OF NATIONAL APRN CERTIFICATION:  Submit current proof of national APRN certification:

• Nationally Certified Practitioners - Submit a copy of a current certification from the national certification organization.
• New Graduate APRN - Request evidence of certification be submitted directly to the Board of Nursing from the national certification organization.
• Submit a copy of each additional specialty certification (i.e., first assistant, wound care, etc.)

12.    TRANSCRIPT: Submit an official transcript from one of the following:

• An accredited masters or higher degree program of nursing that prepares  nurses for one of the APRN role designation  of  Certified  Nurse-Midwife (CNM),Certified Nurse  Practitioner  (CNP),  and Certified  Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).
• APRN applicants who graduate from a nurse practitioner program and were nationally certified as a nurse
• practitioner prior to December 31, 1993 may submit evidence of graduation from an accredited educational program for registered nurses.
• APRN applicants graduating from a nurse practitioner program after December 31, 1998, will be required to submit official evidence of graduation from a graduate program with a concentration in the applicant's respective advanced practice nursing specialty.

13.    PRACTICE SITE DOCUMENATION:  Submit documentation of practice site, type, and specialty. If the site, type or specialty is in weight loss, wound care, aesthetics, an emergency room (other than Fast track), or any other specialty area submit evidence of additional training or certification in the area of specialty you are applying for board approval.

14.    COLLABORATING/CONSULTING PHYSICIAN(S):  Indicate and provide the requested information on the verification of protocol/practice for each physician with whom you have entered into a collaborative practice agreement in accordance with 30 Miss. Admin, Code, Pt. 2840, R. 2.3. It is recommended that you have a signed protocol by the APRN and collaborative physician for proof of agreement for possible audit.

15.    CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY (CSPA): Select if you wish or do not wish to apply for CSPA. If you are applying for CSPA include an additional fee of $100.00. Every certified APRN authorized to practice in Mississippi who prescribes any controlled substances (Schedules II, Ill, IV, or V) within Mississippi or who proposes to engage in the prescribing of any controlled substance within Mississippi must be registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in compliance with Title 21 CFR Part 1301 Food and Drugs, and must also apply for this privilege with the Mississippi Board of Nursing. CSPA is not automatically granted with an APRN license in
Mississippi. To register with the DEA see instructions below. For additional questions concerning DEA application, please call DEA Customer Service 1-800-882-9539.  DEA will be notified by the board of nursing once CSPA has been approved. Your DEA number will then (and only then) be sent to your home address directly from the DEA office. Submit a copy of your DEA number and registration to the Board office.

16.    REGISTRATION WITH THE U.S.DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION

• Do Not apply for a DEA registration prior to being issued prescriptive authority by the MBON
• Register online at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov after you have been issued prescriptive authority by the Mississippi Board of Nursing, select Registration, and Registration Applications. 
• Pay applicable fee by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover. 
• When completing the DEA registration application you should enter your APRN license number. You will not have a state controlled substance number.

Please email Chiquita Carter, ccarter@msbn.ms.gov to schedule your appointment with your name, email with the date of your choosing. Next available orientations are scheduled for April 6, 2023 and April 25, 2023. This orientation will be held virtually beginning at 9:00 am- 1:00 pm.

Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QA/QI) Plan: A formal quality assurance/ quality improvement plan to be utilized by the advanced practice registered nurse, as required by Miss. Code Ann. § 73-15-20.
Admin Code Part 2840, Rule 1.3 Practice Requirements states:
Each APRN shall participate in a formal quality assurance/quality improvement (QA/QI) program which shall be maintained on site and shall be available for inspection by representatives of the Board. 

1. The QA/QI program must be sufficient to provide a valid evaluation of the practice and be a valid basis for change, if any. 
2. QA/QI shall encompass Board-approved components according to specific areas of practice.

The Board of Nursing does not dictate specifics of the APRN’s QA/QI plan. The Board has compiled several suggested QA/QI Component examples below. This list is not inclusive of all the possible plans.

• Any MIPS component specific to APRN’s area of practice
• Any PQRS component specific to APRN’s area of practice
• Any Meaningful Use component specific to APRN’s area of practice
• Any MACRA component specific to  APRN’s area of practice
• Area Specific health care parameters meeting target goals such as A1C%, Lipids, BMI, vaccine compliance in both pediatric and adult, post-surgical  MRSA rates, etc.
• Patient Satisfaction surveys
• Patient engaged screenings (Depression, alcohol use, fall risks, violence in the home, etc)
• Use of patient reported outcome tools (PQH-9, PQH-2, PROMIS, etc)
• Timely Communication of Abnormal Lab/Radiology testing results 
• Timely referrals to specialists
• Timely  care coordination & active referral management tracking
• Timely integration of recommendations from Specialist into patient care plan
• Diabetes screening for patients using antipsychotic medication that can elevate A1C%
• Children’s Health Care Quality Measures for Medicaid & CHIP Core Set examples
• https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/quality-of-care/downloads/performance-measurement/2020-child-core-set.pdf
• Well-care visits annually
• Contraceptive Care Effective Methods among adolescents and young adults
• Behavioral Health Measures for Medicaid and CHIP examples https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/quality-of-care/downloads/performance-measurement/2020-bh-core-set.pdf
• Children’s Asthma care performance measures (hospitalizations rate, medication ratio, suboptimal asthma control, absence of controller therapy available)
• Use of PMP greater than 75% of time prior to prescribing Control Substance opioid or Benzodiazepine
• Initiation of early prenatal care in early pregnancy
• Door-in-Door-out time in critical illness management
• Time to Primary PCI Among Transferred Patients
• Chart Review of 10% or 20 charts by collaborative physician
• Quarterly face-to-face meetings with collaborative physician

Division of Nursing, W-910 MS University for Women

Columbus, MS 39701

Phone: (662) 329-7299

www.muw.edu

School of Nursing, Alcorn State University

P. O. Box 18399

Natchez, MS 39121

Phone: (601) 304-4300

www.alcorn.edu

School of Nursing, Delta State University

P.O. Box 3343

Cleveland, MS 39733

Phone: (662) 846-4268

www.deltast.edu

School of Nursing, University of Mississippi Medical Center

2500 N. State St.

JACKSON, MS 39216-4505

Phone: (601) 984-6220

www.umsmed.edu

School of Nursing, University of Southern Mississippi

P.O. Box 5095

Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5095

Phone: (601) 266-5527

www.usm.edu

 

 

The MS Board of Nursing Board of Directors met on April 16, 2021, and voted to repeal Part 2840, Chapter 1, Rule 1.3 Monitored Practice Hours by an emergency temporary rule effective April 16, 2021.  Therefore, monitored hours for APRNs are no longer required to practice in Mississippi. All other licensure requirements pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. Section 73-15-20 (7) and 30 Miss. Admin. Code Part 2840 continue to be mandatory for APRNs to practice in the state of Mississippi.

Any additional questions, please contact the following:

Stephanie Morris 
Smorris@msbn.ms.gov
601-957-6290

Disclaimer these samples are only as a guide in assisting you to create your own

Sample Nurse Practitioner/Certified Nurse Mid-wife

Sample Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist 

The Board of Nursing may grant controlled substance prescriptive authority in entirety Schedules II through V.

APRNs may prescribe any schedule of controlled substance after the following has occurred IN THIS ORDER.  Application for a DEA/DEA-X registration is not connected to monitored practice hours as of 01/01/2018:

1. Log in to the nurse gateway at https://gateway.licensure.msbn.ms.gov/index.aspx
2. Complete Mississippi Board of Nursing Controlled Substance Prescriptive Authority (CSPA) application by clicking on the blue “Add DEA/DEA-X Certification” button to the right of your screen just below the APRN name. If you have a current DEA or DEA-X number to add, select yes and provide the information requested, if you don’t have a DEA or DEA-x number yet, select “NO” from the drop-down box.
3. Answer the attestation question and submit. At the top of the screen a red banner will appear. Click the link in the red bar to submit your payment of $100.00.  The fee for this privilege to the BON is non-refundable.
4. If you do not currently have a DEA number to submit, the APRN must then register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to complete application and pay applicable fees to DEA.gov;
5. The APRN has received a Uniform Controlled Substances Registration Certificate from the DEA.
6. A copy of the DEA registration received from DEA must be submitted to the BON for validation and to complete the BON application process. A copy of renewals must also be submitted to the BON for continued CSPA.
7. When the DEA green bar shows “Completed” the APRN is qualified to write for controlled substances.

Note: 

• The APRN may be granted controlled substance privilege provided the nurse practitioner has graduated from a​n accredited school of nursing, a masters program or higher which contained a separate pharmacology course, and then the APRN is eligible to apply for controlled substance privilege. These will be granted as Class II-V inclusive only with all the appropriate fees due to both the Board of Nursing and the DEA.
• The APRN is required to maintain continuing education for controlled substances regardless of whether or not the APRN holds a DEA registration.

Certification and Licensure Applications
In order to be licensed as an APRN in the state of Mississippi you must have:

• Graduated from a nationally approved school of nursing with a masters degree or higher;
• Taken and passed a national certification exam in the area of your practice;
• Submitted an initial application with all appropriate documents approved prior to practicing;
• Completed a required monitored hours residency that was monitored by either a MS licensed physician or certified APRN with 3 years experience. Evidence of  monitored hours must be submitted to the BON and approved in order to begin unmonitored practice;
• APRN Application along with RN application renewed every two (2) years October - December of even numbered years.

Miss Code Ann. Section§ 73-15-17 (Q); 73-15-19; and 73-15-21, authorizes the Mississippi Board of Nursing (MSBN) to undergo a fingerprint-based criminal background history check of the Mississippi central criminal data base and the Federal Bureau of Investigations criminal history for licensure. Please follow the instructions below to complete the CBC process.

1.  Complete and submit an application for licensure.
    
2.   CBC Registration -Complete the online CBC registration using the exact name as used on the licensure application. If an applicant has undergone a name change different from the name on their photo identification, you must present the necessary legal documents (i.e., marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other legal name change document) as proof at the time of fingerprinting.

3.   Fee - Submit the $75.00 fee, including processing  fee, at the time of completion of the online CBC form by using a credit or debit card bearing the Visa, Discover,  American Express  or MasterCard logo, or electronic check. Fees are non-refundable.

4.   Identification -An applicant must provide two (2) sources of identification at the time of fingerprinting, one of which being a government issued current. valid and unexpired picture identification document. A driver's license is preferred for the picture identification but in the absence of a driver's license, a state-issued identification card may be acceptable. Other forms of identification documents may include: School issued student ID, State Government Issued Certificate of Birth, U.S. Active Duty/Retiree/Reservist  Military Identification Card (000 10-2), U.S. Passport, Federal Government Personal Identity Verification Card (PIV), U.S. Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs Identification Card, Social Security Card, Court Order for a Name Change/Divorce,  Marriage  Certificate  (Government  Certificate  Issued),  U.S. Government  Issued Consular  Report  of  Birth  Abroad,  Foreign  Passport  with  Appropriate  Immigration  Documents, Certificate of Citizenship (N560), Certificate of Naturalization (N550), INS 1-688 Temporary Resident Identification Card.

If an applicant has undergone a name change different from the name on their photo identification, you must present the necessary legal documents (i.e., marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other legal name change document) as proof at the time of fingerprinting.

5.   Fingerprinting -Only the fingerprints and CBC performed by the MSBN will be accepted.

APRN In-State (Mississippi) New Graduates ONLY - APRN new graduate applicants from an in-state APRN program should contact their school of nursing for the date and time scheduled for onsite fingerprinting to be performed by the MSBN staff.

An appointment  for fingerprinting must be made with the MSBN CBC staff after online CBC registration has been completed. Allow at least 24 hours for online CBC registration to be processed before making an appointment. Refer to the confirmation of payment and registration for the steps to complete the CBC process.

6.   Records/Documents- To expedite the licensing process, applicants who have been convicted of, pled guilty or pled no contest to any charge(s), or have charges pending against them for a felony or misdemeanor, other than a minor traffic violation in any state or jurisdiction must provide the board with the following pertinent records including but not limited to:

• Certified copies of any and all court records
• Expungements
• Evidence of fines paid
• Documents that demonstrate release of probation
• A written detailed explanation as to the circumstances leading to each criminal offense

  This information may be mailed or delivered to the board at the time of licensure application.

7.   Applicants with potentially disqualifying events may be required to submit additional information as requested by the board. MSBN staff will contact the applicant either by phone or letter to request as needed.

8.   Applicants should not call the BON requesting the CBC results. This information or copies of results cannot be released over the phone, in person, or via mail. 

9.  Allow 4-6 weeks for the CBC process to be completed.  Additional time may be required.  The amount of additional time required is dependent on the applicant's ability to provide necessary documents and the time required for the board to review the information. A set time frame cannot be given.

10. A second set of prints may be requested by MSBN staff if there are inconsistencies associated with the original fingerprint submission which may cause the submission to be rejected. 

11. If an applicant disagrees with the CBC results, they must contact the Board in writing within
Ten (10) business days of notification.

CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain 

Prescribing of Buprenorphine

Certification and Licensure Applications
In order to be licensed as an APRN in the state of Mississippi you must have:

• Graduated from a nationally approved school of nursing with a masters degree or higher;
• Taken and passed a national certification exam in the area of your practice;
• Submitted an initial application with all appropriate documents approved prior to practicing;
• Completed a required monitored hours residency that was monitored by either a MS licensed physician or certified APRN with 3 years experience. Evidence of  monitored hours must be submitted to the BON and approved in order to begin unmonitored practice;
• APRN Application along with RN application renewed every two (2) years October - December of even numbered years.

For special privileges, please VERIFY that the planned requested procedure is APPROVED in your setting

and for your APRN type in MS BEFORE you proceed, please contact the following :

Rebecca Cagle, Director of Advanced Practice & Licensure 

rcagle@msbn.ms.gov 

                                          Sample Special Privileges Approval Request letter  

                                           Please include the following with your request 

• Letter requesting the special privileges from the collaborating physician ( see sample above)
• Collaborative agreement with the special privileges notated
• Competency log of supervised procedures( minimal 5) performed under the supervision of the physician along with confirmation of competency documented by the physician
• Policy and Procedures that are in place to maintain procedural expertise
• Training Certificate of both APRN and Physician 

• The APRN is recommended to register for a basic user account with CE Broker to manage continuing education documents. Learn more about CE Broker and create your account.
• Upload the National Board Certification information and document PDF
• Complete a minimum of five (5) contact hours of continuing education directly related to controlled substances per State Certification Period. This requirement applies to all APRNs, irrespective of controlled substance prescriptive authority.
• Upload CE certificates in PDF format as evidence of having completed the five (5) contact hours related to controlled substances within the renewal cycle 01/01 of the odd year to 12/31 of the even year.

The Board may conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance. Upon notification of audit by the Board, the APRN shall submit to the Board any certificates, transcripts, or other documentation evidencing compliance with these rules, within ten (10) business days of receiving such notification. Failure to comply with this rule may subject the APRN to disciplinary action or other administrative sanction. 

CE instructional video link.

The APRN is responsible for maintaining documentation of current national certification as an APRN in a designated area of practice by a national certification organization recognized by the Board. In the case of a lapse in national certification, the APRN must notify the Mississippi Board of Nursing. The APRN must stop practicing immediately until such time as the national certification is renewed.  (Miss. Admin. Code, Part 2840, Rule 1.2 B (5)). 

How to update National Certification video link.

The APRN is responsible for gaining approval for practice site & collaborative physician through Board of Nursing prior to beginning to practice. The designated physical location in Mississippi which is the usual practice location as reported to the Board where the Board can conduct a site visit to evaluate the delivery of care by a licensee and compliance with laws and regulations regarding delivery of care by a licensee. This shall not include the patient's home. (Miss. Admin. Code Part 2840, Rule 1.2 (L)

How to update practice site & collaborative physician link.

The rules contained in this Part 2840, Chapter 1: Section II, are promulgated by the Mississippi Board of Nursing to implement the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act Miss. Code Ann §§. These rules shall apply to all licenses who are registered as certifying practitioners, or who are applying, or re-applying, to register as certifying practitioners. Nothing in these shall be construed to require any licensee to issue any written certification pursuant to the Act. Part 2840, Chapter 1: Section II Cannabis Certification link.