2nd Edition of the Public Health and Midwifery World Conference 2026

Abstract

This analysis, conducted by Phoenix Consulting Group (PCG) in partnership with Physicians for Patient Protection (PPP), assesses the compliance and integrity of Florida’s Autonomous Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) licensure system following the rapid growth of physician-independent nursing practice following House Bill 607. Utilizing publicly available state-reported licensure data, a licensure history analysis was conducted for 15,355 Autonomous APRNs, examining the reasonability of supervised clinical hour completion timeframe, practice specialty, disciplinary history, and geographic distribution of practitioners. Data cleaning, categorization, and web-scraped specialty verification were performed through Python-based workflows, while clinical hour thresholds were assessed using realistic full-time nursing workloads. It was revealed that 327 Autonomous APRNs were granted autonomous licensure in a timeframe far too short to realistically complete the required 3,000 supervised clinical hours, and 1432 APRNs were practicing a non-primary care specialty autonomously despite statutory restrictions. Gaps in rural workforce coverage were also identified. These results indicate inconsistencies in licensure verification, demonstrating the need for a comprehensive application audit system and improved data reporting to ensure that efforts to address Florida’s statewide physician shortage are implemented without compromising patient safety.