Updates to NP scope of practice standards: HPOA

Mar 4, 2026

The BCCNM board on Jan. 26 and Feb. 26, 2026, approved updates to the nurse practitioners (NPs) scope of practice document to align with the upcoming Nurses and Midwives Regulation (NMR) and Regulated Health Practitioners Regulation (RHPR) under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA).

These updates support a consistent, clear, and modern regulatory framework and will take effect on April 1, 2026, when the new regulations come into force. The revised standards can all be accessed via the table at the end of this announcement.

Read more about HPOA-related nursing standard revisions

What's changing

To reflect changes under the NMR and the HPOA, BCCNM has updated how information about NP scope of practice is presented.

Previously, this information was contained in a single Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice document. It has now been reorganized into a series of individual practice standards. This is in line with the approach taken with the LPN, RN, and RPN scopes of practice.

This is a stylistic formatting update only, no substantive changes have been made to NP scope of practice requirements or expectations. The content remains the same but is now structured in a way that aims to be easier to navigate, reference, and keep current.

Revised standards

Rescinded:

Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners: Standards, Limits, and Conditions

The new individual practice standards:

Regulatory Supervision

On Feb. 26, 2026, the Board rescinded the Regulatory Supervision of Nurse Practitioner Student Restricted Activities standard, and in its place approved the Nurses: Regulatory Supervision of Students practice standard. Read more about this standard.

Moving forward

The revisions approved at this stage focus primarily on scope‑related alignment with the NMR, RHPR, and HPOA. Following adoption as bylaws, BCCNM will continue to review and update practice standards as required under the HPOA, including engagement with Indigenous Peoples and system partners.

All of these standards will come into effect April 1, 2026, and be accessible via the NP practice standard page. We recommend you bookmark these pages for quick access:

NP standards

Questions?

Connect with our Standards Support team.
Visit the HPOA resource centre

Table of standards

Standard	Revised Title	Designation (s)	Standard Type (Practice or Ethics)		Summary of Changes
Advanced Procedures and Activities (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Advanced Procedures and Activities	NP		Practice	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability
Consultation and Referral (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Consultation and Referral	NP		Practice	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability
Medical Assistance in Dying (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Medical Assistance in Dying	NP		Practice	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability Removed information more suited to a learning resource Reformatted/rearranged content
Mental Health & Capacity Assessments (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Mental Health & Capacity Assessments	NP		Practice	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability Reformatted/rearranged content
Prescribing Drugs (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Prescribing Drugs	NP		Practice	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability Edited language to align with HPOA and/or new HPOA Regulations Removed information more suited to a learning resource
Prescribing for Opioid Use Disorder and/or Pharmaceutical Alternatives for Safer Supply (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Prescribing for Opioid Use Disorder and/or Prescribed Alternatives	NP		Practice	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability Changed an outdated link to the most recent version Added definition of “prescribed alternatives” to align with updated provincial policy Transitioned language through the standard from “pharmaceutical alternatives for safer supply” to “prescribed alternatives”
Ordering Diagnostic Services and Managing Results (previously part of Scope document)	Nurse Practitioners: Screening & Diagnostic Tests and Imaging	NP		Practice	Removed glossary terms that do not appear in the content, or explained in other standards
Regulatory Supervision of Students	Nurses: Regulatory Supervision of Students	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	Updated nursing standards for regulatory supervision and employed student licensees
Indigenous Cultural Safety, Cultural Humility, and Anti-racism	Nurses & Midwives: Indigenous Cultural Safety, Cultural Humility, and Anti-racism	All licensees LPN, NP, RN, RPN and midwives		Ethics	Edited section headings Made minor edits to improve readability Edited language to align with HPOA and/or new HPOA Regulations Removed information more suited to a learning resource Reformatted/rearranged content
Boundaries in the Nurse-Client Relationship	Nurses: Boundaries in the Nurse-Client Relationship	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Ethics	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability Removed information more suited to a learning resource Reformatted/rearranged content Removed clinical/ outdated content
Conflict of Interest	Nurses: Conflict of Interest	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Ethics	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Removed information more suited to a learning resource Definition of ‘client’ added
Consent	Nurses: Consent	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	Made minor edits to improve readability
Delegation to Unregulated Care Providers	Nurses: Delegation to Unregulated Care Providers	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	New delegation practice standard for nurses
Documentation	Nurses: Documentation	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	Made minor edits to improve readability
Duty to Provide Care	Nurses: Duty to Provide Care	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Ethics	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Made minor edits to improve readability Removed information more suited to a learning resource
Duty to Report	Nurses: Duty to Report	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Ethics	Moved definitions from footnotes into Glossary Edited section headings Made minor edits to improve readability Edited language to align with HPOA and/or new HPOA Regulations Reformatted/rearranged content
Medication	Nurses: Medication	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	Alignment of language with NMR RHPR (e.g. certification) Addition of definitions: Client Client’s representative Client-specific order Competence Medication Medication-related activities Nurses Nursing Diagnosis Restricted Activity
Communicable Diseases: Preventing Nurse-to-Client Transmission	Nurses: Preventing Transmission of Communicable Diseases	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	New nursing standard on preventing transmission of communicable diseases
Privacy & Confidentiality	Nurses: Privacy & Confidentiality	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	No changes needed
Regulatory Supervision of Students	Nurses: Regulatory Supervision of Students	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	No changes needed
Use of Title	Nurses: Use of Title	LPN, NP, RN, RPN		Practice	Alignment of language with HPOA, NMR, RHPR & BCCNM General Bylaws e.g., “Licensed,” and “class of licensure” Inclusion of multijurisdictional licensing “Non-practising” removed Adds clarity on when employed student titles apply- only in employment roles Addition of definitions: Clients Nurses
Professional Standards for Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners	Registered Nurses & Nurse Practitioners: Professional Standards	NP, RN		Ethics	Edited section headings Made minor edits to improve readability Removed information more suited to a learning resource Reformatted/rearranged content Removed definitions that were outdated or more suitable for a learning resource
Employed Student Registrants	Employed Student Licensees	ESN, ESPN		Practice	Included for reference Updated nursing standards for regulatory supervision and employed student licensees