CNS · New Mexico
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Clinical Nurse Specialists in New Mexico
No. Clinical Nurse Specialists practice independently here. New Mexico does not require one.
CNSs are licensed as APRNs under the same Board of Nursing framework as NPs and may independently prescribe/distribute dangerous drugs and controlled substances within their specialty once they've met prescriptive-authority requirements — no supervising or collaborating physician relationship is required.
What the collaboration must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
No proximity requirement
No physician proximity/availability requirement is codified for CNS practice.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Requires current state controlled-substance registration and DEA number (16.12.2.14 NMAC); must maintain a specialty-specific formulary of dangerous drugs/controlled substances and complete 5 contact hours of non-cancer pain-management CE per renewal period if DEA-registered.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional — no collaborative or supervisory agreement is required for CNS practice.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same professional-corporation, same-profession-ownership framework as other APRNs above.
Legal sources for these rules (1)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in New Mexico
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Clinical Nurse Specialist. Standard-tier state.
About New Mexico's rules
New Mexico has no corporate-practice-of-medicine doctrine (1987 A.G. opinion) — non-physician entities may employ physicians if clinical judgment isn't controlled — but professional corporations must still be single-profession owned (a PA/NP/etc. entity can't mix ownership with physicians). NP/CRNA/CNM/CNS practice independently with full prescriptive authority (Schedules II–V); PA remains the outlier requiring ongoing physician involvement.
Other clinicians in New Mexico: see the state overview.