Massachusetts law about nurses

Laws, regulations, and web sources on nursing law.

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Best bet

Board of Registration in Nursing
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (Board) protects the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth through the fair and consistent application of the statutes and regulations that govern nursing practice and nursing education. Includes information on:

• Nursing education
• Nursing licenses
• Nursing practice
• How to file a complaint against a nurse or nursing program/school
• Disciplinary action taken by the Board
• And more

Massachusetts laws

MGL c. 94C, § 9 Administering and dispensing of controlled substances in course of professional practice; records, inspection

MGL c. 111, § 72Y Nursing pool registrations

MGL c. 111, § 226 Mandatory overtime for nurses prohibited; exception for emergency situations

MGL c. 111, § 231 Limitation on patient assignments per nurse in intensive care units

Licensure and registration

MGL c. 112, §§ 74-81C Registration of certain professions: Nursing

MGL c. 112A Nurse licensure compact

Primary care

MGL c. 112, § 80E Nurse practitioners or psychiatric nurse mental health clinical specialists; power to order therapeutics and tests; issuance of written prescriptions

MGL c. 176R Consumer choice of nurse practitioner services
Recognizes nurse practitioners as primary care providers.

MGL c. 176S Consumer choice of physician assistant services
Recognizes physician assistants as primary care providers.

Suspension, revocation or cancellation of license

MGL c. 30A, § 14 Judicial review
"[A]ny person or appointing authority aggrieved by a final decision of any agency in an adjudicatory proceeding, whether such decision is affirmative or negative in form, shall be entitled to a judicial review..."

MGL c. 112, § 64 Review by Supreme Judicial Court of suspension, revocation or cancellation order
A nurse may petition the SJC to review and make a determination on the Board's action to suspend, revoke, or cancel their nursing license.

MGL c. 112, §§ 65-65F Practice during suspension, revocation or cancellation of license

Massachusetts regulations

101 CMR 345 Rates for temporary nursing services

244 CMR Board of Registration in Nursing

958 CMR 8 Patient assignment limits for registered nurses in intensive care units in acute hospitals

Web sources

Massachusetts Health Care Workforce Center (HCWC)
"The HCWC collects and provides data on the healthcare workforce, makes recommendations for policies and practices that strengthen the healthcare workforce, and administers programs which address health workforce shortages and support health providers."

• Apply for the Massachusetts Loan Repayment Program for health professionals

MA Repay Program, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
"A student loan repayment program for health and human services professionals in Massachusetts." Contact [e-mail] if you have any questions about the program.

Print sources

Administrative law and practice, 2^nd ed. (Mass. Practice v.39), Thomson Reuters, 2016 with supplement.
Section 13:16: State licensing−The unlicensed practitioner.

Employment coordinator, Thomson/West, loose-leaf.
Part III, Chapter 21 (XXIII. Massachusetts), Section 21:92.50: Maximum hours for nurses.

Nursing malpractice, 4^th ed., Lawyers and Judges Pub. Co., 2011.

Professional malpractice, (Mass. Practice v.51), Thomson/West, 2007 with supplement.
Sections 12.3-12.10: Nurses.

Last updated:	June 4, 2026