Physician duties · CNM · Arkansas
Signing for a Certified Nurse-Midwife in Arkansas: what the physician takes on
Required in some cases; see the conditions below. Arkansas does not name a specific instrument.
Unlike CNP/CNS, CNM independence comes from a dedicated statute (§ 17-87-315) rather than the FIPCC hours pathway, and turns on prescribing/care-setting facts rather than a pure hours threshold — full authority for Schedule III-V with branch-backs for Schedule II and intrapartum care.
Independent practice requires: does not prescribe Schedule II controlled substances; not providing intrapartum (labor/delivery) care, which requires a written agreement with a consulting physician regardless of the above.
What you take on as the physician
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
CNM providing intrapartum (labor/delivery) care: Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
Requires a written agreement with a consulting physician; no fixed mile/minute radius was found codified.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
out-of-facility deliveries: As needed
The CNM must identify a licensed physician and/or facility with a prearranged referral/consultation relationship for use in the event of a medical complication — a safety-net referral arrangement, not a recurring meeting cadence.
Prescriptive authority
Schedule III-V drugs: Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
May prescribe/administer without a CPA or supervision under the § 17-87-315 full-practice-authority grant.
Schedule II drugs: Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
A collaborative practice agreement IS required specifically to prescribe Schedule II medications — a schedule-specific carve-back even under otherwise-full practice authority.
Written agreement
Not required
Not required for the default full-practice-authority scope (Schedule III-V prescribing, non-intrapartum care). A CPA IS required specifically to prescribe Schedule II medications, and a written agreement with a consulting physician is required specifically for intrapartum care — see supervision below.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same general Arkansas CPOM framework as other APRN entries — no CNM-specific ownership rule was found in this research pass.
Legal sources for these rules (1)
What physicians charge for this role
Typical monthly compensation in Arkansas
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Certified Nurse-Midwife. Standard-tier state.
About Arkansas's rules
Act 412 of 2021 created a 6,240-hour Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee (FIPCC) pathway for CNPs and CNSs only — CRNAs and CNMs are excluded from FIPCC and follow their own frameworks. CRNA independent-practice status is a genuine, unresolved ambiguity (see that entry) — a widely repeated 'Medicare opt-out' claim doesn't equal a change to AR's own supervision statute.
Other clinicians in Arkansas: see the state overview.