Nevada Optometry Laws: Scope, Practice, and Discipline
This domain tests how well you apply NRS Chapter 635 and NAC Chapter 635 to practice. Expect questions on what legally counts as optometry, who may perform it, what a Nevada license authorizes, and which conduct can lead to Board discipline. The key skill is separating statutory scope from clinical judgment: a procedure can be good care and still be outside the license.
Scope and licensure
- NRS 635.020 defines the practice of optometry around examining, diagnosing, treating, and managing the visual system, the eye, and associated structures. Refraction, contact lenses, low vision, and authorized diagnostic or therapeutic agents fall within that framework; the license is not a general medical license.
- Practicing or offering to practice optometry without a Nevada license is prohibited, and aiding unlicensed practice is independently actionable.
- Therapeutic authority depends on the statutes and Board regulations. Prescribing an agent or performing a procedure outside the authorized scope is a licensing violation even if it seems clinically reasonable.
Conduct that draws discipline
- Board discipline is administrative, not a malpractice award. Grounds include fraud in licensing, incompetence, gross negligence, unprofessional conduct, violation of NRS or NAC 635, impairment, and failure to meet continuing-education or recordkeeping duties.
- Informed consent, accurate records, and referral when a condition exceeds scope are practice standards. False or misleading advertising can also be charged as unprofessional conduct.
Worked example
A licensee fits contact lenses after only an online questionnaire and sells lenses without a current prescription. The patient is satisfied and has no injury. Reasoning: the absence of harm does not cure the licensing problem. The Board can treat the conduct as failure to examine and diagnose properly and as improper prescribing. The defense should focus on documented examination, a valid prescription, and follow-up, not on patient satisfaction alone.
Traps that cost marks
- Assuming optometry means only refraction and glasses; Nevada scope also covers diagnosis and management within authorized limits.
- Treating another state’s license or a national exam score as permission to practice in Nevada.
- Confusing malpractice with Board discipline; the Board may act without a civil judgment.