A report released Tuesday may give nurses with advanced degrees a potent weapon in their perennial battle to get the authority to practice without a doctor's oversight.
The report, released by the Institute of Medicine and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says nurses should take on a larger and more independent role in providing health care in America, something many doctors have repeatedly opposed, citing potential safety concerns. It calls for states and the federal government to remove barriers that restrict what care advanced practice nurses - those with a master's degree - provide.