Nurses want more independence from doctors with proposed legislation

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2/17/2009: Radio Story - Missouri hospitals will have to publicly report who is treating patients if a measure makes its way through the legislature.

Intro:	Nurses want more independence from doctors with proposed legislation
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Wrap: Nurses like Shanna Dewater say they want more power in their practices.

Proposed legislation would eliminate the requirement for doctors to be within a certain distance of the office at all times, letting nurses do more without them.

Dewater says nurses could treat patients more easily if restrictions weren't as tight.

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Description: "Missouri is the third most restrictive state in the nation. It makes it very difficult for most APRN's, especially those in rural health."

Opponents of the bill say nurses don't have as much training as doctors and aren't qualified to replace them.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Mark Hodges.

Intro:	Nurses could soon become primary care providers if proposed legislation passes through the statehouse.
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Wrap: If passed, nurses could act independently of doctors.

They would even be allowed to prescribe schedule II narcotics.

Family physician David Barbe says that's dangerous.

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Description: "It is antithetical to me that we would give another set of practitioners license to prescribe all the way up through class II narcotics in this state."

Nurses say they want less barriers and more freedom to provide health care.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Mark Hodges.

Intro:	Proposed legislation would give nurses more power in the workplace, but some doctors say it's not a good idea.
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Wrap: Nurses could start their own medical practices if proposed legislation passes.

It would also get rid of the required doctor-nurse partnership, the current balance between the two.

But doctors like Jeffrey Kerr say they rely on working closely with nurses.

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Description: "It's all of us working together. The nurse practitioners I collaborate with, I feel they're golden, and I hope they feel I'm golden. We work together as a team, taking care of the frail elderly in our area."

Nurses supporting the bill say they want more freedom to prescribe medicine and perform procedures without doctors.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Mark Hodges.