Expanded Role? Expanded Recognition, Expanded Opportunity

Abstract

To write a statement for a nursing journal in the summer of _74 on the expanded role of the nurse is like carrying coals to Newcastle. divs and statements abound until the jargon has become jaded and one wonders what is expanded about the work of either a nurse-practitioner or a clinical nurse specialist. The generally accepted definition of the nurse-practitioner asCanada. Department of National Health and Welfare. Report of the Committee on Nurse Practitioners ":a nurse in an expanded role oriented to the provision of primary health care as a member of a team of health professionals relating with families on a long-term basis" (1) recognizes abilities and skills with which nurses have been equipped, and which they have used for many years. The Boudreau Report in discussing the role of the nurse-practitioner, clearly indicates two viewpoints on the function of the practitioner: Canada. Department of National Health and Welfare. Report of the Committee on Nurse Practitioners" "the recognition of an expanded and well-defined role for nurses as nurses", and "the utilization of nurses to assist physicians in carrying out their functions"(2).