Prescriptive authority and nurse-midwives

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of issues relevant to the question of prescriptive authority for nurse-midwives. Nurse-midwives can be held liable for prescriptive competency as evidenced by the American College of Nurse-Midwives' statements, physician delegation of prescribing privileges, and recent court rulings. Despite this liability, nurse-midwives are denied legally sanctioned authority if they are not granted prescriptive privilege by specific legislation. This discussion concludes with a position in favor of direct prescriptive authority, regulated by boards of nursing, for all nurse-midwives in order to remove unnecessary restrictions to the practice of an important member of the health-care team.