Nurses' and physicians' perceptions of nursing authority

This study compared perceptions of 163 nurses and physicians of the current and ideal status of the decision-making authority of professional nurses. Each nurse and physician agreed or disagreed with 25 items, in two contexts, in the Authority in Nursing Roles Inventory (ANRI). Items in the ANRI describe a variety of nursing roles, functions, and behaviors in health and patient care. The results of the study were statistically significant overall both between and within professional groups. Disparities in several specific areas were revealed. The findings support the premise that in spite of expanded nursing roles emphasizing nursing authority, there are disagreements between nurses' and physicians' perceptions of the current and ideal authority of nurses as well as areas of dissatisfaction within each professional group. Implications of continuing conflicts between nurses and physicians as barriers to professional nursing role enactment, as well as strategies to address the problem, are discussed.