mentary role; nurses were made exempt from the unauthorized practice prohibition as long as they are rendering service under the supervision, control, and responsibility of a licensed physician. Nurse practitioners in many settings still routinely write and obtain prescriptions for patients. They may telephone pharmacists with prescriptions under the physician's name, with permission, or write the prescription and sign the physician's name. The physician may presign blank prescription forms; other physicians may write and sign a prescription by request of the nurse practitioner. Nurses increasingly seek legislation to escape legal and practical problems regarding the writing of prescriptions (Hadley, 1989).
The purpose of all health law and regulations is to protect the public from unprofessional care. Laws are made to regulate human interactions. Laws resolve conflicts and disputes, define responsibilities, and have a method of enforcement to preserve and promote peaceful and productive interactions. Ethics deals with
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