Advanced nursing practice: legal concerns.

Empowerment of nurses in advanced nursing practice begins with an understanding of the current legal status of the advanced nurse practitioner. True empowerment will not occur until the reform regulations needed to expand the role of the advanced nurse practitioner is understood by nurses and measures are taken to begin such reform. In this article, the author reviews the current legal status of advanced nurse practitioners, while projecting the needed reforms that must occur across the country. The aim is to help advanced nurse practitioners undertake measures to ensure that legal empowerment for themselves becomes a reality.