This paper develops a model of the nurse/physician authority relationship presented in an earlier issue of this journal, and responds to criticisms raised against that model in commentaries on that article. Specifically, I examine the discrepancy which exists between medical knowledge and nursing education, and show this discrepancy to be a difference in type, not quality. The implication is that improvements in nursing education will not affect the authority relationship between physician and nurse. To affect this relationship the nature of (...) nursing education must change. (shrink)

This paper explores the respective legitimacy or illegitimacy of medical authority over nursing work. The analysis makes use of Joseph Raz’s ideas concerning the nature of authority. Various scenarios are considered which lend themselves to differing interpretations, and the conclusion reached is that acting in accordance with legitimate medical authority enhances rather than compromises the nurse’s professional integrity. Difficulties, however, may lie in disentangling legitimate from illegitimate attempts to control nursing work.