While Massachusetts has led the nation in health reform, the laws and regulations that govern how some of the Commonwealth’s most highly trained nurses are authorized to practice remain amongst the most restrictive in the nation.

Legislative and institutional barriers prevent Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), including Certified Nurse Midwives, Nurse Practitioners, Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, from practicing to the full extent of their education and training.  These restrictions limit patients’ access to high-quality, cost effective health care across a variety of specialties including primary care, internal medicine, and pediatrics where patient care needs exceed physician supply.

These findings, along with regional comparisons and a gap analysis, which assessed the Massachusetts Nurse Practice Act against the National Council of the State Boards of Nursing’s Consensus Model for APRN Regulation, are detailed in the MA Action Coalition Report on The Advanced Practice Nurse in Massachusetts.