An advanced practice model: inpatient collaborative practices.

Advanced practice nurses play a key role in optimal patient care. In primary care, their functions include history taking, physical examination, development of a plan of care, instruction and counseling, use of laboratory data, diagnosis of routine illness, prescription of medications or other therapies as allowed by state laws, coordination of services, and referral when necessary. These nursing services may be provided independently or in collaboration with physician providers. Nurse-physician collaborative practices generally occur in the ambulatory care setting. The purpose of this article is to illustrate inpatient collaborative practices with CNSs and staff physicians in an urban, medical-center hospital.