Andrew W. Keeling identifies and describes the informal and formal roles nurses have played over the course of the twentieth century in dispensing, furnishing, and prescribing medications." "The book is built around a series of case studies representing diverse geographic areas of the United States during different decades. The major thesis of Nursing and the Privilege of Prescription, 1893-2000 is that the amount of freedom nurses have had with regard to medications has been dependent on the particular setting in which they practiced, on individual practice negotiations between physicians and nurses at the grassroots level, and on the level of trust that developed between them. what is clear throughout this history is that the "elusive and fine line" between medicine and nursing is fluid, especially in times and places where nurses are particularly needed. Nursing and the Privilege of Prescription, 1893-2000 provides historical data that could inform health policy today."--BOOK JACKET.