Abstract
This article reports findings from a national random sample of nurse practitioners (NPs) who were actively practicing in adult primary care settings during 1986. An analysis of their demographic and practice characteristics revealed a statistically significant association between certain characteristics and the NPs' prescribing status. Nurse practitioners with prescriptive authority had more years of experience and were more likely to practice in rural or suburban areas and work in nongroup settings than NPs without prescriptive authority. These findings suggest that giving NPs' prescriptive authority may be an enabling factor that supports NP practice in medically underserved locations.

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