COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES AS A MEANS OF DEVELOPING THE SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE

The development of the extended role in nursing has been seen by some as primarily a means for nurses taking on tasks that have traditionall y been the work of junior doctors. Others object to this view and ascr ibe to the 'new nursing' perspective of Salvage. She sees the extended role as moving towards increasing autonomy and operating in a profess ional rather than a bureaucratic occupational model. This view militat es against the development of nurses as mini-doctors. This paper discu sses the controversy surrounding the development of the extended role, focusing particularly on the use of complementary therapies asa legit imate component of the 'new nurses' role.