The NP Movement: Documentaries and Interviews

"Battles Hard Fought" - New Jersey

Many of the early leaders in the nurse practitioner movement who fought the legislative battles for scope of practice at the state level have long since retired--and without recognition for their accomplishments. In this video, pioneer nursing leaders from the state of New Jersey recall the long road to the passage of the first state Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Nurse Specialist bill, which granted these providers legal titling and prescriptive authority.

These leaders were all active in the New Jersey State Nurses Association between 1974 and 1994. Their individual accounts, heard for the first time in a unique format, tell a compelling story of how advanced practice nursing became legally possible in the state of New Jersey.

This documentary was produced by Carolyn Torre, RN, MA, APN, FAANP and Kim Curry, PhD, FNP-C, FAAN, recipients of the Bjoring History Center’s Nurse Practitioner History Research Scholar Award. Read about the the Battles Hard Fought context, download the Battles Hard Fought transcript or view the Battles Hard Fought credits.

Copyright Carolyn Torre and Kim Curry. For permission to use for educational purposes, contact: cttorre@gmail.com.

"Battles Ongoing" - Florida

This video, the second in a series, gives voice to early nurse leaders involved in the evolution of early state scope-of-practice laws that enabled the practice of nurse practitioners in Florida. It illustrates the long battles fought for the right to practice with Florida as an exemplar of unique challenges faced at the state level. The video includes information about the history of the fight for practice authority in Florida from the 1970s until 2020.

"Battles Ongoing: Nurse Practitioners and the Fight for Practice Authority in Florida" was produced by Kim Curry, PhD, APRN, FAANP and Carolyn Torre, RN, MA, APN, FAANP with grant support from the Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry. Download the Ongoing Battles credits or the Ongoing Battles transcript.

Interviews with Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners

Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) are recognized leaders who have made outstanding contributions in the realms of nurse practitioner education, policy, clinical practice, or research.

These individual interviews were developed, conducted, and edited by the AANP, the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners, and are shared with the Bjoring Center by arrangement. Included in this extensive collection are interviews with leaders from the early days of the Fellows program, which was established in 2000.

AANP interview_Gale Adcock

AANP interview_Jean Aertker

AANP interview_Elizabeth Barker

AANP interview_Michelle Beauchesne

AANP interview_Judith Berg

AANP interview_Barbara Berner

AANP interview_Shirley Bowens

AANP interview_Nick Burnett

AANP interview_Sue Cross

AANP interview_Mary Anne Dumas

AANP interview_Margaret Fitzgerald

AANP interview_Angela Golden