Three California nurses with doctorates of nursing practice sued the California attorney general, leaders of the Medical Board of California and the California Board of Registered Nursing, stating that they should have the right to call themselves "doctor," according to a July 18 Washington Post article.
California law states that physicians and surgeons are the only professionals who can call themselves doctors. The lawsuit aims to permanently prevent the state from enforcing the law.
"It's not an ego trip; it's not a power trip," Jacqueline Palmer, DNP, RN, one of the nurse practitioners involved in the lawsuit, told the Post. "It's just validation that I worked hard to get where I am today."
An attorney representing the state officials did not immediately respond to The Washington Post's request for comment.