Sermchief v. Gonzales

Nurses at a nonprofit health agency providing family planning, obstetric, and gynecological services to low-income patients performed patient histories, breast and pelvic exams, lab tests, and contraceptive counseling under written standing orders and protocols signed by supervising physicians; the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts (defendants, including Gonzales) ordered the nurses and physicians, including Sermchief (plaintiff), to show cause why the nurses weren't engaged in the unauthorized practice of medicine and the physicians weren't aiding and abetting that violation, without questioning the nurses' actual competence or identifying any patient harm. The nurses and physicians sought a declaratory judgment that the nurses' practices were lawful, and the trial court denied the requested injunction.