KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas nurse practitioners are fighting to get rid of the state requirement that they get permission to work from a physician.

Kansas is one of the few states that still makes advanced practice nurses sign contracts with doctors, which physicians argue protect patients by ensuring that nurses collaborate with their more educated colleagues, KCUR-FM reported .

But nurses are fighting back against the contracts, which they say limit patient options and can even give doctors a cut of their earnings for little to no work.

"I want to practice in a state that recognizes our...