The Doctor -- Oops, I Mean NURSE -- Will Diagnose and Prescribe For You Now

[HappyTexan]

Anyone who earns a PhD has the right to be called "Dr." including nurses.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

Anyone who earns a PhD has the right to be called "Dr." including nurses.

I agree.

[car54]

Originally Posted by antarez

You should be so lucky, more then likely it will be a foreign doctor diagnosing and prescribing meds through an internet hookup with a low level assistant in the US.

More than likely from India as it's much cheaper and alot of them already speak English.

+1

On several occasions recently, I went in for X-rays and another time for an ultrasound. Never actually saw the doctor at any of them. (definitely saw their bill a short time later though)

The assistant went in and out of the room several times to "consult" with the doctor...and the assistants delivered the results afterwards. I assumed the doc was down the hall, but hell, he could have been on the other side of the planet for all I know! LOL

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by rimmerama

Probably not a big deal, my sister is a nurse practitioner, they get the additional education that places them in a position above regular nurses.

Yep... my best friend is a nurse practitioner, and she has both the BS in nursing & Master's in Nurse Practitioner (ing?). I often consult her on medical issues, and if she had the legal right to prescribe meds, I'd trust her to do that as well. Case in point, I saw like 3-4 doctors over a medical issue some years back, and nobody could figure out my problem - one phone conversation with my friend solved the mystery (turned out I was severely allergic to my parrot of all things), and it was later confirmed by an MD. I'd even go so far as to say nurses know MORE than some doctors, and in many cases they care more too.

P.S. As many women here probably know, OB/GYN practices have been using Nurse Practitioners in lieu of MDs for a long time... usually I only see my DOCTOR for a few minutes, to confirm the nurse's exam and prescribe any meds that are needed.