Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Nurse Practitioners, especially, see their patients as people and tend to treat you as more than just a set of symptoms. There tends to be more of a personal relationship with these professionals.
Stereotype much? A good doctor treats their patients as people just as a good NP. Some NPs for now can provide more time to the patient, but that is because they were hired to provide more time with you so the doctor can manage more challenging patients and deal with paperwork. What happens when NPs are all autonomous and managing their own practices? Yup, exact same time constraints as the MD. BTW, 50% of graduating MDs for the last two decades have been female, if that matters at all. So this is not a gender issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milleka
NPs and PAs are an excellent healthcare resource and shouldn't be viewed as "sloppy seconds" compared to an MD or DO. If you need treatment for routine ailments such as strep throat, ear infections, flu, UTI's, etc. Then an NP is just for you!
The MD after residency has 17,000+ hours of clinical training versus the NP with 3,000 hours. A fourth year medical student has more clinical training than an NP, that's even before the medical student goes into residency.
And why would you bother seeing an NP for the flu? You can't treat flu with antibiotics. And if your flu symptoms are severe enough, then the NP wouldn't be much use either, since you would need to see a real doctor.
The irony with NPs, is that they cost the health care system MORE money, because NPs are more likely to run tests since they have little science knowledge to make non-protocol decisions and they're more likely to refer patients to specialists that an MD could have done herself. Why do you think health care costs have been skyrocketing while doctor's salaries remained stagnant for the last two decades? Because everyone else wants their hands in the cookie jar too.
The movement to increase NPs and their scope of practice have less to do with your health care than with the NPs desire for career advancement and money. Many NPs today already make over $100k, approaching what primary care physicians make. There are already calls from the nursing lobby for "equal pay for equal work," except their knowledge and skillset is nowhere equal to the primary care MD. MDs are leaving primary care in droves because of these developments. No one wants to study and train for a decade to be overtaken by someone with a third their training.
Contemporary America is all about shortcuts now; the long and hard path is for suckers. No one should be surprised that our economy is in the toilet.
It was new to me when I moved to North Carolina where it's quite common. I suspect it's a growing trend. With payments to doctors reduced by health insurance providers, I would imagine this is a more economical way for doctors to expand their practices without hiring more MD's. I've had some excellent Nurse Practitioners--and some not so great. But that's been my experience with doctors, too.
It would be interesting to have some docs weigh in on this as to why it's becoming more and more common. Until we hear from them, though, I'm going with the economics of it as the underlying reason.
My understanding is that all services are billed to insurance companies and Medicare and Medicaid under the physician's account. It does not matter who did the service, they are paid the approved amount as though the doctor did it. Therefore, you are getting inferior care and paying the same for it. Not that all Nurse Practitioners, etc. are not good at what they do, but they are not doctors. So basically, the doctor is making MORE profit on the services because he is not paying the Nurse Practitioner what he would a doctor, yet he is billing the services out on doctor fees.
I think it has more to do with where you live. Where I used to live, deep in the 'burbs, it was definitely more of a challenge (but certainly not impossible) to see the doctor. Out here in the country, it's not a problem at all. The local docs have PAs and FNPs but it's not hard at all to get an appointment with the doctor, if I ask. Ditto the responses that specialists seem to rely on PAs and NPs as well.
... The movement to increase NPs and their scope of practice have less to do with your health care than with the NPs desire for career advancement and money. Many NPs today already make over $100k, approaching what primary care physicians make. There are already calls from the nursing lobby for "equal pay for equal work," except their knowledge and skillset is nowhere equal to the primary care MD.
The limitations put on nurse practitioners vary from state to state, since each state has its own medical board. Generally though, nurses cannot prescribe controlled substances, they can prescribe antibiotics and things like that, but nothing that is considered "controlled" medications by the government. Also, quite often, they are supervised by the physician, meaning the physician signs off on the nurse practitioner's work/patient charts.
Here in NJ; they both are able to prescribe narcotics for pain.
My pain management doctor had NP's that both ended up quitting; he replaced with a PA who also prescribes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milleka
There are advantages to seeing an NP or PA. They usually have a smaller patient load and can spend more time with you. Nurse Practitioners, especially, see their patients as people and tend to treat you as more than just a set of symptoms. There tends to be more of a personal relationship with these professionals.
NPs and PAs are an excellent healthcare resource and shouldn't be viewed as "sloppy seconds" compared to an MD or DO. If you need treatment for routine ailments such as strep throat, ear infections, flu, UTI's, etc. Then an NP is just for you!
My daughter sees an NP & I love her more then the doctor. I think she said that she has to do more schooling to keep her license up then the doctor has to. She's really knowledgeable with everything from rashes; MRSA; flu/virus & she actually listens to the patients.
Last time we were there my daughter was sick; she said she's been prescribing tamiflu for the symptoms because the antibiotics were not helping; & sure enough, antibiotics didn't help my daughter but we waited too long to see her- apparently tamiflu has to be given quickly.
So I'm wondering, I have anxiety issues that I will bring up at my appt on Friday. Is that something a NP can take care of typically? You think they'd make me arrange another appt to see the doctor if he/she could not? That's what I'm mainly concerned with. I sort of subscribe to the mindset that that james011 posted above. Doctors are doctors for a reason. They have so much more training than NPs or PAs. It's great that they are nice or listen well, but if they just don't have the experience or skillset to properly diagnose an ailment, it becomes pretty pointless, right?
It all depends on the condition, the doctor, etc. My husband is an md and he sees his own patients, but for cases that are more basic or simple his NP sees them, and he just checks over her work/patient charts. I would think for something like anxiety you would see someone more than just a general practitioner right? And that case you would see the doctor not the np/pa.
Nah, this poster is routinely joking around on this forum, it seems. I don't think most of his posts are to be taken as literal advice. He just has a unique sense of humor it would seem.
My daughter sees an NP & I love her more then the doctor. I think she said that she has to do more schooling to keep her license up then the doctor has to. She's really knowledgeable with everything from rashes; MRSA; flu/virus & she actually listens to the patients.
NPs in NJ are required to have 30 hours continuing education every 2 years. Physicians are required to have 100 hours. I saw my physician today. He really listened to me and he is probably more knowledgeable than any NP.
Quote:
Last time we were there my daughter was sick; she said she's been prescribing tamiflu for the symptoms because the antibiotics were not helping; & sure enough, antibiotics didn't help my daughter but we waited too long to see her- apparently tamiflu has to be given quickly.
Flu is caused by a virus. Antibiotics are not indicated.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
