Looking for some smaller towns in Wyoming

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by kotz

Small towns and rural areas of Western SD, and Wyoming would be better served by real doctors, not wannabes.
I'm married to one of your so called " money grubbing doctors ". Before you spout off, do a bit of research on what's involved regarding the time( years ) commitment, student loan burden one has along the way to becoming a practicing physician.

There's always one in every crowd, isn't there?

The idea that an experienced Nurse Practitioner adds ND to the knowledge base makes one less capable?

Really?

Oh, and they are real doctors. Until you've been through the MD curriculum that ND's go through, you'd be wise to keep your uninformed opinions to yourself.

[kotz]

Sorry sport, I get a bit testy when I read disparaging remarks coming from a colleague in the medical field.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by pnwmdk

It's not an issue for us. Our kids are now adults and on their own.

The benefit of choosing a town with a Jr College has little / nothing to do with your own kid's EDU.

Good luck on choosing your own place.

[Montana Griz]

According to the "FNMRA", Wyoming does not license "NDs" to practice in the State of Wyoming.

No Ax to grind...................just a point of information to be considered....................................

[volosong]

Originally Posted by pnwmdk

My wife will be an NP (with experience) and a new ND, as well. Officially, she'll have "Doctor" in her title, but not actually an MD.

WY allows independent practice by NP's and actually, ND's (Naturopathic Doctors)...

Forgive my ignorance...what is a "NP"?

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by volosong

Forgive my ignorance...what is a "NP"?

Nurse Practitioner.

In WY, NP's scope of practice is about the same as a family medicine doctor. They are primary care providers, can prescribe (sorry, can't remember WY's specific drug classes) independently, and have pretty much all the rights a doctor does. They do NOT do surgeries, they are not ER practitioners (though you'll find NP's in ER departments). Some states require additional clinicals / classroom hours to be allowed to prescribe / deliver babies. Some states (mostly south / southeast), do not allow them to be primary care providers / prescribe independently, and so on. There is a very strong correlation between states not giving NP's a wide scope of practice + not licensing ND's and extreme need for primary care providers.

There are two types of ND's...

One, is the herbalist/oriental medicine, lifestyle only approach, the other goes through the same science and drug curriculum an MD does - like a year of parallel A&P and cadaver lab, more than year of chemistry, including bio, organic, inorganic, all from the same books and curriculum of an MD. ND's do not study hospital oriented medical practice or surgery. They focus on wellness, nutrition, lifestyle. In states that license ND's, a good number have the same primary care / prescriptive authority of an NP, though they have vastly more education than an NP, and similar classroom hours to an MD. There is a residency track for ND's, if they choose, but all have clinicals. Accredited ND's also study the spine and manipulation like chiropractors do and can dual-track if they wish for only a few more classroom and clinical hours.

The second type of ND ALSO has options for the Oriental medicine / acupuncture tracks if they wish.

MD's have a habit of looking at ND's as quacks, and ND's tend to look at doctors as pill pushers - if we're going to include the stereotypes. There are only 5 accredited ND schools in the country, so their numbers are very small. There's a lot of places for non-accredited ND programs, and the vast majority of people who call themselves ND's have the non-accredited type of education. Many of them, and the associations they have oppose the broadening of education and practice which the accredited schools teach.

Hopefully that clears up some of what's different about the various practitioners. DO's curriculum would be quite similar to a ND/DC dual track, but difference in practicum.

What MD's don't do, that an ND does is study natural healing methods, their practice tends to revolve more around pharmacology and less patient education. MD's mostly practice in environments that just do NOT give them enough face time with a patient to be an educator and lifestyle coach.

For instance, a visit with an ND will be billed a lesser rate, you'll get vastly more provider / patient interaction, and they'll focus more on you being well and getting well, than alleviating symptoms.

Now, those are "generalizations". Some MD's have adopted a less regimented approach to their practice and do have more face time, do involve themselves far more with the patient - in a family medicine setting, and do focus on wellness and all those other things that ND's do.

There are only 17 states currently that license ND's (and they must be from an accredited school). About half of them have a broad scope of practice. WY is not one of them, but MT is. So is WA, OR, and AK, for instance. ID's ND licensing is stuck in a legislative black hole.

In WY, my wife would have to practice as an NP, which isn't a problem. She'd be just an NP with a PhD in medicine. Why's she doing the ND? Because it has that fundamental science curriculum of an MD.

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by kotz

Sorry sport, I get a bit testy when I read disparaging remarks coming from a colleague in the medical field.

I the same.

Sadly, I believe we both would agree that there are money-grubbing type doctors. And there are those who are doctors because they have a passion for helping people. I have no objection to the income MD's make at all. The investment to become one is enormous, the toll it takes on your life is often enormous. By the time some finish their residencies they've aged 25 years, due to the strain on your life and body.

I do not in any way intend disparage MD's. I detest money-grubbing behavior in every profession or service.

[KillerK]

How small are you looking for? For some people, Buffalo is considered small at roughly 4,600 people. It's about half an hour south of Sheridan and is a fantastic little town, though it feels like there are a lot of medical practitioners already here, though I'm not sure any of them fill the niche you're thinking of.

If you're willing to go "small" small (like only a few hundred people), my votes go to: Story or Big Horn in Sheridan County; Meeteetse in Park County; or Bondurant, Sublette County.

I'm also rather fond of Pinedale (Sublette Co.) which has a very nice medical clinic. Housing might be a little pricey there though

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by KillerK

How small are you looking for? For some people, Buffalo is considered small at roughly 4,600 people. It's about half an hour south of Sheridan and is a fantastic little town, though it feels like there are a lot of medical practitioners already here, though I'm not sure any of them fill the niche you're thinking of.

If you're willing to go "small" small (like only a few hundred people), my votes go to: Story or Big Horn in Sheridan County; Meeteetse in Park County; or Bondurant, Sublette County.

I'm also rather fond of Pinedale (Sublette Co.) which has a very nice medical clinic. Housing might be a little pricey there though

Been to Buffalo, spent an evening and overnight there when I got tired of driving the *&^% Penske truck, and it was the first reasonably priced place to stay

It's a pretty quiet town, I'll agree.

Wife and I were also quite rudely treated by some tattooed redneck gang types...

However, the stay was great (Wyo Motel) and we walked a bunch around town to offset the hours of driving. We ate at the China Garden walked through the downtown and on the way back, had ice cream at the little joint across the street from the courthouse. And at breakfast in a 50's diner downtown...