The controversy over the roles of physicians and nurse practitioners in primary care in the United States has been heatedly discussed over the past years. Although many may not even know the difference between the two, the issue is very important to those with the careers. A nurse practitioner is an alternative career for professionals who want to work in advanced healthcare but do not wish to make the commitment necessary to become a physician ("Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant."). Physicians and nurse practitioners are different in their education and approach to care. Physicians study medicine and disease, while nurse practitioners study how to care for the sick. However, both are able to give the same to their patients. In the …show more content…
For this to happen, nurse practitioners would lead medical practices and teams and tend to numerous patients in hospitals. While doing this, they would be paid the same as physicians. Nevertheless, many physicians opposed this idea. Although 95.6% of nurse practitioners and 76.3% of physicians agreed that nurse practitioners should be capable of performing to the highest degree of their training and that adding them to primary care would improve quality, that was the end of it (Iglehart). Nurse practitioners believed that because they could do the same practices a physician could do, they deserved to earn the same amount of money as physicians. However, physicians disagreed. Many felt that they provided better care than nurse practitioners and that bringing more of them in would not exactly enhance quality, safety, or effectiveness of care. Yet, studies have found that “there have been over 100 studies of nurse practitioner practice by both nursing and medicine and not a single one has shown any negative impact on patients or patients’ healthcare when nurse practitioner’s care has been compared to physician care.” and that “nurse practitioner care is at least equivalent and superior to physician care” (“What is the Difference Between a Physician and a Nurse Practitioner?”). Nurse practitioners are not inferior and do not deserve to be belittled by
Conclusion In conclusion, APNs are equipped to deliver the same safe, efficient, and high- quality care as physicians. The clinical and professional background of nurses gives them an extraordinary opportunity to change the healthcare landscape and promote cost-effective, compassionate, and patient-centered care for people. In a study performed by Dill, Pankow, Erikson, & Shipman (2013), the patient preferred the APN to physicians due to greater accessibility, more personalized and compassionate care, increased comfort with communication, and past positive
Jessica, I agree with you 100%. The differences and variation in the ANP scope of practice among the nation, does not allow for others especially legislators, to have a clear view of the ANP nurse and what it can be accomplish it all the restrictions and barriers were eliminated. It will also change the public perception and attitudes towards nurse practitioners. I firmly believe that NPs have not only the power, but the ability to improve and make sustaintials changes to our health care system, Excellent
I respectfully disagree with you. In your post you stated “I believe that as a nurse I might have more knowledge of what is best for the health of the patient.” I don’t believe that a medical professional always “has more knowledge [or always knows] what is best for the health of the patient”. The Josie King story is a good example of the nurse thinking she “had more knowledge” and knew what was best for the patient. Mrs. King questioned the nurses several times throughout the care of her daughter, and if a nurse had listened to her, we might not be having this discussion today.
Nurse practitioner as an economic reality, Nurse Practitioner, 1, 2, 60-63. (I) This
According to Garment (2013), “The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates that the U.S. will face a physician shortage of over 90,000 physicians by 2020; a figure that’s expected to reach over 130,000 by 2025” (p.4). The increasing amount of money required for health care services from a physician is a driving force to pursue alternative ways of receiving primary care. According to The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (2013), “NPs in a physician practice potentially decreased the cost of patient visits by as much as one third, particularly when seeing patients in an independent, rather than complementary, manner” (p. 2). NPs are maintaining the standard of care and for a lesser amount for patients to pay. Mid-level practitioners are completing the same amount of work and improving the quality of care.
The article grabbed the attention of many including the legislators and policy makers who failed to recognize the contribution of nurse practitioners in making healthcare more affordable and accessible. The aftermath of this article is the current state of advance nursing practice. Even though we have not overcome all the barriers but there has been a lot of improvements in existing barriers. As Safriet mentioned in her article that nurse practitioners can be fundamental in restructuring the complex healthcare system. Nurse practitioners have repeatedly proved that they can provide cost-effective and high quality care to patients of all
With the ongoing healthcare demands and shortages, the appropriate role and responsibilities of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) will continue to be a controversial debate. There were many points addressed in your post that I agree and don’t agree with. It is most certainly not arguable that physicians do endure a longer, more intense education. I personally believe their role as a hospitalist is valuable and should never be discredited for their knowledge and expertise. However, I also believe that they are doing their patients a disservice if they are being overworked due to provider shortages.
These PAs serve as self-governing clinicians directly under a doctor, and the roles they play often complement those of the doctor. It is amazing that other countries are able to take what the US had and change it to benefit their own country. Meanwhile in the US, PAs are currently employed by more than 20 hospital Trusts and in primary care. The consistency of PAs in the workforce will be an additional resource for junior doctors who are on brief rotations. Clinicians can be used as needed in a variety of therapeutic settings since PAs maintain general competency.
In the healthcare field, there are so many occupations to choose from. Occupations and careers and important milestones in life because they not only define so much about you, but they set what you are going to do the rest of your life. The healthcare field is a field of high interest to many people. One occupation of great interest is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). An LPN is someone who works under registered nurses or physicians and takes care of sick, injured, or disabled patients.
In the clinical setting, the nurses’ expertise can be used to make clinical assessments and recommendations for routine care at a lower cost than a physician visit. This would increase the number of patients seen and increase the quality of the care provided. The advance practice nurse would be able to hone in on preventative measures and increase patient education. The advance practice nurse can also make recommendations about practice changes needed to facilitate better health outcomes through the use of evidence-based practice. Nursing leaders are aware of how important nursing science is to provide needed evidence to transform practice, even though, finding the time and resources to support any research activity is often challenging (Stone, 2017).
APRN’s have more access to EHR. For example, they have access to pictures of MRI, Echo and x-rays. Business/Finance Family Nurse Practitioners play a significant role in delivering cost effective health care to the community by emphasizing more on healthy life styles, preventive health care and provide better primary care compared to physicians by listening to the patients and spending more time with
We are not one of them just yet, and while we can relate to them as being where they used to be, in nursing school, we cannot yet relate to them regarding experience and capability. Furthermore, nurses tend to be separated from doctors in a particularly different way than students are from nurses. Commonly thought of as inferior and subordinate to doctors, nurses are often portrayed as lowly in the medical hierarchy, separate and unequal to the other medical professionals, despite being just as important as the doctors of the facility. As the last line of defense, Nurses act as almost personal protectors against medical errors for the patients, but they are more so considered maids, the fetchers, instead of the scientific, medical professional
Nurses are critical for promoting health in the society. The profession is highly flexible, since they specialize in diverse operations in the medical field. Registered nurses, for instance, are responsible for the administration of medicine and inoculations to patients (American Nurses ' Association, 2000). Additionally, these professionals observe, record, and enlighten doctors of any changes in a patient’s health. Nurses interpret and evaluate diagnostic examinations to determine an individual’s condition, as well as making the necessary adjustments in patient treatment plans on their health progress.
In all honesty, nurses are in the perfect role to contribute to improving patient care. Duke University
Relationships between Nurses and physicians; Relationship between nurses and physicians are sometimes strained. Physician-nurse conflict, tension and stress have been thought to be contributing to job dissatisfaction and burnout for nurses. Controversy arises about the reasons for physicians-nurse conflict, possible solutions to this problem, and the proper relationship between physicians and nurses. The possible causes include: (1) The power imbalance between physicians and nurses, (2) Differing goals of medicine and nursing. (3) Gender conflict between physicians, who have traditionally been men, and nurses, who have been overwhelmingly women.