Is anybody else tired of the nurse practitioner craze?

Specialties NP

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Hi all. I am a new graduate RN who is enjoying his first job as a med-surg nurse. I don't know about everyone else, but I am so tired of the nurse practitioner craze that seems to be overtaking the newest wave of graduate RNs. Half the people I know at my new job are part-timers in grad school for a master's degree as a family nurse practitioner or a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Good on them, but does anyone else think the idea of a mid-level practitioner has been taken a bit too far?

I don't know about all of you, but if I had a medical issue, I wouldn't bother seeing an NP. I'd go straight to an MD. The idea of an NP seems folly to me. Either you are a nurse or you aren't one. Or, either you practice medicine or you don't. A nurse practicing some form of low-level to mid-level medicine seems absurd.

The position also seems discredited by the variance in the scope of practice among different states and the fact that NPs can never do surgery. If NPs had limitless prescription power, and could be trained for some surgeries, we'd be looking at something real. But the NP's that I have seen "practicing" at my hospital just seem to be adjunct to the MDs who see their patients. The patients don't take the NPs seriously for just that reason. They seem roleless. I feel like the hospital hires them just as tokens. I don't see NP's as the future of nursing -- AT ALL. There is this one lady nurse practitioner at my hospital who goes into the patients' room and says "Hi, my name is Kristen and I'm the nurse practitioner," and begins some interview while I as the bedside nurse think to myself "You know that patient doesn't care right? You know they will just forget about you once they are seen by the actual MD?" Of course I never say that. But that's what is in my mind. I see no point in them.

I see pure bedside nursing as our future. Nursing education. Stuff more involved in social services.

I think NPs are suffering from an identity crisis. Let me know your thoughts too.

whenever I go to my doctor's office I see the NP. I rarely see the MD anymore. I think they play a good role as a doctor substitute in the PCP or office setting.

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In the end, it's the appendectomy that saves the patient with appendicitis. Not the NP's "holistic" spew.

No disrespect to the NPs out there, or their training, but I see the bedside nurses as more important to the patient's care than the NP's visits that usually just reinforce the MD's diagnosis and plan of care. I truly see bedside RNs as more integral to the healthcare team and more vital to the patient's wellbeing than anything an NP could ever do (write limited, crappy scripts).

"Treat the disease not the person" is a silly little overused catchphrase. Please don't repeat it in this thread. This is not an alternative medicine thread. Do you have any evidence that shows that an NP's "attitude" is better than an MD's? Is there a poll? May I see it? Well..?

Geez.

Yes, in the end it's the appendectomy that saves the patient with appendicitis.

And who in the ER diagnosed the patient correctly and swiftly to get that appendectomy?

Don't know about ERs in your area but in mine, the NPs out number the docs about 3:1, so you do the math...

I completely respect your thought that they serve little to no purpose. But why so angry when others give their opinion of praise?

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Specializes in Family Medicine, Tele/Cardiac, Camp.

I remember when I was a new grad and I thought I knew everything. It got me in trouble a lot of times. Careful with that attitude, OP. Whether or not you agree with the role of the NP, you are really going to need to learn to be respectful and diplomatic when dealing with every kind of co-worker from CNA to NP to attending.

I absolutely believe there is a place for NP's. My asterick to that is that I believe nurses should have some bedside experience before going to get their NP's. Not something everything agrees with, but I've seen a vast difference in care provided by someone who has even just had a couple of solid years working bedside than someone who has no bedside experience other than the clinicals done while earning their ADN/BSN.

That being said, there are numerous articles that praise the role of the NP. In 2006, I believe it was, Newsweek put out an article about the growing role of NP's and how the vast majority of physicians support them. I've seen similar articles in Time and the Wall Street Journal. If you want more factual evidence, search in nursing journals or even medical journals. My friend who is getting her MSN this spring and moving on to get her DNP or PhD (she hasn't decided yet), did her thesis on the role of NP's in primary care and was published in a nursing journal. Unfortunately I don't remember which one.

I wonder if your opinion of NP's will change as you have had more work experience. Mine did. As did that of another friend who is currently doing her residency. We both see the value of mid-level providers now. It's fine if you disagree with the role (and it's fine if you always do), but what was your point of posting if you aren't going to be open to hearing other people? It seems like you posted, asked everyone's opinions, and then proceeded to tell them how and why their beliefs are wrong.

You being a new-grad, I wish you good-luck with you career and any future decisions you make about it. Thanks for the thought-provoking thread.

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Specializes in Family Medicine, Tele/Cardiac, Camp.

Wonderful articles Kona2. Thanks for these!

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Also do not agree. Have received superior care from nurse practitioners, not all of them, but often enough to notice. If given a choice, I would pick the NP, and take my chances on getting superior care again.

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I have had some of the best care in regards to diagnosing and planning of care by NP's for myself, wife, and children. From my NNP in the NICU to the FNP at the urgent care who did an excellent job at sutures. Two thumbs up overall for the field, and as with all professions, and yes MD's included, you will have the exceptions. I would not be suprised if the role continues to expand in the future.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.

Totally disagree. Love the NP's that I work with!

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Specializes in IMC/Tele/PACU.

Hey Will, news flash....NOBODY agreed with you....perhaps focus your angst elsewhere and maybe review your nursing notes on collegiality within your profession...its an important part of what makes OUR profession work as well as it does. You should try it sometime.....

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I may be a new as a nurse, but if you are gloating about how, as if it were supposed to be a "news flash," that a lot of people are disagreeing with me, then I think you need experience more badly than I do. It signifies that you need to grow up. :cool:

The purpose of this thread was not to "focus angst into getting people to agree with me." The purpose of this thread was to gather other people's *substantiated* opinions on a discussion that I thought was interesting and worthwhile. Several people in this thread have thanked me for the thought-provoking discussion and posted some legitimate rationales in disagreement, and I thank those people for being respectful, intelligent, and being able to see the larger picture.

The rest of the people in this thread seem to be NPs, NP students, or NP-lovers who got offended by the discussion, attacked me personally, posted faerie-tale stories about some prodigal NP they know, all in an effort to feel that their role is validated. That sort of coping mechanism was expected.

However, I don't feel that "filling the gap of PCPs" and "shortening wait times" and "being less costly" is a sustainable or respectable role. It resounds of settling for someone less educated and less trained due to convenience. By contrast, the bedside nurse has a real identity and a rather irreplaceable role. The NP is there to sub in for someone else's role. That is why I think the concept of NPs is flawed. They have no identity and unlike MDs, are forced into specializing in treating only a certain demographic or age group of patients. Truly, I see regular RNs as being more useful than them. My feelings toward NPs are "what's the point... just be an MD."

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I know that the NP I work with is excellent! She started out as a CNA, became an LPN, then RN, and finally a NP. So, she's been through the ranks. She knows about bedside nursing and so much more. I work in home hospice and our NP is available to do home visits whenever needed -- even after hours (try getting a doc to make a home visit).

I think the OP may feel threatened by the NP's he works with, but we are all a team. When we work together, the patient gets the best care. That's just my :twocents:

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Specializes in Tele, Stepdown, Med/Surg, education.

I couldn't disagree more, NPs are very valuable to the healthcare field.

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