Nurses Masquerading As Doctors (INSULTING)

Nurses Activism

Published

The growing shortage of medical doctors, which will be made much worse by health care reform, will mean more and more patients are cared for entirely by "nurse specialists" and nurse practitioners, instead of physicians. Nurses are lobbying for increased prescribing privileges and for the right to be addressed as "doctor" in health care settings.

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What do you guys think about this idiot, and the ignorant nonsense he is blabbering over on fox news? Kind of insulting to those of us who have spent years pursuing advanced degrees such as CNP, and often save lives and clean up messes made by arrogant, egotistical physicians...

Lucky not all MDs are such a_holes. The condescending tone is far more inflammatory than his supposedly controversial argument. As to the intellectual and clinical bona fides of this gentleman, according to Pubmed, he has only a single publication in 1990 (yes, it is in JAMA):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Ablow%20KR%22[Author]

A sample of his more recent work can be found in the journal "Hollywood Reporter":

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-news-keith-ablow-goes-off-j-crew-jenna-lyons-divorce-254158

'nuff said (I am a grad-entry nurse with 4 Pubmed indexed publications but none in Hollywood Reporter....yet)

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Specializes in LTC, Nursing Management, WCC.

There are many types of doctors. They earned it. But a nurse to do that....gasp.... how dare they. Whatever! Its time to move this profession forward.

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The biggest problem with this article is that its from Fox News. The first line makes claim that healthcare reform will lead to a shortage of doctors.

I am not sure what is going on over at Fox but it seems that in their parallel universe, that making it possible for more people to get healthcare means that doctors will get scared and run away? This will cause a shortage?

IDK ... IDK whats wrong with some people?!

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Specializes in Mixed ICU, OHU.

here is the problem, a physician is a PHYSICIAN... not a doctor, a doctor is an educational title IMO. That is the problem, the ones like him are probably the ones that went into it for the $$ and so they can be called "Dr" to me its ********. Drs felt threatened when nurses became so popular and were gaining autonomy early in nursing practice and threw a fit so they cried and whined until there were laws so nurses couldnt further their practice.

i often see residents knowing LESS than nurses practicing for a lesser time than they have.

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Specializes in ICU, ED and PACU.

I could hardly make it through this entire article. It is doctors like this one that are the EXACT reason that millions of people perfer to see thier nurse practitioner rather than physican in times of need. The want excellent, personalized care from someone who hears what they have to say and takes thier own opinions and concerns into effect when deciding how to best care for the issue at hand. Frankly, there are very few, and getting fewer, doctors who can do this.

As for enterance into medical school, it must not be that hard, they don't even require that you speak english anymore.

The bounderies for advanced practice nurses are ever changing as the needs change. No nurse I know would ever want to be addressed as 'doctor' so I'm really not sure where that is coming from. The problem with the system is the lack of communication. You can't, as a physican, refuse to do your job and whine and cry until your NP does it for you and then be made that she requires extra credentials and permissions to do so. You cannont have your cake and eat it too. In order to enjoy the benefits of an APN on your service, and ask the docs that have them versus the ones that don't and you'll see the quality of work and life are better for those that do, and not allow them some freedoms.

It is because of doctors that the APN is stuck 'behind the mask' working under their license, because if something was to go wrong the hospital, which is owned by the doctor, doesn't back the nurse. The nurse isn't even billed seperatly for thier services and expertise, we are lumped into the cost of the room in most cases. It is this system that needs to change in order for the APN to be more independent of the MD. Until then we'll keep cleaning up their mess, showing up when they won't and answering the call when they refuse to pick up the phone.

Whew....I feel better. But yes, this doctors article was a poor attempt at bashing Obama care, which has nothing to do with the utilization of APNs as that has been unchanged for decades.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
The biggest problem with this article is that its from Fox News. The first line makes claim that healthcare reform will lead to a shortage of doctors.

I am not sure what is going on over at Fox but it seems that in their parallel universe, that making it possible for more people to get healthcare means that doctors will get scared and run away? This will cause a shortage?

IDK ... IDK whats wrong with some people?!

No. The biggest problem is not where it was published. Publish that same article, from the same author, on CNN, CBS, NBC, PBS... and the article is still an insult to both Physicians and Nurses. Dr. Keith Ablow is who he is and nothing short of an epiphany on his part will change his views.

He does bring up some good points, but about the only big point he makes is that he's nothing more than a certain sphincter... regardless of who employs him.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Obamacare has it's own issues... not the least of which being that it may, in fact, be unconstitutional. That is an issue for another day, and a 5 hour argument for the Supreme Court of the United States, not for hammering out here.

More to the point, what I saw in that article was a very angry man... who is angry to probably almost the point of irrationality.

A wise man once told me: "You really can't help someone who is hurt, scared, or angry."

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here is the problem, a physician is a PHYSICIAN... not a doctor, a doctor is an educational title IMO. That is the problem, the ones like him are probably the ones that went into it for the $$ and so they can be called "Dr" to me its ********. Drs felt threatened when nurses became so popular and were gaining autonomy early in nursing practice and threw a fit so they cried and whined until there were laws so nurses couldnt further their practice.

i often see residents knowing LESS than nurses practicing for a lesser time than they have.

My SO is a doctor. He is a doctor of law. An educational title. He never uses it. Seems like most of the people I know who are not physicians and are doctors do not use their educational title.

I would much rather be treated by a NP than many of the docs I have met. If that nurse happens to have an educational doctorate I will call the NP "doctor".

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Specializes in Mixed ICU, OHU.
My SO is a doctor. He is a doctor of law. An educational title. He never uses it. Seems like most of the people I know who are not physicians and are doctors do not use their educational title.

I would much rather be treated by a NP than many of the docs I have met. If that nurse happens to have an educational doctorate I will call the NP "doctor".

this is my point, why is it that physicians feel the need to have everyone refer to them as Dr. xxxx

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Oh, Fox News. Should have known. Lol.

Over the internet, we would call someone who wrote something like that in a forum a "Troll".

AKA...A purposefully inflammatory article designed to get attention and elicit hostile responses.

Lol. We can be thankful that the writers opinion is FAR from popular opinion. Many people that I have met (course I am biased) will tell you that they prefer the nursing model of healthcare to the physician model...as many NP's have a ton of hands on experience before getting those additional credentials.

Of course insurance companies try to save a buck with us but I don't see how that discredits our profession.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
This is Fox, it's like getting your news from the over-dramatic secretary with borderline personality disorder...
I have this disorder and find this rude n insulting. Think before you post.
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Specializes in Psych, Ortho, Stroke, and TBI.

The whole "Couldn't get in to med school" angle is such complete hogwash. Most doctors I know had rich Daddies that had deep pockets. It's real easy to get in to med school when one doesn't have to work to pay for school.

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