It's getting cool here in the Northwest, so let's heat things up.
I just read a thread where it was mentioned "...prescribing is where the money and opportunities are."
NPs are called "Providers" but really what do they provide?
What do NP wannabes have to look forward to other than slamming 20-40 patients through the system, writing prescriptions and filling out government mandated paperwork?
I have even read where the big draw to being an NP are the hours! Can people be so shallow or desperate to get away from bedside nursing?
I think there is a lot of misunderstanding between RNs who perhaps are not familiar with the APRN role.
I've been an APRN for 9+ years and I did absolutely love bedside nursing. However, I equally love my roles as provider and prescriber. Like other APRNs have mentioned, I do help pts. My pts are for the most part seriously ill with a much shortened lifespan. I discuss end of life issues almost daily.
I do provide a service but mostly I provide care.
this. Any goober with MD behind their name can fling scripts. TLC (which oh by the way might mean the difference between compliance and noncompliance, life and death) is where NPs impact both quantity and quality of life.
(Name-calling only in the spirit of troll-ish-ness which we seem to have high tolerance for lately)
this. Any goober with MD behind their name can fling scripts. TLC (which oh by the way might mean the difference between compliance and noncompliance, life and death) is where NPs impact both quantity and quality of life.
(Name-calling only in the spirit of troll-ish-ness which we seem to have high tolerance for lately)
I agree that people who are "going for my NP" usually sound as if they believe they are better than bedside nursing, more intelligent and capable of doing bigger and more important things... Florence Nightingale is probably rolling over in her grave. Many women in my family are nurses and could have gone to medical school if they wanted to, however they chose to apply their brilliance and compassion to doing bedside care and wouldn't take a job as a nurse practitioner if someone paid them a million dollars.
As for the "provider" thing, we should just stop using these words completely. Are we like cable-providers? Or cell phone service-providers? Or like plumbers "servicing" our patients like someone's toilet? No. We're doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, (whatever else), etc... and should take pride in each of our professions and stop cheapening health care with this language. I don't know about anyone else, but if I were in my doctor's office and my nurse or doctor introduced themselves to me as a "provider", I would probably be wondering what it is they're trying to hide because that sort of sounds sketchy.
Can people be surprised that people are so shallow and desperate that they would pursue NP level for the hours, money, and prestige? It's the externally motivated who will go for such reasons as you mentioned.
As an NP intern, I give each of my patients a firm handshake. Around the holidays we also put out candies.
As a philologist, I like the prospect of having lots of random letters after my name. When patients cancel and I have 20 minutes of downtime I see how many words I can make from them: BABSNMSNRNPMHNP. That lone A is a hardworking vowel, let me tell you. My longest word is "hasps."
I, for one, am shallow enough to enjoy spending the holidays with my family instead of my coworkers every year from now on. I'm also desperate for student loans. I only went to nursing school because I'd paid off the loans from my psych degree, and then when the nursing school balance started getting low I knew I needed to do something quick. I just don't feel right unless I'm writing a check to a rotating list of banks who trade my loans like baseball cards.
If I ever pay off my NP loans I'm going to need to get a degree that's mostly vowels, for the anagramming. Any suggestions?
Hahhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Sounds about right.
I am, but being a physician isn't exactly relevant to my concern. It just seems that these days every clinician is being referred to as a "provider" of some sort, like our customers shop around for seemingly entitled services and we have no say in who we provide our product to. Do we call actors and actresses "entertainment providers"? or do we call lawyers "legal service providers"? or call our boss our "paycheck provider"? No, they are employers, lawyers, and actors who are skilled in their craft which they perform not merely to be received by somebody else. We should all start showing some respect for our field and this is the sentiment I was trying to get at.
Disclaimer: I am strongly opinionated in all matters
I am, but being a physician isn't exactly relevant to my concern. It just seems that these days every clinician is being referred to as a "provider" of some sort, like our customers shop around for seemingly entitled services and we have no say in who we provide our product to. Do we call actors and actresses "entertainment providers"? or do we call lawyers "legal service providers"? or call our boss our "paycheck provider"? No, they are employers, lawyers, and actors who are skilled in their craft which they perform not merely to be received by somebody else. We should all start showing some respect for our field and this is the sentiment I was trying to get at.
Disclaimer: I am strongly opinionated in all matters
Dogen
897 Posts
What'd you call me?