wow....there are some well-informed folks on here.....yeah...no one should be downplaying another profession......that doesn't help.....I think it is truly a semantic debate here....be it DOCTOR is a professional title but we all know a euphymysm for a medical caregiver.......who here has not been called 'doc' by your patients???...but....who should be called physicians?? some seem to think we should.....well, if we're arguing for rights as advanced practice nurses why would we WANT to be called a physician....we have to be careful what we are asking for here....it is becoming a slippery slope.....we may lose the support of those who are well established and on our sides....we are NOT physicians....some NPs argue that doctors of chiropractic and optometry carry the title physician while they don't fully care for the entire patient in the same medical manner.........let the non allopathic and osteopathic practitioners of optometry and chiropractic have the title I suppose....traditionally they always have.....fighting for the same or similar RIGHTS is a different story....
I've been giving it alot of thought and really trying to see the big picture......people are getting so hung up on titles and credentials and wording and program curricula......arguing who's better a PA...an NP.....a physician...??? I used to have the theory that if you took an NP, a PA and a physician right out of school.....I think the physician is hands down more prepared, more skilled, more educated.......but, 10 years 15 years down the road....how much does experience and insight and continued learning and study develop each practitioner? could the PA end up being the brightest and most informed and best medical decision maker...?? yes, I think so....could it be the physician, the NP? sure.....doesn't it depend on all kinds of factors that take priority after education? drive? ability to integrate knowledge and medical literature? experiential and acuity exposure in practice? etc...etc.....
I think the definition on this site sums it up well........ A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse with advanced academic and clinical experience in diagnosing and managing most common acute and chronic illnesses either independently or in collaboration with a physician.
we just want to do what we are doing and be who we are and be rightfully recognized and legitimized for it, no???
no we don't have the same training as physicians.....could we safely take on the primary care needs of the population.......sure.....I think we could..........aren't we pretty much doing that now.....as it is....???? won't we still call on our physician and NP and PA colleagues for insight and expertise and experience when ours falls short.....???? yes...I think we will.......
I guess I kind of enjoy basically being independent and still legal having an attachment to a physician who in many cases knows more than I do......
I guess I don't need to be able to say I'M INDEPENDENT to boost my ego.......while some seem to have that need.....
I've heard some folks make a few decent arguments as to why dissolve of collaborative practice agreements is a good and/or founded thing......such as: a rightful move based on our experience and quality and scope of practice; would free up care for those who have independent clinics should something happen to their physician supervisor (death or move or stop practicing)
I guess the facts are coming in and I'm still on the fence......
can anyone else offer other reasons for why this move is so necessary or deserved....???? thanks........
