July 26th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
4 Comments »
I’m embarrassed to say this, but the nursing profession is making a mockery of healthcare education by downgrading the post-graduate degree process. The nursing education requirements in the advertisement seen here are an embarrassment to the nursing profession.
Mrs. Happy pointed out an advertisement from her nursing magazine offering advanced nursing education opportunities. This advertisement for the doctor nurse practitioner (DNP) training track at Creighton University is a mockery of the rigorous educational requirements necessary to care for patients independently. Check out the nursing education requirements on their advertisement: No entrance exam required? No clinical experience? No thesis required? What has this world come to?
These are professionals who are going to be taking care of patients in less than two years. Some states allow NPs to manage patients independently with no physician oversight. That is just plain scary. This is an embarrassment to the foundation of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, neuroanatomy, microbiology, pharmacology, genetics — and on and on — required to care for patients independently. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
June 23rd, 2010 by BobDoherty in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
1 Comment »
A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP’s flagship journal, finds that medical schools vary greatly in producing more primary care physicians and getting them into underserved communities.
– “Public schools graduate higher proportions of primary care physicians” than private schools.
– “The 3 historically black colleges and universities with medical schools (Morehouse College, Meharry Medical College, and Howard University) score at the top” in training primary care physicians who then go on to practice in underserved communities. (Click here for an interview with two recent graduates of historically black colleges and with Wayne Riley, MD, FACP, who is the president and CEO of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and a regent of the American College of Physicians.)
– “The level of NIH support that medical schools received was inversely associated with their output of primary care physicians and physicians practicing in underserved areas.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty*
June 23rd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
1 Comment »
The future of American healthcare will not value physician education. Perhaps it’s time to abandon the medical school model and train millions of nurses instead at a fraction of the cost. This comment was left on my blog over at NP=MD:
I don’t even compare NPs and MDs. Their models differ. One is not better than the other. The schooling — minus the residency — is nearly equivalent in terms of time spent. The problem is that NPs don’t get a long enough residency. If you take a NP and a MD, both with 20 years clinical experience, the MD does not know more than the NP. Sure, he had a few extra classes 20 years ago — which he doesn’t remember — but that’s about it.
NPs aren’t trying to steal MDs’ meal tickets, they’re attempting to better serve patients. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
June 8th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
11 Comments »
Where are the doctors on LinkedIn? If you spend any time there, you’ll find that we are few and far between. Sure, there are the entrepreneurs, the physician executives, and the social wonks, but not many practicing physicians. Why not?
1. Physicians are hyperlocal. Most MDs live and work in relatively small, geographically defined locations. Their success is sustained through word of mouth and the cultivation of a limited number of personal relationships. The average practicing physician has no need to sell himself beyond his local market. The depth of their bio is irrelevant to their local success.
2. Physicians are static. Once established, physicians aren’t likely to pick up and move as other professionals might need to do. Many physicians spend their careers in a couple of locations. Hustling for the next level isn’t how doctors think. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
June 4th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
No Comments »
From Dr. Toni Brayer at Everything Health:
We medical folks have always known that July is the worst time for a patient to be admitted to the hospital. It has nothing to do with nice summer weather or staff vacations. Although it cannot be proven, we think the answer to the mystery of July hospital errors is human — yes, it’s the new interns.
A new study published in the June issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine looked at all U.S. death certificates from 1979 to 2006. They found that in teaching hospitals, on average deadly medication mistakes surged by 10 percent each July. The good news is they did not find a surge in other medical errors, including surgery or in non-teaching hospitals. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
