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*
April 21st, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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More unhealthy people are being herded into our healthcare system and more doctors are exiting. That’s the perfect formula for chaos.
I’d like to welcome the nursing profession here to save the day. Nurses have taken up the call for providing that missing link of access as doctors disappear. The expansion of nursing care to replace medical care in primary care is just the beginning of the next phase of American medicine. It all depends on how you define primary care. What can be cheaper must be done cheaper. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
April 21st, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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It’s well documented on this blog that the primary care shortage will only worsen once most of America has access to affordable health insurance.
As I wrote in a recent op-ed, not only will there a shortage of primary care physicians, but nurse practitioners and physician assistants won’t alleviate the problem either, mostly because they are also enticed by the lucrative allure of specialty practice. Enter the three-year primary care physician. Apparently, the fourth year of medical school was deemed expendable. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
